- the movie is a medium to low budget film produced by Hollywood (25$M)
- The appeal of this film to Fox studios is that it provides insight and commentates on the social situation of today. Also the film is a medium budget production which means it has a higher profit potential than a large budget film.
- The appeal of this film to audiences is education about history and because it comments on social issues like racism that people in today’s society can also relate to.
- The film was successful on a profit level, with it earning $236 million against a budget of $25 million, making the total revenue figure around $211 million.
Monthly Archives: November 2019
Filters
The Killing VS The missing
hidden figures
Hidden Figures is a 2016 American biographical drama film directed by Theodore Melfi and written by Melfi and Allison Schroeder. It is loosely based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Margot Lee Shetterly about black female mathematicians who worked at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration during the Space Race.
Hidden Figures had a limited release on December 25, 2016, by 20th Century Fox, before going wide in the United States on January 6, 2017. The film received positive reviews from critics and grossed $236 million worldwide. It was chosen by National Board of Review as one of the top ten films of 2016 and was nominated for numerous awards, including three Oscar nominations (Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress for Spencer), and two Golden Globes (Best Supporting Actress for Spencer and Best Original Score). It also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
summery bullet points about hidden figure
- Initial Release: January 6, 2017 (Canada)
- Director: Theodore Melfi
- Awards: Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (MORE)
- Nominations: Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (MORE)
- Running Time: 2 hours 7 mins
- Budget Size: 25 million USD
- Box Office: 236 million USD
- RATING:
- IMDb- 7.8/10
- Meta-critic: 74%
- Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
- Google User: 94%
1.) What do you think was the appeal of this film to Fox studios?
I understand that the appeal for this movie was to use the theory known as Uses and Gratifications to educate and shine a light to viewers about the past discrimination at such big event in history, the space race.
2.) What was the appeal of this film to audiences?
I think the appeal was to make viewers more aware of events that would have transpired when the space race was happening and that was overlooked. This can link to the uses and gratification theory by Katz, Gurevitch and Haas by tending to the social needs and educating about the worlds history, or it can tend to the needs in the category of personal needs by helping viewers understand them selves more and there place in society, and how different life was back then.
3.) Do you think this film was a success?
the films budget started at $25 million and almost tripled in profit after being released so on the more corporate side of things I would say the movie was successful. however I would say that the movie in itself could have been more truthfully deciding on how accurate the film was going to be instead of adding in inaccurate scenes for the should purpose of drama.
CSP 5 – KEY WORDS
Media Concentrations / conglomerates: when various small productions are owned by larger corporations.
Globalisation (in terms of media ownership): distant countries are interrelated and connected together by trade communications and cultural experiences
Vertical Integration: company expands into other areas of the industry
Horizontal Integration: production company expands into other areas of one industry
Gate Keepers: craft and construct what’s published
Regulation / deregulation:reduction or elimination of power by goverment
Free Market: somewhere government has no control in
Monopolies: a place of no competition
Mergers: combination of firms
Neo-liberalism: everything against liberation = no equality
Surveillance / privacy / security / GDPR: general data protection regulation
Assessment Plan
Explain the appeal of low to medium budget films to Hollywood conglomerates. Use Hidden Figures to support your answer. [15 marks]
| 5 | 13-15 | · Excellent understanding of the theoretical framework, demonstrated by consistently effective explanation of the appeal of low to medium budget films to Hollywood conglomerates. · Excellent knowledge and understanding of contexts of the media and their influence on media products that is consistently supported by highly appropriate and effective reference to Hidden Figures. · Consistently appropriate and effective use of subject specific terminology throughout. |
| 4 | 10-12 | · Good understanding of the theoretical framework, demonstrated by frequent effective explanation of the appeal of low to medium budget films to Hollywood conglomerates. · Good knowledge and understanding of contexts of the media and their influence on media products that is usually supported by mostly appropriate and effective reference to Hidden Figures. · Mostly appropriate and effective use of subject specific terminology. |
Conglomerates: a company that owns lots of companies.
Media concentration / Conglomerates: a pattern of ownership whereby fewer and fewer hands own more and more of the assets of that industry. Patterns of ownership across a multitude of media industries.
Globalisation (in terms of media ownership): the worldwide integration of media through the cross-cultural exchange or ideas.
Horizontal integration: a company takes over another that operates at the same level of the value chain in an industry.
Vertical integration: the combination in one firm of two or more stages of production normally operated by separate firms.
Gatekeepers: a person who controls access to something or someone. They craft and conduct what is being published to the masses.
Regulation: laws, rules or procedures.
Deregulation: the process of removing or loosening government restrictions on the ownership of media outlets.
Key words
Media concentration / Conglomerates– A media conglomerate, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, theme parks, or the Internet.
Globalisation (in terms of media ownership)– is the worldwide integration of media through the cross-cultural exchange of ideas
Vertical Integration- The combination in one firm of two or more stages of production normally operated by separate firms.
Horizontal Integration- is the process of a company increasing production of goods or services at the same part of the supply chain
Gatekeepers- Gatekeeping is the process through which information is filtered for dissemination, whether for publication, broadcasting, the Internet, or some other mode of communication.
Regulation- Rules in media. The principal targets of media regulation are the press, radio and television, but may also include film
Deregulation- Media deregulation refers to the process of removing or loosening government restrictions on the ownership of media outlets.
Free market- The free market is an economic system based on supply and demand with little or no government control.
Monopolies- A monopoly refers to when a company and its product offerings dominate a sector or industry.
