Dr Mark Stewart – m.w.stewart@uva.

nl

NETFLIX AND CHANGE:

MEDIA DISTRIBUTION, FORM, AND RECEPTION IN THE DIGITAL AGE

Digital availability of media has shifted so much of what we understand about the media industries as a
whole, as well as particular media forms and how we engage with them as audiences and fans. Netflix
has become a proprietary eponym, so ubiquitous in its usage that it can now stand in as a general
descriptor for any digital access to film or television content. However, we must think carefully about
what changes when we access media through these portals, whether the content is the same as when
we saw it on broadcast television or in the cinema, and how alternative portals might also be
o st u ti g e a s fo us to u de sta d glo al edia flo s. Co e ge e ultu e a defi e the
mode in which we have understood media and reception for ten years, but how can it be critiqued in
response to recent shifts in availability, access, and distribution?

The course will consist of three modules:

 discussion and analysis of streaming platforms and portals for sanctioned access of traditional
television and film (such as Netflix)

 discussion and analysis of the role played by unsanctioned access to these media forms
(sometimes referred to as media piracy); and

 looking at the new forms of media made possible by the availability of broadband (such as web
series)

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of the course, the student is able to:

 Provide an overview of contemporary digital media systems, distribution and reception

 Discuss the recent shifts in media forms as well as assess the potential significance of ongoing
developments

 Critically engage with popular and academic discourses that surround the shifts that are
occurring

 Analyse the modern media ecology in a holistic manner, taking into account distributors,
creatives, the texts they create, and the audiences that engage with them.

1|Page
 Dr Mark Stewart – m.w.stewart@uva.nl

SCHEDULE AND ASSESSMENTS

05 Feb Introduction and Methodologies

12 Feb Streaming Platforms 1

19 Feb Streaming Platforms 2

26 Feb Streaming Platforms 3

05 Mar Streaming Platforms 4

12 Mar Guest Lecture: Dr Joke Hermes – Watching Post-TV

19 Mar NO CLASS

26 Mar NO CLASS

02 Apr EASTER MONDAY

09 Apr Digital Piracy 1

16 Apr Digital Piracy 2

23 Apr Digital Piracy 3

30 Apr Web Series 1

07 May Web Series 2

14 May Web Series 3

2|Page
 Dr Mark Stewart – m.w.stewart@uva.nl

ASSESSMENT

Reading Presentations and Responses

 Graded as AAV/NAV
 Each student will choose a week to present the readings for that week to the class. The
presenter will:
o Present the key arguments and ideas of the reading(s) for the week
o Introduce another academic article or book chapter that you have sourced which
provides another take on the subject matter
o Present a case study or object through which the concepts can be discussed
o Be ready to lead a discussion on the readings and case study
 In addition to this presentation, each student will choose two weeks for which they prepare
questions for the presenter. In the role of respondent, the student will:
o Do a detailed preparation of the reading(s) for the week
o Prepare questions for the presenter based on both the readings, and the presentations
they give
o Lead the Q+A
 Presenter and Respondent signups will take place in the week 1 class. If you are not present,
your weeks will be assigned to you.

Platform Analysis (10%) – Due Date: 29 March 2018

You will write an analysis (1000wds) of a particular streaming platform. Choose a specific platform such
as Netflix, Amazon, iPlayer, YouTube, Hulu, or RTL XL. Feel free to think laterally in selecting a platform –
I would prefer not to read 20 analyses of Netflix...

Your analysis might include a discussion of:

 The content available on the platform

 Its position within the market
 The interface
 The back end/algorithm
 Regional availability
 Strengths and weaknesses of the platform

The analysis should be structured as a report; the writing should be in full sentences and paragraphs,
but may be broken down into subsections as appropriate.

Annotated Bibliography (30%) – Due Date: 11 May 2018

You will submit a bibliography of 10 annotated pieces of academic literature. "Annotation" in this
context does not mean an abstract or summary: rather, it means a brief description of the key
arguments of the article or book and an indication of how and why you think it will be useful in your
own research.

 Three of these pieces will have a detailed annotation (roughly 500 words)

3|Page
 Dr Mark Stewart – m.w.stewart@uva.nl

 Seven of these pieces will have a brief annotation (roughly 100 words)

Essay Proposal – Due Date: 20 April 2018

This proposal will be an abstract of roughly a page (excluding bibliography). It should contain:

 An essay title
 A research question or research statement/argument
o If you submit a research question, you should also include a potential
hypothesis/argument
 An indication of the methodology(-ies) that will inform your essay
 An indication of the corpus or case study you will draw on

It should also include an initial bibliography of at least 7 pieces of academic literature that your work will
draw on.

