The Chosen (1 Viewer)

[Klimtology]

Anyone else see this?

Just finished the third season.

Amazing!

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Robbie Anderson?

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Is it strange that people complain when a black girl is cast as a Disney mermaid but this is the crew playing Jesus and his disciples?

https://res.cloudinary.com/jerrick/image/upload/c_scale,f_jpg,q_auto/5fc041ede1f24b001d9666b4.jpg

 

[dgreen]

Anyone else see this?

Just finished the third season.

Amazing!

So many Bible productions are really cheesy, but they do a great job with this. A couple of parts I really didn't like, but overall I've loved this so far.

 

[dgreen]

Is it strange that people complain when a black girl is cast as a Disney mermaid but this is the crew playing Jesus and his disciples?

https://res.cloudinary.com/jerrick/image/upload/c_scale,f_jpg,q_auto/5fc041ede1f24b001d9666b4.jpg

A lot of their names seem to indicate they are much closer to being Middle Eastern than American/European.

 

[dgreen]

Is it strange that people complain when a black girl is cast as a Disney mermaid but this is the crew playing Jesus and his disciples?

https://res.cloudinary.com/jerrick/image/upload/c_scale,f_jpg,q_auto/5fc041ede1f24b001d9666b4.jpg

A lot of their names seem to indicate they are much closer to being Middle Eastern than American/European.

On the other hand, the ages of the disciples is probably way off.

 

[Klimtology]

Is it strange that people complain when a black girl is cast as a Disney mermaid but this is the crew playing Jesus and his disciples?

https://res.cloudinary.com/jerrick/image/upload/c_scale,f_jpg,q_auto/5fc041ede1f24b001d9666b4.jpg

A lot of their names seem to indicate they are much closer to being Middle Eastern than American/European.

On the other hand, the ages of the disciples is probably way off.

How So?

 

[dgreen]

Is it strange that people complain when a black girl is cast as a Disney mermaid but this is the crew playing Jesus and his disciples?

https://res.cloudinary.com/jerrick/image/upload/c_scale,f_jpg,q_auto/5fc041ede1f24b001d9666b4.jpg

A lot of their names seem to indicate they are much closer to being Middle Eastern than American/European.

On the other hand, the ages of the disciples is probably way off.

How So?

I believe disciples of rabbis would have typically been in their teens. Peter was married and had to pay taxes (Matt 17:24-27), so he could have been 20ish and probably at the upper end of their ages. Another clue to ages is that James and John were fishing with their father when they were called. They would have been working on their own, and not with their father, way before the ages portrayed in The Chosen (and every other show/movie).

 

[BobbyLayne]

Is it strange that people complain when a black girl is cast as a Disney mermaid but this is the crew playing Jesus and his disciples?

https://res.cloudinary.com/jerrick/image/upload/c_scale,f_jpg,q_auto/5fc041ede1f24b001d9666b4.jpg

The actor who plays Jesus is half Egyptian and half Irish.

Actor portraying Simon Peter is Israeli

Matthew - Indian descent

Simon the Zealot - Moroccan.

Judas Iscariot - Egyptian

IIRC there are several Greeks in the cast as well. A lot of the Jewish characters are either Middle Eastern or Latin American, and most of the Roman characters are white. Several black Africans in the cast. AFAIK it's not diversity for the sake of inclusion but rather just trying to be historically accurate (with the exception of Matthew - but TBF he looks passable as Mediterranean / Palestinian.)

Pretty high production level to the series. We enjoy it. There are plans to do 7 seasons. They are pay as you go - no studio behind it or large contributors, the entire things is crowdfunded. The creator/writer/director is from Chicagoland.

 

[dgreen]

Pretty high production level to the series.

