high concept

From high (adjective) +‎ concept (noun), variously attributed to the American media executives Barry Diller (born 1942) when he was working at the American Broadcasting Company in the 1970s, or Michael Eisner (born 1942) during his term as president of Paramount Pictures from 1976 to 1984.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌhaɪ ˈkɒnsɛpt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌhaɪ ˈkɑnˌsɛpt/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: high con‧cept

high concept (plural high concepts) (film, literature, television)

1. An appealing and easily communicable idea for a work (such as a book, film, or television programme).

   Antonym: low concept

   • 1992 December, Jonathan Bernstein, “The Year in Movies”, in Bob Guccione, Jr., editor, Spin, volume 8, number 9, New York, N.Y.: Camouflage Associates, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 81:

     Tim Burton's influence loomed large, as half-finished high concepts, consistent only in avoiding the constraints of plot, motive, and logic, abounded.

   • 1994, Justin Wyatt, “A Critical Redefinition: The Concept of High Concept”, in High Concept: Movies and Marketing in Hollywood, Austin, Tex.: University of Texas Press, published 2006, →ISBN, page 13:

     Spielberg's opinion relates well to the vision of high concept expressed by other Hollywood representatives: a striking, easily reducible narrative which also offers a high degree of marketability.

2. A style of work (such as a book, film, or television programme) characterized by appealing and easily communicable ideas.

   Antonym: low concept

   • 1999, Kristin Thompson, “Desperately Seeking Susan”, in Storytelling in the New Hollywood: Understanding Classical Narrative Technique, Cambridge, Mass.; London: Harvard University Press, →ISBN, page 153:

     High concept, to the degree that it describes an actual phenomenon, seems to me to have little to do with the decline of the auteurists. Rather, it is an intensification of certain elements of the old system resulting from the exponentially rising production costs of films and the unpredictability of the exhibition market.

   • 2014, Chris Veits, “Literature Review”, in Conflict Coverage Promotion: High Quality or High Concept? A Multimodal Analysis of Claims-making in Conflict Coverage Promotional Sports of Al Jazeera English and CNN International, Hamburg: Anchor Academic Publishing, →ISBN, pages 20–21:

     It is important to note that the 'high-tech' visual style typical for high concept changes over time, just as technology advances and popular culture undergoes transitions. Another aspect of high concept in television news is the simplification of the story into a marketable concept as already discussed in relation to Hollywood movies.

4. (by extension, sometimes proscribed) The overarching idea or theme of a work, particularly one perceived as highly artistic or intellectual.
   • 2000 October 6, Liam Lacey, “Bad, but in a complicated way”, in The Globe and Mail‎, Toronto, Ont.: The Globe and Mail Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2025-05-26:

     Von Trier 's high concept is too sloppily executed to suggest he really cares that much. Most of Dancer in the Dark ranges from mediocre (music and choreography) to laughably bad. The needlessly queasy camera movement and smeary visuals, acting that often feels like a read-through, and a script neither based on research (check out the American courtroom protocol) or any real logic. Its compensation is this: At least Dancer in the Dark is bad in a complicated way.

   • 2009, Tayari Jones, “”, in Alice Randall, Rebel Yell , New York, N.Y.: Bloomsbury USA, →ISBN:

     This is a novel of ideas—brimming with high concepts and complicated philosophical questions. At the same time, it is a novel full of heart.

   • 2024 February 23, Scott Campbell, “Christopher Nolan explains ‘Tenet’”, in Far Out‎, London, archived from the original on 2025-02-27:

     In fact, Nolan admits that it's a lot easier to simply watch the movie and grasp it from there. "That's the fun thing about Tenet for me, is that it's harder to talk about than just watch it and understand it," he said. Nonetheless, he gave additional insight into the machinations behind the highest of high concepts.

Sense 3 (“overarching idea or theme of a work”) is sometimes considered incorrect as it can confuse readers who expect the meanings conveyed by senses 1 and 2.

• high-concept (adjective) (attested slightly before this term)

• elevator pitch

high concept

1. Alternative form of high-concept.

• high concept on Wikipedia.Wikipedia