Mergers- a combination of two things, especially companies, into one.
essay feedback
disney – owns fox 2000, 21st century fox
follow PEE
reviews for evidence – eg 93% on rotten tomatoes
evidence for outrage marketing, like a quote
Essay Planning:
Hidden Figures:
Release date: January 6, 2017 (Canada)
Director: Theodore Melfi
Hidden Figures grossed $169.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $66.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $236 million, against a production budget of $25 million.
On review website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 93% based on 262 reviews, with an average score of 7.6/10.
A conglomerate is a combination of multiple business entities operating in entirely different industries under one corporate group, usually involving a parent company and many subsidiaries
The Hollywood conglomerates include “the big six”:
- Warner Bros. Pictures. Warner Bros. …
- 20th Century Fox.
- Paramount Pictures. Paramount Pictures is the longest operating major studio in Hollywood. …
- Universal Pictures.
- Sony Pictures Entertainment (earlier known as Columbia-Tristar Pictures)
- Walt Disney Studios.
CSP 6: LETTER TO THE FREE – COMMON
Selection Criteria
Common is an Oscar and Grammy award winning hip/hop rap artist who wrote Letter to the Free as a soundtrack to The 13th – a documentary by Ava DuVernay named after the American 13th amendment (the abolition of slavery). His output is highly politicised, existing in the context of a variety of social and cultural movements aimed at raising awareness of racism and its effects in US society (e.g.: Black Lives Matter). The product can also be considered in an economic context through the consideration of if and how music videos make money (through, for example, advertising on YouTube).
Music Video – Letter to the Free is a product which possesses cultural and social significance. It will invite comparison with other music videos allowing for an analysis of the contexts in which they are produced and consumed.
If this CSP appears in the exam it will be in Section B: Industries and Audiences
What needs to be studied? Key Questions and Issues
This product relates to the theoretical framework by providing a focus for the study of:
Media Industries
The media of music video provides a useful case study to consider:
- how musicians and the wider industry have responded to rapid technological change – streaming, piracy, video hosting sites – finding ways to make money from previously free services.
- the significance of patterns of ownership and control, including conglomerate ownership, vertical integration and diversification
- the way new media products are distributed on youtube and across the internet by Vevo, a video hosting service.
- How artists are marketed and developed: Common is a Def Jam recording artist. Def Jam is a label associated with urban and hip hop music, starting as an independent in the 1980s it is now owned by the conglomerate UMG (which also owns Vevo)
- As the soundtrack to the Netflix documentary The 13th the video is an example of cross media promotion and marketing.
TASK 1: Create a new post that looks at:
- the artists involved (background, history, other work)
- the actual music video (style, genre, narrative, characters, theme, message, ideology etc)
- the institutions involved in this production (think again about majors vs indies, the role of conglomerates, vertical and horizontal integration, cross-media ownership, synergy, marketing & distribution, methods and modes of production and of course revenue).
- the audience who are targeted (the role of politics, identity and culture in terms of producing product for ‘the culture industries’). Remember to think about audience theory – particularly, the theory of preferred reading.
Points you could include:
- processes of production, distribution and circulation by organisations, groups and individuals in a global context
- the relationship of recent technological change and media production, distribution and circulation
- the impact of ‘new’ digital technologies on media regulation, including the role of individual producers.
- the significance of patterns of ownership and control, including conglomerate ownership, vertical integration and diversification
- the significance of economic factors, including commercial and not-for-profit public funding, to media industries and their products
- how media organisations maintain, varieties of audiences nationally and globally
- the interrelationship between media technologies and patterns of consumption and response
Key terms
- Gatekeepers
- Regulation / Deregulation
- Free market vs Monopolies & Mergers
- Media concentration / Conglomerates / Globalisation (in terms of media ownership)
- Vertical Integration & Horizontal Integration
- Surveillance / Privacy / Security
TASK 2: How many of these key words can you relate to the other CSP’s in Section B (ie TV & Film)? Do you need to look at your notes or adjust them in light of what you now know?
Media Audiences
The study of audiences for this video will use the analysis of media language and representation to consider how the video addresses an audience. As both rap and political protest song, the video can be studied as addressing a range of audiences beyond the youth market.
- How media producers target, attract, reach, address and potentially construct audiences
- How media industries target audiences through the content and appeal of media products and through the ways in which they are marketed, distributed and circulated: widely distributed on video hosting sites aimed at a youth audience but also consumed by the audience for political documentary.
- How audiences interpret the media, including how they may interpret the same media in different ways (Hall Theory of Preferred Reading)
- Cultivation Theory
- Uses and Gratifications Theory
TASK 3: Complete another exam question – go to planner and Media Sams Paper 1, Question 7: Explain how the social, political and cultural contexts of media influence how audiences may interpret the same media in different ways. Use Common’s Letter to the Free to support your answer. Use the feedback document below to help your answer the question.
A possible structure to your essay could be:
- show your knowledge of the institutional details of the text ie specifics facts, figures, names, dates etc about the text. At this point show your knowledge of the music industry and use key terms (see above)
- Next, show how audiences may (theoretically) interpret media texts ie audience theory.
- Follow this up with specific ideas that suggest how certain audiences may interpret this particular text (ie apply the theory to this CSP)
- Finally, make some summative conclusions based on your knowledge and understanding that show the importance of culture in terms of engaging with issues of power and control. For this you could reference Gramsci & his concept of ‘hegemony’ and/or Habermas and his concept of ‘the public sphere’
Hegemony
Habermas ‘the public sphere’
