Hollywood Biblical Epics: Camp Spectacle and Queer Style from the Silent Era to the Modern Day

This is the only book of its kind to explore biblical epics from an LGBT perspective, studying films from the silent era, to the postwar major studio era, to the present day.

In spite of restrictive Hollywood censorship regulations, filmmakers throughout history have pushed the boundaries of sex and violence when making religious films. In this unrivaled text, author and educator Richard Lindsay analyzes the relationship between bible-based epics and camp -films with overwrought acting, casts of thousands, and exotic sexuality. Lindsay presents the ways in which camp style identifies films as biblical in the mainstream imagination, while undermining their traditional religious messages through the inclusion of sexually diverse subtexts.

Viewed through this lens, this provocative book explores topics like the Jazz Age excesses of The King of Kings, the pre-code decadence of The Sign of the Cross, the horror movie tropes of The Passion of the Christ, and comparisons between Ben-Hur and the gay male fantasies of 1960s beefcake magazines. Additional content features the history of biblical epics and a comparison of the pious expectations of filmgoers against the real content of the films.

Considers pre-code films, production code films, and films under the modern MPAA ratings system

Analyzes biblical epics for gay characters and situations

Explores the relationship between biblical content and camp

Addresses the treatment of LGBT subjects in relation to Hollywood censorship regimes