Yep. Dallas Jenkins said he set out to make a high-quality production. His goal wasn't to have an all-Christian staff like other Christian Hollywood productions have tried (and led to just painful acting to watch), rather to get the best people for the job that he could get regardless of their religion, or lack thereof. And, like you said, they are trying to be historically accurate. I mean, they are even talking about Hillel and Shammai (with Shammai even being a character), which is pretty rare for this genre of entertainment.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Pretty high production level to the series.

Yep. Dallas Jenkins said he set out to make a high-quality production. His goal wasn't to have an all-Christian staff like other Christian Hollywood productions have tried (and led to just painful acting to watch), rather to get the best people for the job that he could get regardless of their religion, or lack thereof. And, like you said, they are trying to be historically accurate. I mean, they are even talking about Hillel and Shammai (with Shammai even being a character), which is pretty rare for this genre of entertainment.

A lot of Christian tv & film is absolute garbage. But I had feeling he would do a good job with this; I liked his storytelling in The Resurrection of Gavin Stone.

His dad's work (Left Behind series) was massively influential on pop culture but it's horrible theology. Dallas is pretty solid though. He attends Harvest Bible Chapel (Rolling Meadows) - my hometown church in west Michigan is a plant of theirs from back in the day.

He's got a very distinctive view. I like it - don't always agree with his choices, but at least i can follow why he does things a certain way. I think he's doing a good job of creating great art within the framework of being true to the text. it's a refreshing perspective.

 

[Scoresman]

Does this show go for a more historic or a more religious slant? For example, is there more focus on portrayal of the time period and people, or is it more walking on water and making wine out of water?

 

[Klimtology]

Does this show go for a more historic or a more religious slant? For example, is there more focus on portrayal of the time period and people, or is it more walking on water and making wine out of water?

It's both imo...

 

[Beef Ravioli Part 2]

We have seen quite a few of them and always say we are going to watch the series as a binge from the beginning but have not as of yet. Overall impressed

 

[Psychopav]

Does this show go for a more historic or a more religious slant? For example, is there more focus on portrayal of the time period and people, or is it more walking on water and making wine out of water?

Definitely both. I understand he consulted both a prominent Jewish historian as well as Catholic Bishop Robert Barron for historical context. It's obvious from the treatment that he has done his homework. The series is also thick with Hebrew historical and scriptural "easter eggs" (so to speak).

 

[dgreen]

Does this show go for a more historic or a more religious slant? For example, is there more focus on portrayal of the time period and people, or is it more walking on water and making wine out of water?

Definitely both. I understand he consulted both a prominent Jewish historian as well as Catholic Bishop Robert Barron for historical context. It's obvious from the treatment that he has done his homework. The series is also thick with Hebrew historical and scriptural "easter eggs" (so to speak).

Agree it's both. There's a ton of non-Biblical backstory to get to Biblical stories and that's where they hit a lot of the historical context.

And speaking of walking on water, that was one of my least favorite scenes. I appreciated the story around it with Peter, but it just looked awful IMO and it was hard for me to focus on anything else.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Does this show go for a more historic or a more religious slant? For example, is there more focus on portrayal of the time period and people, or is it more walking on water and making wine out of water?

They strive to show a very accurate depiction of 1st century Palestine - clothing, buildings, customs. As others have mentioned, they consult with biblical scholars, Jewish/rabbinical experts, and they're not exclusively evangelical - they consider Roman Catholic theology (though where there are differences I would say the reformed/protestant view wins out 99% of the time.)

For instance, were James and Jude his cousins or his brothers? Well, we don't know which view is correct, but where there is agreement is they rejected his ministry while he was alive, and became pillars of the early church after his resurrection. Ultimately it's not that important, so they don't try to answer it, though if forced to they would probably be comfortable saying they were his siblings. In the show Jesus mentions in an aside that most people missed "No James or John Jude,eh?"

The miracles of Jesus are presented as miraculous events. They don't try to provide explanations for the supernatural. Nor is it a humanist view of a historical figure while ignoring the incarnation. He is the only begotten son of God.

 

[Klimtology]

Anyone know where it was shot? I'm thinking Palestine, but I'm not sure.

 

[Klimtology]

Just did a google and apparently it was filmed in Texas!

 

[dgreen]

Just did a google and apparently it was filmed in Texas!

I think I saw that some was in Utah.

 

[dgreen]

Some of my favorite moments so far:

Spoiler: Spoilers

Jesus' interaction with Mary at the end of episode 1.
Connecting the "Blessed are" statements at the beginning of the SotM to the disciples while practicing with Matthew.
When Jesus comes back to camp at the end of a day of healing.

 

[BobbyLayne]

The Chosen, the Christian megahit about Jesus, explained

 

[dgreen]

The Chosen, the Christian megahit about Jesus, explained

Thanks. The article seemed to meander a bit, but it was an interesting perspective to read.

This paragraph has me a bit shuked. Nicodemus as a tax collector? I've certainly heard the idea that Mary was a prostitute but I'm not sure where that comes from nor have I picked up on that theme in the show.

The show’s focal ensemble characters in the first several seasons are not entirely who you might expect. Rather, they include a number of figures who rarely get much, if any, significant attention in mainstream biblical adaptations. There’s religious leader-turned-tax collector Nicodemus (Erick Avari); Matthew (Paras Patel), another tax collector, whom The Chosen presents as being on the autism spectrum; hotheaded Simon, a.k.a. Peter (Shahar Isaac), and his brother, brooding fisherman Andrew (Noah James); and Mary Magdalene (Elizabeth Tabish), a sex worker dealing with alcoholism and addiction even after she meets Christ. The show’s fascination with Mary Magdalene follows innumerable depictions of her as a redeemed “fallen woman” who still continues to possess an erotic mystique, a kind of slutty muse; The Chosen, at least, humanizes her beyond merely traversing the virgin/whore divide and giving her an unrequited crush on Jesus.

 

[BobbyLayne]

The Chosen, the Christian megahit about Jesus, explained

Thanks. The article seemed to meander a bit, but it was an interesting perspective to read.

This paragraph has me a bit shuked. Nicodemus as a tax collector? I've certainly heard the idea that Mary was a prostitute but I'm not sure where that comes from nor have I picked up on that theme in the show.

The show’s focal ensemble characters in the first several seasons are not entirely who you might expect. Rather, they include a number of figures who rarely get much, if any, significant attention in mainstream biblical adaptations. There’s religious leader-turned-tax collector Nicodemus (Erick Avari); Matthew (Paras Patel), another tax collector, whom The Chosen presents as being on the autism spectrum; hotheaded Simon, a.k.a. Peter (Shahar Isaac), and his brother, brooding fisherman Andrew (Noah James); and Mary Magdalene (Elizabeth Tabish), a sex worker dealing with alcoholism and addiction even after she meets Christ. The show’s fascination with Mary Magdalene follows innumerable depictions of her as a redeemed “fallen woman” who still continues to possess an erotic mystique, a kind of slutty muse; The Chosen, at least, humanizes her beyond merely traversing the virgin/whore divide and giving her an unrequited crush on Jesus.

Wow.

Sorry, only skimmed before I posted it (someone else forwarded it to me.)

Yeah, that’s some majorly sloppy reporting. The last we see of Nicodemus (presumably until the arrest, trial, & burial of Christ in future seasons) he contributes, anonymously, a bag of gold to the disciples. As a member of the Sanhedrin, it would have been unthinkable for him to follow Jesus early in his ministry (chronologically, around John 3 in the Bible...in the series, episodes 7 & 8.) I loved the editorial choice they made there - Nicodemus does in fact agonize over the invitation from Jesus to follow him. That’s not from the Bible, yet it fits this idea of “we’re telling the stories between the verses….is this a plausible scenario of what could have happened?”

We know from the latter part of John he did ultimately choose to become a Jesus follower. We don’t know when - but it’s fascinating to consider the possibilities.

