The shot of serotonin I got from reading this was crazy; just very validating knowing somebody else is in the same camp as me. I was just staring at that "Oh I'm Just Getting Started - Jesus, The Chosen" shirt recently and thinking how wild it was to have a fake quote from Jesus on a shirt lol. Not to mention a picture book based on the fictional "Jesus and The Children" episode; how is a child supposed to tell the difference between the fictional Jesus story presented in storybook form and actual Bible stories presented in storybook form? AND YET the show is by-and-large excellent and has genuinely re-enchanted my faith by doing what 'Hamilton' did and helping me see this stone statue historical figures as actual human beings again. Ahhh! I just miss when I was recommending it to people as this indie crowdfunded underground thing; now it's the very definition of the Evangelical brand. Anyway, not to plug myself (but definitely to plug myself) I wrote my own piece about The Chosen and Evangelical consumerism and culture-war politics a couple years ago that I think you might enjoy: https://houstonproductions1.substack.com/p/the-chosen-good-christian-movies. The gist of it comes down to my core question: what makes my "The Chosen" t-shirt any different from my Marvel or Star Wars t-shirt? And should it be different?
The Hamilton analogy is great. I think that for me the thing that was so intriguing from the beginning was taking names in the Gospels and making them into actual characters -- Peter as a hot-headed ruffian, Andrew as a starry-eyed baby brother, Matthew as an alienated autistic man, the centurion as Gaius the dad who's just trying to get by. But the bigger it gets the less inventive it feels and the more it feels like another messaging machine for American monoculture.
So glad it was a good one for you, I’m honored you read it! Yeah, I often think (and have thought even throughout season 4) that the show’s greatest achievement has been juggling the entire cast of 12+ disciplines and managing to flesh them all out and differentiate them in personality and appearance. I literally can’t think of any other Gospel adaptation that has successfully done that before; most adaptations just have “Peter and Judas and sometimes Doubting Thomas and then all the other ones.” Even the way they script and block sequences where all 12 are having a conversation together without making anyone feel like they got short shrift…it’s really pretty impressive. As an aside: I’ve wondered, too, whether the writers intentionally distinguished the disciples by enneagram type. Sometimes it feels that way, haha. I’ve particularly loved the characterization of smaller characters like Andrew, Phillip (until this season! sad!) and even Little James/Thaddeus. You’re right, though, that it can still feel a little American at times, even just in relational dynamics. I feel like there’s a whole article that could be written purely on the modern slang and 21st century relational assumptions that undergird the characters and how they speak to each other. It’s an interesting balance between indulging that liberating Hamilton-esque “historical people were people too!!” perspective but also somehow acknowledging that they still had *vastly* different assumptions about reality and their place in it (and relationships to other people) than we do…which might make them feel alien to us if it were depicted with complete accuracy.
It's funny, I didn't start to see the "megachurch" vibes of the Sermon on the Mount scene until people started pointing them out to me. I thought the whole Sermon prep sequence had this very old Hollywood/Judy Garland "Let's put on a show!" vibe (We gotta secure the venue! Oh no, we don't have enough money! What a cranky venue owner! Is anyone even going to come?!) that I found to be the peak of camp and just absolutely adorable. And I'm going to take it as a sign of my own spiritual health that that was my primary association for the sequence XD XD
Very interesting topic. I also understand the importance of some level of commodity in society, but when now in modern days, I sometimes feel that sense of commodifying Jesus and scripture. 'The Chosen' is an extreme examine of this and it has always put me off to it because of the way people talk about it. I've experienced entire churches that are similar. They market themselves and give people lots of options. Everything is branded and showy. One thing that stands out is when they constantly count numbers, like, how many people attended here and what are ways we can expand? It feels even more like a company selling something sometimes than a place for worship.
