Fox is a major conglomerate of the filming industry because it owns 17 stations branded under the “Fox” trademark and has bought out 175 small independent film companies that do not trade under the “Fox” trademark. Fox can also be seen as the dominating conglomerate of the film industry due to it recently purchasing one of the most successful and famous film companies, Disney, which is also a large conglomerate in the film industry due to owning Marvel, Pixar and the American Broadcasting Company.

“Hidden Figures” was a small budget film that cost $25 million to create and $6.88 million was spent on advertising, meaning a total of $31.88 million was spent on producing the film. However, Fox managed to create a total revenue of $236 million from producing the film, almost 9 times more the amount that they spent to create the film. The success of the film created with such a short budget can be down to reviews, while it was a small budget film, audiences were increased by the many good reviews from critics and the multiple awards it has won, both specifically for the film and for the individual cast members involved in the film. By creating multiple low budget films, Fox will have more funds that they can use to produce more films that will attract audiences and create revenue. For example, if Fox produce 1 large budget film and spend $150 million creating it, they may create a total revenue of $1 billion. However if they spend $25 million and create 6 films across different genres, they may create $250 million+ per film, in total that would equal 1.5 billion+. The more films they have out on the market, the more reviews they will get for their films and the more awards they are likely to earn from them. The more credit that Fox gets, the more people are aware of them, thus meaning they will attract more audiences. “Hidden Figures” has attracted a wider audience, especially the black community by including that minority and they also created a hybridization of the history, biography and drama genre in order to attract the audiences who enjoy them genres of films.

The success of “Hidden Figures” can also be down to the cultivation theory. As Fox owns Disney, the main dominator of the film industry, and Disney is known for its successful films, people will see that Fox owns Disney and have created a film, therefore, due to the successes of the Disney branded films, Hidden Figures must follow their production methods and be a successful film. Fox may also decide to follow a low budget film strategy due to the high profit potential that has been produced by the smaller film companies that have created a high revenue producing a low budget film.

Explain the appeal of low to medium budget films to Hollywood conglomerates.

• Define what a conglomerate is and how Fox is one
• If a film has very good rating, then a large conglomerate would want to get involved in order to have bragging rights that they produced the film.
• Low budget films mean the company doesn’t need to work as hard to create a profit.
• Explain the revenue from the film
• $6.88 Million was spent on marketing the advertise the film, however it has been shown to be a profit potential due to the good reviews left by critics and the multiple awards it has won, for the film itself and the individual actors/actresses.
• By creating a successful film with another small film company , Fox 2000 can create the film using the least amount of money possible in order to give them profit and they can attract a wider audience – the audience that enjoys watching Fox 2000 films and the audience that enjoys watching films that are produced by Levantine Films or Chernine Entertainment
• Fox 2000 is a monopoly of the film industry, so Fox 2000 is a conglomerate that gets involved as low budget films are becoming more commonly known for their huge profit potential.
• The Fox 2000 company is owned by Walt Disney, a large conglomerate that dominates most of the industry sectors. Disney is known for its very popular films, therefore people would know it would be a successful film due to it being produced by a company that is owned by Disney. (could mention cultivation theory as Disney films are sold everywhere)
• By creating many films under the Fox 2000 trademark, the cultivation theory can be applied as people will know it is a good film due to being produced by Fox, the dominant film company within the film industry.
• The cultivation theory can also be applied because Fox 2000 is such a large film company, most of the successful films have been produced and released under the Fox 2000 branding.
• It was a small budget film that costed $25 million dollars to produce.
• It is a hybridization of the history, biography and drama genre of film, which attracts the audiences that enjoy these specific genres.

Why is Fox 2000 a conglomerate?

• It is owned by 20th Century Fox
• It has been bought out by Disney
• It has 17 Fox-branded companies and owns over 175 other companies that have been bought out by them but don’t trade under the Fox trademark.

• Media concentration / Conglomerates = this is a company which owns numerous companies involved in the distribution of mass media enterprises. An example of a conglomerate is the BBC.

• Globalisation (in terms of media ownership) = this is the world wide integration of media through the cross-cultural exchange of ideas.

• Vertical Integration & Horizontal Integration =Horizontal integration is the process that a company or an institution uses to increase the production of goods. However, vertical integration is when a company integrates multiple stages of a production line to a small number of production units. Horizontal integration contrasts with vertical integration

• Gatekeepers = A gatekeeper is a role given to a person who filter certain information for distributing out on public service broadcasts.

• Regulation / Deregulation = A regulation is a law, procedure or a rule that is put in place by an authority and deregulation is the opposite – it is when you remove rules, procedures and laws from a certain industry.