As for the sloppily written article, IDK how the author made that leap, or why an editor didn’t catch that before it was published. Comically bad error. He was not ever a tax collector nor does the series hint at such a preposterous turn of events.

 

[Orange&Blue]

The wife had been wanting to watch this for a while. i was worried about the production quality so i shyed away, but I've been impressed.

 

[dgreen]

The wife had been wanting to watch this for a while. i was worried about the production quality so i shyed away, but I've been impressed.

I was the same way. I assumed it would be another cheesy Christian Hollywood production and be overly Americanized. I was pleasantly surprised from the very beginning.

 

[dgreen]

All episodes of Season 4 will be first available in theaters next year.

 

[Jayrod]

The Chosen, the Christian megahit about Jesus, explained

Thanks. The article seemed to meander a bit, but it was an interesting perspective to read.

This paragraph has me a bit shuked. Nicodemus as a tax collector? I've certainly heard the idea that Mary was a prostitute but I'm not sure where that comes from nor have I picked up on that theme in the show.

The show’s focal ensemble characters in the first several seasons are not entirely who you might expect. Rather, they include a number of figures who rarely get much, if any, significant attention in mainstream biblical adaptations. There’s religious leader-turned-tax collector Nicodemus (Erick Avari); Matthew (Paras Patel), another tax collector, whom The Chosen presents as being on the autism spectrum; hotheaded Simon, a.k.a. Peter (Shahar Isaac), and his brother, brooding fisherman Andrew (Noah James); and Mary Magdalene (Elizabeth Tabish), a sex worker dealing with alcoholism and addiction even after she meets Christ. The show’s fascination with Mary Magdalene follows innumerable depictions of her as a redeemed “fallen woman” who still continues to possess an erotic mystique, a kind of slutty muse; The Chosen, at least, humanizes her beyond merely traversing the virgin/whore divide and giving her an unrequited crush on Jesus.

What the heck? That's not even remotely accurate about Nicodemus. Also, the description of Mary is wayyyyyy off. Guy can't fathom a platonic relationship so he had to sexualize it?

 

[Zow]

Is it strange that people complain when a black girl is cast as a Disney mermaid but this is the crew playing Jesus and his disciples?

https://res.cloudinary.com/jerrick/image/upload/c_scale,f_jpg,q_auto/5fc041ede1f24b001d9666b4.jpg

A lot of their names seem to indicate they are much closer to being Middle Eastern than American/European.

On the other hand, the ages of the disciples is probably way off.

How So?

They likely would have been teenagers to early 20s. I say this because:

1. People died younger back then obviously so "adulthood" started sooner. I believe most schooling (which was basically learning the Torrah) ended at 15 and with no college type education, men got into their professions waaaaay earlier than now.
2. Similarly, most men were married by 18 because, again, early deaths required an acceleration of life events. However, of the disciples, I think only Peter was married. Ergo, assuming the disciplines weren't horribly unattractive or disasters in other senses, the fact they were single suggests they were in their teens.
3. IIRC there's a bible verse where Jesus refers to them as little children.
4. Lastly, and most importantly, several of the disciples are attributed to writing the Gospels. Mark allegedly wrote the earliest which, IIRC, was around 60 AD. John I think was near the end of the century. So, if you believe they truly did write the Gospels and go with the consensus times of their writings, just simple math suggests they were way young around 30 AD (when Jesus died) to have continued to live on to still be writing about things near the latter half of the century.


The above is based on my memory of studies of the Gospels with Benedictine monks - which was like 20 years ago so I apologize if my memory of things is off. My assertions are also based on the assumptions that we take as true the general consensus of facts by most mainstream theologians and none of my comments are intended to be a personal assertion of complete truth behind them (e.g., I'm no longer fully convinced Jesus ever existed and I strongly question whether the the Gospel writers, John especially, actually literally wrote the Gospels).

