Media Concentration/Conglomerates – when less people control the mass media, increasing shares of the mass media.

Globalisation (in terms of media ownership) – when a viewpoint is shown across the globe in the media.

Vertical Integration – the combination in one firm of two or more stages of production normally operated by separate firms.

Horizontal Integration – is merging of one or more firms at the same stage of production.

Gatekeepers – decide what is being published to the masses, effectively deciding what their viewpoint should be.

Regulation – rules made by someone in authority.

Deregulation – reduction or elimination of the power that the government had.

Free Market – where the government has no control over what is produced.

Monopolies – when there is no competition in a market.

Mergers – when two or more firms come together to increase their power.

Neo-Liberalism – there should not be equality (the opposite of liberal).

Surveillance/Privacy/Security/GDPR – protecting something (GDPR = General Data Protection Regulation).

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.

Hidden Figures is a movie that tackles a lot of race and gender stereotypes, this movie is clearly based in america because NASA is an American based company. The movie seems to be set in the late 20th century where race was a huge thing.

Hidden Figures is 2 hours and 7 minutes long. The movie is a 25$ million biographical drama film that is on a medium sized budget.

Hidden figures is a american biographical drama film, about women of colour being prominent roles in sending the first man into space. It is set in 1961.

First released at a art and design college in new york- shows it is an important film December 10, 2016 (SVA Theatre)

The released December 25, 2016 (United States)

It was a median budget film ($25m) and produced by 20th century Fox. The film received positive reviews from critics and grossed $236 million worldwide

• budget of $25, considered a low to medium budget film
• produced by fox 2000 sister company with 20th century fox, which is owned by the Walt Disney studios conglomerate
• first release January 6th 2017
• multi award winning
• directed by Theodore Melfi
• based on a true story
• the film addresses some real issues in society such as race and gender equality

• Low to medium budget film of $25m but was definitely successful for the budget and was recognised, it was also a risky idea to convey as it was something different and challenged the dominant ideologies
• Co-production between independent production companies and a major/significant Hollywood conglomerate through the subdivision Fox 2000
• Fox 2000 liked the idea for this movie as it was different and risky but there was the possibility for high rewards as its niche to the film industry
• Hidden Figures addressed some of the real issues in society, such as race and gender equality

• Hidden Figures had a low budget of $25m
• Produced by Fox 2000
• The film received positive reviews from critics and earned $236 million worldwide
• It was first released January 6th 2017
• It was nominated for numerous awards, including three Oscar nominations and two Golden Globes . It also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
• Distribution techniques – focus on traditional distribution and exhibition linked to targeted audience.

• 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 recognised 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

The movie ‘Hidden Figures’ was a low-medium budget film, it cost $25,000,000. The film was produced by: Fox 2000 Pictures, Chernin Entertainment, Levantine Films and TSG Entertainment. Fox 2000 is a sister company of Fox that produces indie films in mid-range releases that target undeserved groups.

The idea of the film may have appealed to Fox because it had potential to be a profit film as well as the fact that if they lost money, they wouldn’t be losing as much as they would if it was a high budget film. The film overall made a huge worldwide profit of $236 million which is an 844 percentage increase.

Another reason that they may have liked the idea of the film was because it strongly went against dominant ideology of the time. In the time period ,that the movie was set in, black women working for NASA was not usually promoted in a male dominated profession. This is so they could attract specific viewers (in this case black people) as they are the target audience.

A conglomerate is a combination of lots of different companies owned by one big company. Some people are against this because they believe that then people are actually just being fed the same media because it has all been made by the same people and could then be seen as untrustworthy. Hidden Figures was made by Fox 2000.

The film Hidden Figures spent more money on promotion than they did on production, simply because the film is not based off of a well known story or book, therefore they had to spend more money on promotion to make sure they got people into the cinemas.

Success – Hidden Figures managed to earn $22.8 million in its first opening weekend, showing that there was a large market for this sort of story, involving the issues surrounding racism and sexism in the 1960’s.

The film was put up for 3 Oscars (Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress) but did not win any of these. It did, however, win awards such as the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and many more.

Domestically, Hidden Figures was the highest-grossing Best Picture nominee at the 89th Academy Awards

 ‘it’s hard to dislike.‘ – Simran Hans
The Guardian

‘Essentially Parabolas & Prejudice, it isn’t the most nuanced piece of work out this month. But nuance be damned — an uplifting plea for equality, this is a story calibrated for maximum effect.‘ – Nick de Semlyen
Empire

‘feel-good biographical drama that teaches audiences about a little-known aspect of NASA’s history.‘ – Sandie Angulo Chen
Common Sense Media

Budget- the budget for this film was 25 million US dollars.

Director – Theodore Melfi

I think that this film would have appealed to Fox because the film is touching on real life issues. Other films based on similar topics had been a success in the past. Low budget films are seen to sometimes have high success therefore, Fox would be likely to be interested.

Audiences enjoy real-life issues like this so they knew it would be a hit. Famous actors such as Jim Parsons and Octavia Spencer star in the film. Producers would have known that these actors would attract audiences for their performances in other hits. For example, Jim Parsons in ‘The Big Bang Theory’ and Octavia Spencer in ‘The Help’.

Distribution techniques = focusing on traditional distribution of media looking at target audiences.

Key words:

• Media concentration / Conglomerates = concentration in the mass media is when lots of small productions are owned by a few big corporations. The increasing concentration is due to buyouts.
• Globalisation (in terms of media ownership) = Globalisation refers to the way in which, in contemporary society, distant countries are inter-related and connected together by trade communication and cultural experiences
• Vertical Integration = This is when the production company has the ownership of the means of production, distribution and exhibition of the film by the same company, because of this they receive all of the profit
• Horizontal Integration = This is where a production company expands into other areas of one industry.
• Gatekeepers = they craft and construct what is published
• Regulation = rules enforced by the jurisdiction of law. This regulation, via law, rules or procedures, can have various goals, for example intervention to protect a stated “public interest”.
• Deregulation = a process in which a government removes controls and rules about how newspapers, television channels, etc. are owned and controlled: Critics of media deregulation say it can give too much power to individuals who own many forms of mass media.
• Monopoly = when one company owns lots of smaller companies.

Fox 2000:

Fox 2000 Pictures is an American production company owned by The Walt Disney Studios. It is a sister studio of the larger 20th Century Fox, specializing in producing independent films in mid-range releases that largely targeted underserved groups. They release films such as Hidden Figures that are independent and a little bit more risky. They have a lot of money, therefore, a small budget like 25 million dollars is not much and if the film was to not be a success, it wouldn’t matter too much.

Marley & Me is the largest Fox 2000 commercial success with a record for the largest Christmas Day box office ever with $14.75 million in ticket sales.^[5] The division’s highest-grossing film was Life of Pi (2012) with $609 million.

The division is currently set to shut down on May 15, 2020 due to The Woman in the Window getting delayed to that year.