Posted on 02/16/2020 8:03:42 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Hollywood has always had a problem with America's Judaeo-Christian culture, particularly now, putting itself at odds with a large part of its audience.
That's left a gate open for new ideas, and entrepreneurs, using new technologies and approaches to fill the gap.
So, a very successful series about the life of Jesus, called "The Chosen," creatively attempting to tell the story of Jesus from the point of view of the people around him, has taken off from under the radar. The streamed series, which can be viewed on as a multi-season television program, pretty much the first of its kind, has crowdfunded to raise $10 million for its production, the highest crowdfunding for a media project in history. It's now seen 6.5 million viewings. Jenkins started with a small vignette of Jesus's life in 2017, and by 2019, saw the series take off as funding from the little guys wanting more from his project rolled in. It can now be watched, or even binge-watched, for free through an app, or else through paid streaming. That ought to be a wake-up call to Hollywood about what viewers want.
High demand, clever production maneuvers, such as filming the series in Texas rather than high-cost California, and a get-around on the distribution, the highest obstacle of all for indy film makers, has created a whale-under-the-water sized series that seems to be snowballing in popularity. Money talks in Hollywood, so the $10 million raised suggests there's an audience that wants this, something that must be rather confounding to Hollywood.
I drove up to Beverly Hills' Church of the Good Shepherd last night, where a viewing of the show and a presentation by producer Dallas Jenkins, his wife (and scriptwriter) Amanda Jenkins, actor Jonathan Roumie, and biblical scholar David Guffey C.S.C.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Thanks for app.
The author is a little naive about Hollywood. Hollywood's hate is stronger than their greed.
Erick Avari is perfection as Nicodemus.
SeekAndFind wrote:
“You can download the App for THE CHOSEN Here
“
Thank you for posting the link!
That is a singularly harsh statement...but a true one, I think.
I’ve watched the first eight episodes multiple times over the past several months. Myownbadself’s critique, WITH SPOILERS:
The Good: There is - episode after episode, viewing after viewing - something captivating about watching Bible characters and extras come to life in these productions. I’m not usually a “multiple viewing” person. I have zero problem re-watching these shows. The story lines are mostly compelling. The acting is generally excellent. The costumes work well enough for me. The talent all interact with warmth and familiarity such that it’s easy to believe you’re watching the real deal. Beyond the technical nicities there’s an intangible thing that marks this project as different from anything I’ve ever seen before (save for a few exceptions like Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ” and the Christ scenes in “Ben Hur”). I’m not above believing that God’s hand is all over this thing, despite it’s real flaws.
The Great: I’ll preface this by saying that I am one who has had a transforming encounter with Christ. Laying in bed one night as Person Number 1, I drew in a run-of-the-mill breath. By the time exhalation was complete, I was Person Number 2. In the literal blink of an eye, I was reborn. Completely made new.
From that perspective I watch “The Chosen” Jesus character while he loves, leads, and heals people, and I think, “This guy gets it.” The actor conveys a sense of burdened love for those lost sheep for whom He has come to ultimately die. I don’t know the actor’s theology; but I find him entirely believable as the Savior who saved me from my former hell. His Christ is well aware of the demands on His ministry, even unto undeserved death. He consistently portrays that weighty awareness in his every expression, gesture, and spoken word.
My favorite character outside of the Christ, is “Quintus”, the Roman governor in Capernaum (or Bethsaida, wherever it is). I don’t imagine the actor looking like a Roman governor. But the guy consistently devours the scenery with a cheerful, breezy arrogance that can only come with absolute power.
The Bad: The cast is a veritable explosion of ethnicity, so much so that I find it distracting. Gibson’s “Passion”, for example, did a great job of presenting a credible picture of the characters portrayed. “The Chosen” makes no effort to show a reasonable picture of 1st Century Israel faces in their stories. And that’s their perogative. They are possibly wanting to emphasize the universality of Christ’s efficacy, over any historically faithful representation of 1st Century Israel. I’d say that’s a best case scenario. Worst case, the creators of this show are simply regurgitating modern Cultural Marxist sensibilities in the guise of the Gospel of Christ.
DISCLOSURE: I was not alive in 1st Century Israel, so I cannot say for certain what “man on the street” looked like. I just believe that the producers of this series are stretching the bounds of reality with their efforts to make whatever point they trying to make. I find it annoying; someone else may find the same thing to be a positive.
Also, much of scripture has been misrepresented to give a greater role to women than the gospels presented or that would have been imaginable in 1st Century patriarchal Jewish culture. The paralytic healing in Mark 2, for example, is predicated on a woman boldly leading the charge to tear apart Zebedee’s roof cover in order to get her friend lowered into the house. Not a credible thing for the time and place. And not necessary to make the story of the Gospel appealing to a dying world.
Finally, there are just too many implausibles to not mention them. Most glaring to me is when a husband and wife bar their door against Roman soldiers entering their house, so as to enable Jesus and Friends to escape out the back way. When the wife finally opens the front door for the Romans, the soldiers step in and realize they’ve been had. Rather than killing everyone on the spot (or at least arresting them), the Romans join the homeowners in a cartoonish “Wah wah waaah” posture. No way, no how.
