The Evangelical Reception of Mary Magdalene in The Chosen Series, Seasons 1 and 2

Bibliographic Data

ID4953749
AuthorsLidia Rodríguez Fernández (0000-0003-0844-0222, Universidad de Deusto, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume15
Issue9
Pages1083
Publication date2024-09-06
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel15091083
OpenAlexW4402319390
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited14

The Chosen is a wide-reaching series born within American Evangelicalism in 2019, whose academic interest resides in its value as a cultural product that has been gaining influence after the release of its four seasons. This article discusses the reception of Mary Magdalene in two chapters (S1/E1 and S2/E5) on the basis of two key principles that characterise North American conservative Evangelicalism: biblical inerrancy and its "born-again" model of conversion. The last part presents the difficult compromise between these religious values and filmic fictionalism, which leads to maintaining the traditional image of the repentant prostitute, though with a few particularities: the disappearance of all features of sensuality, an ambiguous interpretation of demon possession that is linked to an episode of sexual abuse and the story of Mary Magdalene's childhood

Art · Cultural History and Identity Formation · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · History · Literature: history, themes, analysis · Geology