Now, I do see some importance in doing book club type things with movies if they are great. Usually that means discussing the crazy plot, beautiful cinematography, or insane sound design with a friend. As a huge movie goer, sometimes I can turn to a movie or tv show and say, 'that changed my life', in some however miniscule way. But like you said, 'Better Call Saul' was an amazing show, but I'm not going to talk about it the way that people talk about 'The Chosen'. It reminds me a little of people who love and constantly recommend a certain self-help book. And I know there are even study groups out there for some self help books, but it's definitely in line with something that the audience and creator believe is more than just a TV show.
Right. As a person who really does love adaptations as an art form, The Chosen was always an easy sell to me as a concept -- "want to see a creative and inventive take on the Bible? It's good TV." But I always recommended it the way I recommend Better Call Saul - "I think you'll like it." I think that I'm an extreme outlier among viewers, though. It's not important people watch it, I don't think it'll change your life. It's just television. I think your comparison to a self help book is excellent.
Yeah, I dont think I've ever had any movie or television experiences that were transcending and changed the course of my life, but I do think for me there are movies that, subjectively left me reflecting on things. Not that I would elevate it to a religious experience for myself or recommend it that way to others. That is, I think sometimes stories have lessons and things you can reflect on afterwards. Maybe life changing isn't the best phrase to use...
The closest thing for me would be The Exorcist because of the time that I saw it and the way I related so much to the characters. But I didn't like... become Catholic. Or a Jesuit.
I still find the film deeply comforting and encouraging when I feel scared, but it didn't change my theology or anything.
Agreed. Some films have very interesting and good things to say about the world, nature of humans and other similar topics, but most aren't going to sway someones actual faith or theology. 'Sound of Freedom' has no more chance of making me into a freedom fighting conservative than Better Call Saul does of making me decide to want to go out and catch corrupt lawyers....
The shot of serotonin I got from reading this was crazy; just very validating knowing somebody else is in the same camp as me. I was just staring at that "Oh I'm Just Getting Started - Jesus, The Chosen" shirt recently and thinking how wild it was to have a fake quote from Jesus on a shirt lol. Not to mention a picture book based on the fictional "Jesus and The Children" episode; how is a child supposed to tell the difference between the fictional Jesus story presented in storybook form and actual Bible stories presented in storybook form? AND YET the show is by-and-large excellent and has genuinely re-enchanted my faith by doing what 'Hamilton' did and helping me see this stone statue historical figures as actual human beings again. Ahhh! I just miss when I was recommending it to people as this indie crowdfunded underground thing; now it's the very definition of the Evangelical brand. Anyway, not to plug myself (but definitely to plug myself) I wrote my own piece about The Chosen and Evangelical consumerism and culture-war politics a couple years ago that I think you might enjoy: https://houstonproductions1.substack.com/p/the-chosen-good-christian-movies. The gist of it comes down to my core question: what makes my "The Chosen" t-shirt any different from my Marvel or Star Wars t-shirt? And should it be different?
Sorry, i'm still thinking about your comparison.
The Hamilton analogy is great. I think that for me the thing that was so intriguing from the beginning was taking names in the Gospels and making them into actual characters -- Peter as a hot-headed ruffian, Andrew as a starry-eyed baby brother, Matthew as an alienated autistic man, the centurion as Gaius the dad who's just trying to get by. But the bigger it gets the less inventive it feels and the more it feels like another messaging machine for American monoculture.
So glad it was a good one for you, I’m honored you read it! Yeah, I often think (and have thought even throughout season 4) that the show’s greatest achievement has been juggling the entire cast of 12+ disciplines and managing to flesh them all out and differentiate them in personality and appearance. I literally can’t think of any other Gospel adaptation that has successfully done that before; most adaptations just have “Peter and Judas and sometimes Doubting Thomas and then all the other ones.” Even the way they script and block sequences where all 12 are having a conversation together without making anyone feel like they got short shrift…it’s really pretty impressive. As an aside: I’ve wondered, too, whether the writers intentionally distinguished the disciples by enneagram type. Sometimes it feels that way, haha. I’ve particularly loved the characterization of smaller characters like Andrew, Phillip (until this season! sad!) and even Little James/Thaddeus. You’re right, though, that it can still feel a little American at times, even just in relational dynamics. I feel like there’s a whole article that could be written purely on the modern slang and 21st century relational assumptions that undergird the characters and how they speak to each other. It’s an interesting balance between indulging that liberating Hamilton-esque “historical people were people too!!” perspective but also somehow acknowledging that they still had *vastly* different assumptions about reality and their place in it (and relationships to other people) than we do…which might make them feel alien to us if it were depicted with complete accuracy.
