Early episodes of the fourth season of “The Chosen” hit movie theaters in early 2024, and it has the potential to unite the people of Earth in a way that no authoritarian dictator, leader or crisis ever could.
“The Chosen” follows the story of Jesus Christ during his time here on Earth, and is poised to become the most-translated television show in history. In fact, there’s a chance “The Chosen” will reach literally billions of humans, giving us a shared experience capable of transcending denominations, cultural differences and everything in between.
But, how do you translate a television show like “The Chosen,” without losing the cultural nuance embedded in its development? That’s where the Come and See Foundation, led by Stan Jantz comes in.
Jantz’ company plans to translate “The Chosen” into more than 600 languages, but it’s not as simple as dubbing or throwing subtitles beneath the words we learned from Scripture. For someone encountering the faith for the first time, a mistranslation could lead to serious confusion. (RELATED: ‘The Chosen’ Drops New Trailer, And It’ll Make Your Heart Beat Out Of Your Chest)
“Jesus is a person, the right hand of our Father, and this show brings us close to him. Encouraging people to read the Bible,” Jantz told the Daily Caller in an exclusive interview. He and his team have translated around 32 episodes thus far, and “once the process is done, the team hires subject matter experts to review it, and to be sure that the wording doesn’t throw anyone off because of the wrong idiom for the particular culture.”
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What is your favorite Biblical story depicted in @thechosentv thus far? https://t.co/z1Dw9PQxxg
— KAY SMYTHE (@KaySmythe) July 17, 2023
This is called a “localization” process. “It’s not just about translating the words, but the meaning,” Jantz notes. “Matching tone, tenor, and the artistic process of the actors and [writer-creator-director Dallas Jenkins] is extremely important. To get it (translation) right is so important because you want to honor people in those (countries) that speak those languages and not have any distraction that it is done poorly, wrongly, or incorrectly.”
And Jantz’ efforts absolutely paid off.
Jantz attended a screening of “The Chosen” in Poland, and it sounded … magical. “The Polish audience laughed, cried, at all the same times as the American and British screenings,” Jantz noted.
I think what sets Jantz, Jenkins and “The Chosen” apart from all other attempts at creating a global phenomenon is the quality of the localization process. All too often, men of ego and assumed power will walk into a town, village or city quite unlike those they call home, and assume that their way of doing and saying things is better than the locals’.
EXCLUSIVE: ‘The Chosen’ Creator Dallas Jenkins Chats With The Daily Caller About All Things Season Four | @DailyCaller https://t.co/9WYUiiXA86
— KAY SMYTHE (@KaySmythe) October 26, 2023
Think about how difficult it is to trust an organization like the World Economic Forum (WEF). Sure, part of the problem is the intended actions of these groups. But the way they communicate — in a blunt, unapproachable, mightier-than-thou manner — is one of their biggest issues. (RELATED: One TV Show Could Finally Bring The World Together. Here’s Why.)
It’s ironic. Our elites congratulate themselves on being enlightened and multicultural while arrogantly pushing a one-size-fits-all agenda that most of the world rejects. Whereas what Jantz is doing is straight out of the old Christian playbook. Those supposedly “narrow-minded” missionaries generally worked hard to understand the cultures they brought the Gospel to and to present it in terms that made sense to them
And thanks to efforts like Jantz’s, something big is happening in Christianity, and its been happening for a while now. We all feel it: the Awakening taking place in our homes, on our sports fields and even if the media. People are turning away from the Godless institutions that’ve destroyed our planet and nearly broken all our human ties in less than 100 years. And we’re turning to the light, unconditional love and safety of our faith.
Now, once the Come and See Foundation finishes its work, billions of people around the world will be connected in a way that has only happened once before, ever. And it’s beautiful.
CHECK OUT THE OFFICIAL SEASON 4 TRAILER: