Here’s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media & culture: 05/31/2024

Choosing a new path. Here’s Dallas Jenkins, creator of the hit New Testament-based streaming series The Chosen, explaining the decision by him and his production team to end their business partneship with Angel Studios.

Angel Studios CEO Neal Harmon put out the following statement:

The Chosen Season 4 starts streaming this Sunday at 7:00 PM ET with Episode 2 dropping Thursday at 8:30 PM ET. Subsequent episodes will be released at those times for the next month and will be available exclusively via The Chosen app before coming to other viewing platforms later this year. The worldwide hit tells the story of Jesus Christ in the form of an episodic TV drama.
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Are we now in The Swamp Strikes Back phase of The Trump Wars Trilogy? That’s what the Corporate Government Nexus (CGN) fears.

Yesterday CGN forces certainly scored a victory when Donald Trump was convicted on all 34 NDAgate-related felony counts in a New York City courtroom. However, all appeared hopeless for Han Solo and the Jedi warriors as The Empire Strikes Back drew to a close but The Return of the Jedi, part three of the original Star Wars trilogy, showed the power of faith and perseverance to overcome even the most daunting of adversaries. Continuing the comparison, things may look dark for the former president now but The Return of Trump may be coming in November.

Which brings me to Jimmy Kimmel‘s post-verdict monologue.

While heavy-handed with contempt for Trump and his supporters, his remarks were remarkably light on actual wit. Ask yourself if this was a Star Wars movie would Kimmel represent the dystopian Empire or the Jedi freedom fighters?

You don’t have to love Trump or even like him, to be concerned when the power of the government, the legal system and the media are in such alignment to bring down one man (who happens to be leading in the presidential polls) while displaying such open scorn for half the country and a rather blatant disregard for constitutional norms. To paraphrase the Nazi-era Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) “First they came for the orange man, and I did not speak out—because I was not orange.”

Kimmel’s dripping disdain aimed not at those in power but at dissenting voters – clearly displayed in both his monologue and the man-on-the-street alleged comedy bit that follows – has me thinking that, with just a little dialogue tweaking, this fanciful scene from the 1987 sci-fi film The Running Man (set in a dystopian America of 2017 to 2019) could be rebooted with Kimmel in the Richard Dawson role and you-know-who in the Arnold Schwarzenegger part.

John W. Kennedy is a writer, producer and media development consultant specializing in television and movie projects that uphold positive timeless values, including trust in God.