Tl;dr the disciples, if they existed, likely looked more like male members of the Mickey Mouse Club - if those male members were Middle Eastern (i.e. very much not white) than what is usually portrayed in movies.

 

[Zow]

The Chosen, the Christian megahit about Jesus, explained

Thanks. The article seemed to meander a bit, but it was an interesting perspective to read.

This paragraph has me a bit shuked. Nicodemus as a tax collector? I've certainly heard the idea that Mary was a prostitute but I'm not sure where that comes from nor have I picked up on that theme in the show.

The show’s focal ensemble characters in the first several seasons are not entirely who you might expect. Rather, they include a number of figures who rarely get much, if any, significant attention in mainstream biblical adaptations. There’s religious leader-turned-tax collector Nicodemus (Erick Avari); Matthew (Paras Patel), another tax collector, whom The Chosen presents as being on the autism spectrum; hotheaded Simon, a.k.a. Peter (Shahar Isaac), and his brother, brooding fisherman Andrew (Noah James); and Mary Magdalene (Elizabeth Tabish), a sex worker dealing with alcoholism and addiction even after she meets Christ. The show’s fascination with Mary Magdalene follows innumerable depictions of her as a redeemed “fallen woman” who still continues to possess an erotic mystique, a kind of slutty muse; The Chosen, at least, humanizes her beyond merely traversing the virgin/whore divide and giving her an unrequited crush on Jesus.

What the heck? That's not even remotely accurate about Nicodemus. Also, the description of Mary is wayyyyyy off. Guy can't fathom a platonic relationship so he had to sexualize it?

I think* the author is referring to how Mary Magdalene has been portrayed in other pop culture productions and he is giving this show credit for humanizing her a bit more.

*I've not seen the show, so my take is based solely on the context of the article.

 

[dgreen]

The Chosen, the Christian megahit about Jesus, explained

Thanks. The article seemed to meander a bit, but it was an interesting perspective to read.

This paragraph has me a bit shuked. Nicodemus as a tax collector? I've certainly heard the idea that Mary was a prostitute but I'm not sure where that comes from nor have I picked up on that theme in the show.

The show’s focal ensemble characters in the first several seasons are not entirely who you might expect. Rather, they include a number of figures who rarely get much, if any, significant attention in mainstream biblical adaptations. There’s religious leader-turned-tax collector Nicodemus (Erick Avari); Matthew (Paras Patel), another tax collector, whom The Chosen presents as being on the autism spectrum; hotheaded Simon, a.k.a. Peter (Shahar Isaac), and his brother, brooding fisherman Andrew (Noah James); and Mary Magdalene (Elizabeth Tabish), a sex worker dealing with alcoholism and addiction even after she meets Christ. The show’s fascination with Mary Magdalene follows innumerable depictions of her as a redeemed “fallen woman” who still continues to possess an erotic mystique, a kind of slutty muse; The Chosen, at least, humanizes her beyond merely traversing the virgin/whore divide and giving her an unrequited crush on Jesus.

What the heck? That's not even remotely accurate about Nicodemus. Also, the description of Mary is wayyyyyy off. Guy can't fathom a platonic relationship so he had to sexualize it?

I think* the author is referring to how Mary Magdalene has been portrayed in other pop culture productions and he is giving this show credit for humanizing her a bit more.

*I've not seen the show, so my take is based solely on the context of the article.

After re-reading, I think you might be right.

 

[Zow]

Is it strange that people complain when a black girl is cast as a Disney mermaid but this is the crew playing Jesus and his disciples?

https://res.cloudinary.com/jerrick/image/upload/c_scale,f_jpg,q_auto/5fc041ede1f24b001d9666b4.jpg

A lot of their names seem to indicate they are much closer to being Middle Eastern than American/European.

On the other hand, the ages of the disciples is probably way off.

How So?