• Free market vs Monopolies & Mergers = The free market is an economic system which is based on supply and demand that has very little or no government control whereas a monopoly is when a company dominates a certain sector of an industry

• Neo-liberalism = this is a form of liberalism that tends to favour free market capitalism.

• Surveillance / Privacy / Security / GDPR = General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is an EU law that states that there needs to be protection against data for all individuals and citizens withing the EU and European Economic Area.

Money

• Hidden Figures cost $25million US Dollars to produce
• Hidden Figures made $169.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $66.3 million in other paces, producing an overall total of $236 million.
• It was a small budget film

Was it a success?

• Hidden Figures was very successful and won many awards such as:
  • Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (2017)
  • NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (2017)
  • Satellite Award for Best Cast – Motion Picture (2017)
  • Best Hero (2017)
  • NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture (2017)
  • Imported Film (2017)
  • BET Award for Best Movie (2017)
  • Best Period Film (2017)
  • MTV Movie and TV Award for Best Fight Against the System (2017)
  • ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards – Period Film (2017)
  • Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Foreign Film (2018)

• Many of the actors were also nominated for individual awards and won.
• Overall, it has won 29 awards and have been nominated for 72 awards.

Overview

• Hidden Figures is a co-production between independent production companies and a major Hollywood conglomerate through its film subdivision Fox 2000
• Case study of industry context would include Fox as a conglomerate with an exploration of the role of low budget film making in its wider strategy.
• With a budget of $25m Hidden Figures is a low to medium budget Hollywood film, an industry category which has recently been recognized for its profit potential.
• Distribution techniques – focus on traditional distribution and exhibition linked to targeted audience.
• The concept of “risk-taking” in terms of subject matter which might not be tackled by big budget productions.
• Regulation of conglomerates, debates about ownership and control

What is Hidden Figures?

• It is a 2016 American based biographical drama film.
• It is a hybridization of the history, drama and biography genre.
• It was directed by Theodore Melfi and was written by Melfi and Allison Schroeder and was later acquired film rights by Fox 2000 Pictures..
• It is loosely based on the non-fiction book “Hidden Figures” by Margot Lee Shetterley about dark skinned female mathematicians who worked at NASA during the Space Race
• The film stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Glen Powell and Mahershala Ali.

Do people enjoy the film?

• It was rated 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.
• The New York Times says that “There is something to be said for a well-told tale with a clear moral and a satisfying emotional payoff“
• Simran Hans from The Guardian says that “This drama about a trio of African-American women doing maths wonders for NASA has few subtleties, but is done with such verve it’s hard to dislike“

PSB stands for Public Service Broadcasting

It consists of radio and television programmes that are broadcasted with the main aim to provide entertainment, news or advice to the general public without trying to make a profit.

With reference to The Killing

• It is a co-production of Danish and German PSB companies (DK and ZDF)

• Exploiting the success of US long form drama with a local twist (20 episodes for a single crime drama)

• Exploring the economic possibilities offered by an international/ global market (e.g. success of Wallander): sold to over 120 countries

• Marketing prestige ‘serious’/literary drama for the boxset context (focus on aesthetic qualities: photography, narrative structure, character focus):  chasing international awards rather than a local audience

• Cultivation of the ‘celebrity’ detective: Sarah Lund and the actress Sophie Grabol who has extended these themes and their appeal by subsequent work

• Sanctioning of an American version

Issues to cover in my essay

 • media institutions as producers and distributors of cultural products (high status)

What media institutions do is that they collaborate with other companies to bring down their cost as well as attract a wider audience. For example, The Killing was created by both a Dutch and a German TV studio. The main one was the Dutch company , but they contributed with the German PSB in order to lower their costs of creating the programme as they would respectively pay 50/50 as well as attract audiences from both Germany as well as the Netherlands due to a German production company also being involved.

• the relationship between national and global audiences

The Killing was such a worldwide success that there has been many programmes based off this original programme which has been distributed in many different languages. For example, The Killing was so successful, American PSB Fox Television Studios in collaboration with Netflix recreated The Killing in English, which attracted a wider audience as English is the most widely spoken language worldwide. Due to Fox making an English version, a wider audience is attracted as it shows its popularity and due to it being based of the original one in Dutch, audiences are more likely to watch the original Dutch one as it follows the sameness and similarities of the English one.

• Ideas about the function of institutions in both ‘free market’ and PSB contexts:

The free market is an economic system based on supply and demand of something that has very little or no government control.

