Abstract
The Jesus film is having an impact in communication around the world with its many translations and daily showings. Dr. Bill Bright, founder and president of Campus Crusade for Christ, estimates that between thirty thousand to fifty thousand people are being converted to Christianity each day by the film (Eshleman, 1985, 8). My purpose is not to explain the conversion process. Rather, I will explore the communication implications and draw some conclusions that may reveal why the communicative aspects of the film are so effective. By employing the theory of symbolic convergence, I will attempt to identify and analyze some rhetorical dimensions of the film (Bormann, 1972). Symbolic convergence is the process by which participants share group fantasies which create shared meaning and a meeting of the minds. Thus, the theory provides a meaningful approach to explaining how this shared meaning is communicated by the film. I will apply both a rhetorical and empirical approach in the research to examine similarities and differences that both approaches provide in gaining understanding of the communication and impact. Further, my research will draw from multiple sources for clarity and depth. These sources include the original film script, books about the film, press releases, newsletters, and small group viewer discussions about the film. Using a variety of sources will employ the communication principles from the field of speech communication and help to explain the common culture that has developed around the film's message. By analyzing the messages from the books, press releases, newsletters and discussion groups, I will explore the communicative impact that the film has on its viewers through the rhetorical quantitative approaches will be synthesized through rhetorical analysis. The messages contained in the subject matter will reveal what viewer impact the film has had and the rhetorical analysis will provide an understanding as to why the film has had such a powerful impact.
Prochaska, Matthew Louis (1997). The Jesus film: impact of mediated communication by Campus Crusade for Christ. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -1997 -THESIS -P76.