Date of Award
Spring 5-2021
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Film Studies
First Advisor
Dr. Emily Carman
Second Advisor
Dr. Nam Lee
Third Advisor
Dr. Federico Pacchioni
Abstract
The Ben-Hur films were some of the most popular, controversial, and financially successful films of the 20th century. As a result, Hollywood mindset and practices were heavily influenced by the marketing strategies and discourse surrounding these films, as many studios and filmmakers wanted to achieve the same, if not a higher, level of success. Thus, the current state of the blockbuster oriented American film industry owes a great debt to the Ben-Hur films for helping to popularize blockbuster filmmaking. While the blockbuster marketing, fandom, and discussions of today are more profuse and sophisticated than that of the past, the Ben-Hur films demonstrate that the basis of these dimensions have not changed, but simply evolved over time.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Chian, Michael. "The Ben-Hur Franchise and the Rise of Blockbuster Hollywood." Master's thesis, Chapman University, 2021. https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000269