• issues of identity at both an institutional and programme level

The Killing follows sameness of other mystery genre programmers in order to provide a large target audience of those who enjoy the mystery genre. The institutions behind The Killing have used a production company in Germany to keep their costs down as well as attract the audiences from Germany. The Killing provides a clear narrative image for the people who may not speak the same language as the language the programmer is produced in, however can gain an understanding through the likeness of other programmes and the conventions and features of the genre the programmes is set in. For example, The Killing is set in the mystery genre, so follows the conventions of the mystery genre by including clues, a culprit, a detective and a victim, with the repertoire of the mystery elements to keep the sameness of the mystery genre programme.

• marketing within a globalised and transmedia context

Transmedia meaning = the telling a single story or story experience across multiple platforms, such as television and formats using current digital technologies.

The Killing is available online meaning anyone can access it as it is not just available in the country where it originated from. The fact that it is available online to anyone means that anyone could stumble upon it and then watch the programme out of pure curiosity and enjoy it due to its generic regime of verisimilitude and the sameness it has as it has the same elements that are expected in a mystery genre programme.

• the importance to audiences of certain kinds of narrative structure, genre, talent

The Killing follows a generic regime of verisimilitude in order to allow the audience to connect with it. As it is aimed at social classes C1, C2 and DE which make up 80% of the population, it uses characters in that social class to create the verisimilitude and life-likeness of the programme, as well as serves as a source of escapism from reality and enjoyment for the audience. It also follows the general codes and conventions used and appears familiar to other mystery genres as it automatically indicates what genre it is, even just through the narrative image.

• the importance of technology in adding value to cultural products

By using technology, The Killing is very realistic as it mimics modern day life and the technologies available, therefore it gives a sense of inclusion to the audience as they are able to relate to the programme in the sense of how society acts.

The Killing (Forbrydelsen):

Transnational audience = these are people from all across the globe, who may not speak the same language, but consume and look at the same media content.

Transnational institution = these are international organizations that are usually not run by the government and they are known worldwide and their impact spreads worldwide

In what ways is ‘genre’ beneficial for transnational audiences?

• Forbrydelsen is a foreign film that is produced in Dutch and it attracts a transnational audience by following the rules and conventions that follow with a certain genre of programme.
• A narrative image is used in order to allow the transnational audience to understand the plot of the media source, even if it is in a foreign language and they do not understand what is happening.
• Forbrydelsen includes the generic regime of verisimilitude in order to create a piece of media to appear lifelike, which makes the audience want to watch the media as they feel they can relate to it if they watch it.
• The theory of preferred reading by Stuart Hall can also be applied to this media as if many people like it, the word would spread across and more people would want to watch it as their friend recommended it and then they might recommend it to a friend and so on.
• “The Killing” uses familiarity of a specific genre, such as in The Killing, a mystery genre is set by the use of a detective and the death of the victim. This familiarity attracts a transnational audience as even though they may not speak the language that the programme is spoken in, they can follow the narrative image and see familiarity of the programme with the same genre programme in their native language.

In what ways is ‘genre’ beneficial for transnational institutions?

• By creating the source of media for a transnational audience, the transnational institution can attract viewers from all across the globe, which means they have a higher viewing rating and can therefore make more money through translated versions and spin offs.
• For example, Forbrydelsen was so popular, an English version was produced by Fox Television Studios in collaboration with Netflix.

HOW DOES MEDIA ORGANISATIONS BUILD AND MAINTAIN AUDIENCES NATIONALLY AND GLOBALLY?

• The Killing” uses familiarity of a specific genre, such as in The Killing, a mystery genre is set by the use of a detective and the death of the victim. This familiarity attracts a transnational audience as even though they may not speak the language that the programme is spoken in, they can follow the narrative image and see familiarity of the programme with the same genre programme in their native language.
• They use a famous theme that anyone would be able to identify, even if it was in another language.
• The Killing was a collaboration with a German PSB (public service broadcasting) company and Dutch PSB company so that both the audiences from the Netherlands and Germany are attracted due to the producing company being from their region.
• Usually, high status broadcasting companies are used as if people have watched a programme from the same company and enjoyed it, then they will be willing to give another programme by the same PSB company a try as they might like the style or their ideas they present in the TV programmes.
• The PSBs that produced The Killing make it very realistic in order to entice the consumers to watch because they feel they can relate to it and there is a repertoire of the mystery genre in order to keep the sameness of the programme with the mystery genre.
• Keeping the sameness of the programme and following the conventions of what makes a mystery genre keeps the audiences attracted as they are familiar to the genre and will be able to understand if it was in a foreign language due to the conventions, narrative image and non verbal communication are familiar to a programme in the same genre that is in their native language.
• However, The Killing is different as it counteracts the expectations of programmes in the mystery genre, leading the consumer into suspended disbelief, which makes this programme differ from others, but still remain familiar to the audience
• It targets social class C1, C2 and DE (80% of the population), so uses that class of people in the programme to attract that audience.
• Serves as a need of escapism and enjoyment in the Maslow’s Pyramid of needs

Repertoire of elements = these are the key elements of a film/TV series that are consistently repeated through a specific genre.