The Awful: The project is infected - from start to finish - with 21st Century feminism. Every episode shows hallmarks of grrrl power in the script. A boy and girl are friends. The boy is characterized by ridiculous quaking fear, and the girl is effortlessly bold. A husband is portrayed as making reasonable objections to his wife’s emotional appeal to help a friend. The wife cuts him off with a threatening look. The husband cowers. This “warning shot” glare is re-issued in a later episode, when unmarried (pre-discipile) Thomas is henpecked by his domineering female business partner.
Throughout the series, if there is to be a strong and decisive spouse in marriage, it will be the wife. The only exception is Nicodemus and his wife. Twice in the first two seasons I remember him saying, effectively, “This is how it is going to be.” But even then, they spend the rest of their marriage with her dressing him and fussing over him in a decidedly emasculating manner.
It was for this reason that I deliberately watched for the writing credits in a recent viewing of the series. I saw only two men listed as writers. I assumed those two men must be either miserably beaten down by or wildly enthusiastic about feminist dogma of this present age. No other way to explain that which no self-respecting man would ever embrace, much less try to pass of as legitimate in these shows.
Then I saw in the article posted here that Dallas Jenkins’ wife is a script writer. Her presence might explain the patriarchy-hating vibe of the series. Ultimately the decision makers in the organization have decided that they will make smashing patriarchy a thing in their shows. This dynamic alone is almost a deal-killer for me; but for the fact that there is so much good presented with the bad. Feminism is IMO from hell. And it’s disturbing to see so much of it in this project, which will undoubtedly reach a wide audience before all is said and done.
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I look forward to new episodes of The Chosen. And I pray that God will reveal Himself to the show’s creators in some way that will open their eyes to the darkness they are enabling.
It’s free?
Satan constantly erodes corrosively the distinctives of our faith, although he can never truly undermine it. We can test the spirits,holding fast to that which is good while recognizing and rejecting that which falls short, as you have.
By the way, you're familiar with the recent movie Risen?
By the by, welcome to Free Republic. We’ve been awaiting you!
$5.83 on Amazon. Run, don't walk! You think you've rewatched The Chosen often? Waittillyousee Risen!
The movie was fascinating to watch even just as secular historical fiction. I read one reviewer on Amazon who claimed to be an expert on 1st Century life in Israel. He said the movie nailed the Jewish and Roman daily existence of the times. Even the military tactics shown in the opening battle sequence were legit, right down to the "turtle" formation with their shields.
There was one theme in the movie that particularly resonated with me. When I first got transformed by the Holy Spirit several years ago, one of the most obvious changes in me was my appreciation for scripture. Prior to my being zapped reading the Bible was always just a massive bore and chore. "After Jesus" I was suddenly unable to get enough of the Bible. I was like a starving man who was allowed to eat as much of this amazing food as I wanted.
Along with the new appreciation was an increased awareness of and discernment of scripture. I was seeing things that I'd never seen before, even during multiple prior readings. One of those sighting was with regard to the Roman guards at the tomb. Matthew's gospel plainly states that it was common knowledge the priests paid off the Roman guard, convincing them to tell a story that should have theoretically resulted in their execution for dereliction of duty. Matthew couldn't have gotten away with writing that into his gospel if it wasn't truly a word on the street. And it's really the only way the guards could have stayed alive - the priests were willing to run interference on their behalf, simply to keep the truth from coming out.
Anyway, the scene with Clavius and the guard in the tavern was powerful. When the guard finally recounted what he really saw at the tomb, that actor convinced me that he had seen the real thing. And Clavius, after hearing the otherwise impossible-sounding tale replied, "And the priests paid you to say something else?" BOOM. Why would they pay someone to report something that might get themselves killed, when the true story sounded utterly insane to the uninitiated? Because the priests were that desperate to keep the truth under wraps.
I will definitely be watching this movie again soon.
Your vivid description of your sudden insatiable hunger for devouring Scripture resonates profoundly in me. I was born again on Friday, October 7, 1977. During that weekend the Holy Spirit told me to take off work the next week and begin reading the Bible, so I did. On Monday morning I bought a Bible, and I set a goal of finishing the Old Testament by Christmas; instead, I finished both testaments by Thanksgiving! I've slowed down a bit since then, but I've never stopped.
And this: instead, I finished both testaments by Thanksgiving!. I LOL'd. Totally get it. Once the Holy Spirit goes live inside you, there's no end to how much you can enjoy reading scripture.
Care to share any specifics about what you enjoyed so much about The Chosen? I'm going to re-watch Season 2 this week, probably.
I really enjoyed the inventiveness of the writing, in filling in the blank spaces left to our imagination by the Spirit and His amanuenses. As an author myself, I have personal experience with making the kinds of choices authors constantly must make, so I can't help being sensitive to and appreciating others' choices. Jenkins et al came up with plausible inferences and scenarios (granting that the wonderful kids' episode was a stretch), and their dialoguing worked. The central feature of the series, the imaginative fleshing out of the Gospel stories, succeeded for me Scripturally, inspirationally, interpersonally, interestingly, often humorously, delightfully. Tellingly, I want much more!
I really enjoyed the inventiveness of the writing...
That's a great way to describe it. All of what you said, really. It's inventive and plausible. Compelling to the point of making you want more episodes. I really think God is doing something through this production that transcends the mundane to-do's of making a TV series.
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