They likely would have been teenagers to early 20s. I say this because:

1. People died younger back then obviously so "adulthood" started sooner. I believe most schooling (which was basically learning the Torrah) ended at 15 and with no college type education, men got into their professions waaaaay earlier than now.
2. Similarly, most men were married by 18 because, again, early deaths required an acceleration of life events. However, of the disciples, I think only Peter was married. Ergo, assuming the disciplines weren't horribly unattractive or disasters in other senses, the fact they were single suggests they were in their teens.
3. IIRC there's a bible verse where Jesus refers to them as little children.
4. Lastly, and most importantly, several of the disciples are attributed to writing the Gospels. Mark allegedly wrote the earliest which, IIRC, was around 60 AD. John I think was near the end of the century. So, if you believe they truly did write the Gospels and go with the consensus times of their writings, just simple math suggests they were way young around 30 AD (when Jesus died) to have continued to live on to still be writing about things near the latter half of the century.


The above is based on my memory of studies of the Gospels with Benedictine monks - which was like 20 years ago so I apologize if my memory of things is off. My assertions are also based on the assumptions that we take as true the general consensus of facts by most mainstream theologians and none of my comments are intended to be a personal assertion of complete truth behind them (e.g., I'm no longer fully convinced Jesus ever existed and I strongly question whether the the Gospel writers, John especially, actually literally wrote the Gospels).

Tl;dr the disciples, if they existed, likely looked more like male members of the Mickey Mouse Club - if those male members were Middle Eastern (i.e. very much not white) than what is usually portrayed in movies.

Oh, I'd also add the point that most if not all of the disciples were working/apprenticing at basic trade jobs (e.g. fisherman) which implies:

1. They were probably older than 15 but, again, since most weren't wed and were in apprenticeships they were likely <18 (since none would have had some celibacy or non-marriage requirement).
2. They were not scholarly standouts so any portrayal of them seeming to have some profound theological wisdom is likely inaccurate.
3. It likely surprised other religious leaders that Jesus chose them because of their ages and professions.

To analogize this group to another movie, the disciples were basically the Little Giants.

 

[dgreen]

IIRC, The Chosen made a joke about Jesus and Mary. I think there was a line about Mary spending so much time with Jesus and people might start to get ideas about them. Did that happen?

 

[Jayrod]

The Chosen, the Christian megahit about Jesus, explained

Thanks. The article seemed to meander a bit, but it was an interesting perspective to read.

This paragraph has me a bit shuked. Nicodemus as a tax collector? I've certainly heard the idea that Mary was a prostitute but I'm not sure where that comes from nor have I picked up on that theme in the show.

The show’s focal ensemble characters in the first several seasons are not entirely who you might expect. Rather, they include a number of figures who rarely get much, if any, significant attention in mainstream biblical adaptations. There’s religious leader-turned-tax collector Nicodemus (Erick Avari); Matthew (Paras Patel), another tax collector, whom The Chosen presents as being on the autism spectrum; hotheaded Simon, a.k.a. Peter (Shahar Isaac), and his brother, brooding fisherman Andrew (Noah James); and Mary Magdalene (Elizabeth Tabish), a sex worker dealing with alcoholism and addiction even after she meets Christ. The show’s fascination with Mary Magdalene follows innumerable depictions of her as a redeemed “fallen woman” who still continues to possess an erotic mystique, a kind of slutty muse; The Chosen, at least, humanizes her beyond merely traversing the virgin/whore divide and giving her an unrequited crush on Jesus.

What the heck? That's not even remotely accurate about Nicodemus. Also, the description of Mary is wayyyyyy off. Guy can't fathom a platonic relationship so he had to sexualize it?

I think* the author is referring to how Mary Magdalene has been portrayed in other pop culture productions and he is giving this show credit for humanizing her a bit more.

*I've not seen the show, so my take is based solely on the context of the article.

You are right. I missed the "beyond merely traversing". He is contrasting the Chosen with past portrayals, but the first 3/4 of the sentence doesn't make that clear and I am a lazy reader.