Corpus = A collection of language samples that are either written or spoken example of words, sentences, phrases, or text.

Hybridisation = it’s a term that is used to describe a type of media convergence, where a new mode is created that includes elements of combined media

Historic Specificity = it is the elements that are needed to define modernity and traditionalism in particular events and moments of time.

Repetition and sameness = Repetition is when you, more than once, repeat something over and over again. Sameness is when you compare two things and identify how they are similar to each other and can be seen as a contrasive to repetition.

Variation and change = variation are signs that can signify a change in the social world and is when you rotate between different elements. For example, a TV series might variate and change their camera angles, to create suspense and to make the programme more interesting than if it was just filmed still, with no camera motion.

Narrative Image = Narrative images are used to tell a story in a non-verbal, communicated way. The narrative is important as it identifies the plot of the story being told, therefore in TV series, narrative images are important to set the scene.

Expectations and Hypotheses = A hypothesis is a theory that the audience makes, with limited evidence and serves as a starting point for further investigation. Expectation is when you believe something should happen, based on the information you are given.

Suspend disbelief = Suspend disbelief is when you temporarily allow yourself to believe something which actually is not true.

Generic regime of verisimilitude = verisimilitude is the lifelikeness of a piece of fiction, which actually isn’t based on a true story, but appears to be due to its lifelikeness. Generic regime of verisimilitude is when all different elements obey the rules of a generic system, thus making it realistic, even though the piece of media might actually be fiction.

Conventions and rules = Conventions and rules are the elements that the piece of Media has to follow, and this applies to all media that falls in the same category. For example, in music videos, the conventions and rules are that all the music videos uploaded must not have any work that has been copyrighted by other artists.

Sub-genre = this is the subcategories you get within a specific genre. For example, the academic mystery is a sub-genre of the mystery genre.

Hybridity = it refers to mixtures and is the cross between two separate races, genres or cultures. Hybrid means ‘mixture’, therefore hybridity is the mixture of something.

‘Genres of order and integration’ (Thomas Schatz) = Schatz said that there are 2 types of genres, one is used to tell the stories about the enforcement of gender, whereas the other type of genre is used to describe the integration of community.

‘Genre as cultural category’ = these are groups who co-operate together and use negotiation to solve the problems which had disrupted the equilibrium and that the problems disrupting the equilibrium could be integrated into the wider community.

CATEGORY	SIMILARITIES	DIFFERENCES	THEORY
CHARACTERS	the detective who has a ‘natural’ instinct for law and order the victim is young and a female, which emphasises that the younger generation are more vulnerable then the older generation the storyline focuses on a female detective and her story as the hero investigating a murder.	the Killing, “The Missing” has the main detective as female, whereas males usually take on a detective role as it is seen as a more masculine job.	PROPP
NARRATIVE	the first episode often introduces a lot of different characters the narrative also sets the scene, as shown by the pathetic fallacy of the rain signifying darker elements of the plot and sunshine signifying the more happier elements of the plot.	“The Killing” starts with an episode that dives straight into the dilemma that will be resolved in the series, whereas the first episode of TV series, it is usually just to set the scene	TODOROV
THEMES	the use of binary oppostions around familiar themes: family, community, law and order, justice.	there is a setting of both an urban and rural area, thus emphasising thatb the rural areas are dangerous, whereas the urban areas can be seen as a place of safety.	LEVI-STRAUSS
REPRESENTATION	reactionary representations of police, family, law and order, urban/rural. through the way a female is used as the victim, it shows the vulnerability of females	“The Killing” represents all minorities in the modern world, which attracts a wider audience and shows inclusion and diversity. the use of a female going against the dominant ideology represents females as equal to men and shows that they too are able to have some power and authority.	SEMIOTICS
TECHNICAL CODES / LANGUAGE OF MOVING IMAGE (music, setting, props, lighting, use of camera, editing etc)	opening montage sequence that often gives clues as to the whole series – themes, locations, characters, events etc. this Tv series follow the rules and conventions of the mystery genre, as suggested by the use of a detective and clues that are left, as well as the detective using the account of witnesses and close family members in order to solve the mystery of this murder.	there are a lot off “over the shoulder” camera shots, which makes it feel as if the audience is in the scene and is living like they are in the TV programme.