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.
","abstract_html":"<p>The <em>Ben-Hur</em> films were some of the most popular, controversial, and financially successful films of the 20<sup>th</sup> 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 <em>Ben-Hur</em> 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 <em>Ben-Hur</em> films demonstrate that the basis of these dimensions have not changed, but simply evolved over time.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Chian, Michael"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Film Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Emily Carman","Dr. Nam Lee","Dr. Federico Pacchioni"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2021-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:16Z","subjects":["Ben-Hur","Blockbuster","Marketing","Fandom","Film-Discourse","Film and Media Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/film_studies_theses/20","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Emily Carman","Dr. Nam Lee","Dr. Federico Pacchioni"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Chian, Michael"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Film Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Ben-Hur","Blockbuster","Marketing","Fandom","Film-Discourse","Film and Media Studies"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/film_studies_theses/20"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["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.
"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["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"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Ben-Hur Franchise and the Rise of Blockbuster Hollywood"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Emily Carman","Dr. Nam Lee","Dr. Federico Pacchioni"],"dc:creator":["Chian, Michael"],"dc:description.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.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/film_studies_theses/20"],"dc:source":["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"],"dc:subject":["Ben-Hur","Blockbuster","Marketing","Fandom","Film-Discourse","Film and Media Studies"],"dc:title":["The Ben-Hur Franchise and the Rise of Blockbuster Hollywood"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Film Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:16Z"}