It's funny, I didn't start to see the "megachurch" vibes of the Sermon on the Mount scene until people started pointing them out to me. I thought the whole Sermon prep sequence had this very old Hollywood/Judy Garland "Let's put on a show!" vibe (We gotta secure the venue! Oh no, we don't have enough money! What a cranky venue owner! Is anyone even going to come?!) that I found to be the peak of camp and just absolutely adorable. And I'm going to take it as a sign of my own spiritual health that that was my primary association for the sequence XD XD
Where did they get the paper to hand out flyers? Most people couldn’t even read back then. Major eye-roll for me right there.
Oh, your article is absolutely wonderful, Houston. Thank you so much for sharing.
Very interesting. I've definitely noticed the same.
Also, FWIW, Dallas sometimes hops in the comments in the official Facebook group.
As someone who doesn't watch this show because of my own convictions, thank you for this deep dive!
Very interesting topic. I also understand the importance of some level of commodity in society, but when now in modern days, I sometimes feel that sense of commodifying Jesus and scripture. 'The Chosen' is an extreme examine of this and it has always put me off to it because of the way people talk about it. I've experienced entire churches that are similar. They market themselves and give people lots of options. Everything is branded and showy. One thing that stands out is when they constantly count numbers, like, how many people attended here and what are ways we can expand? It feels even more like a company selling something sometimes than a place for worship.
Now, I do see some importance in doing book club type things with movies if they are great. Usually that means discussing the crazy plot, beautiful cinematography, or insane sound design with a friend. As a huge movie goer, sometimes I can turn to a movie or tv show and say, 'that changed my life', in some however miniscule way. But like you said, 'Better Call Saul' was an amazing show, but I'm not going to talk about it the way that people talk about 'The Chosen'. It reminds me a little of people who love and constantly recommend a certain self-help book. And I know there are even study groups out there for some self help books, but it's definitely in line with something that the audience and creator believe is more than just a TV show.
Right. As a person who really does love adaptations as an art form, The Chosen was always an easy sell to me as a concept -- "want to see a creative and inventive take on the Bible? It's good TV." But I always recommended it the way I recommend Better Call Saul - "I think you'll like it." I think that I'm an extreme outlier among viewers, though. It's not important people watch it, I don't think it'll change your life. It's just television. I think your comparison to a self help book is excellent.
Yeah, I dont think I've ever had any movie or television experiences that were transcending and changed the course of my life, but I do think for me there are movies that, subjectively left me reflecting on things. Not that I would elevate it to a religious experience for myself or recommend it that way to others. That is, I think sometimes stories have lessons and things you can reflect on afterwards. Maybe life changing isn't the best phrase to use...
The closest thing for me would be The Exorcist because of the time that I saw it and the way I related so much to the characters. But I didn't like... become Catholic. Or a Jesuit.
I still find the film deeply comforting and encouraging when I feel scared, but it didn't change my theology or anything.
Agreed. Some films have very interesting and good things to say about the world, nature of humans and other similar topics, but most aren't going to sway someones actual faith or theology. 'Sound of Freedom' has no more chance of making me into a freedom fighting conservative than Better Call Saul does of making me decide to want to go out and catch corrupt lawyers....
"I know, I’m the queen of starting series and not finishing them yet"
I'm SO glad I'm not the only one who does this. It makes me feel like such a skeez.