Final Essay (60%) – 4 June 2018

Word count: 5000 words

Any further details required will be confirmed later in the course.

Retake Guidelines

In order to be eligible for the retake, you must have received an AAV for the Reading Presentation and
the Essay Proposal. In addition, you must have received a minimum of a 4,0 for each of the other
assessments. If these conditions have been met, then a rewrite of the final essay will be allowed, with
the grade for the rewrite making up 100% of the final grade. The rewrite grade will be no higher than a
6,0. The final date for submission of the Retake will be 22 June 2018.

4|Page
 Dr Mark Stewart – m.w.stewart@uva.nl

READINGS

05 Feb Lotz, Amanda D. 2017. Portals: A Treatise on Internet-Distributed Television. Ann

Arbor, MI: Maize Books.
12 Feb Esler, Mike Va . . Not Yet the Post-TV Era: Network and MVPD Adaptation to
E e ge t Dist i utio Te h ologies. Media and Communication 4 (3): 131–41.

Kell , J. P. . The Te po al ‘egi es of TVIII: F o B oad asti g to “t ea i g.

In Time, Technology and Narrative Form in Contemporary US Television Drama, 53–
93. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Lo ato, ‘a o . . ‘ethi ki g I te atio al TV Flo s ‘esea h i the Age of

Netfli . Television & New Media, May, 1527476417708245.
19 Feb Barker, Cory. 2017. G eat “ho s, Tha ks to You : F o Pa ti ipato Cultu e to
Qualit TV i A azo s Pilot “easo . Television & New Media 18 (5): 441–58.

T o , Chu k. . TV Got Bette : Netfli s O igi al P og a i g “t ategies a d

the On-Demand Television Transitio . Media Industries 2 (2).

Wa e, Mi hael L. . Netfli , A azo , a d B a ded Tele isio Co te t i

Subscription Video on-De a d Po tals. Media, Culture & Society, October.
26 Feb Bu , ‘hia o , a d Joh so Li. . Is It Li e o Is It Timeshifted, Streamed or
Do loaded? Wat hi g Tele isio i the E a of Multiple “ ee s. New Media &
Society 17 (4):592–610.

Je e , Ma eike. . Is This TVIV? O Netfli , TVIII a d Bi ge-Wat hi g. New

Media & Society 18 (2):257–73.

Mikos, Lothar. . Digital Media Platfo s a d the Use of TV Co te t: Bi ge

Watching and Video-on-De a d i Ge a . Media and Communication 4
(3):154–61.
05 Mar Do le, Gillia . . ‘esista e of Cha els: Tele isio Dist i utio i the
Multiplatfo E a. Telematics and Informatics 33 (2): 693–702.

Hagedoo , Be e , a d Bas Agte e g. . The E d of the Tele isio A hi e as

We Know It? The National Archive as an Agent of Historical Knowledge in the
Co e ge e E a. Media and Communication 4 (3): 162–75.

“te a t, Ma k. . The M th of Tele isual U i uit . Television & New Media 17

(8):691–705.
12 Mar No readings. You will be asked to keep a television diary in the week prior. Details
will be provided in class.

5|Page
 Dr Mark Stewart – m.w.stewart@uva.nl

9 Apr De Kosnik, A igail. . Pi a Is the Futu e of Tele isio . Convergence Culture

Consortium, 1–17.

Ka aga is, Joe. . ‘ethi ki g Pi a . I Media Piracy in Emerging Economies,

edited by Joe Karaganis, 1–73. New York, NY: Social Science Research Council.

Lo ato, ‘a o . . A “ide a s Vie of the Fil E o o i a Age of Digital

Pi a . NECSUS. European Journal of Media Studies 1 (1):85–97.
16 Apr G a , Jo atha . . Mo ilit Th ough Pi a , o Ho “te e “eagal Got to
Mala i. Popular Communication 9 (2):99–113.

Lia g, La e e. . Be o d ‘ep ese tatio : The Figu e of the Pi ate. I

Postcolonial Piracy: Media Distribution and Cultural Production in the Global South,
edited by Lars Eckstein and Anja Schwarz, 49–77. Theory for a Global Age. London:
Bloomsbury.

“t a gelo e, Mi hael. . “po ts Tele isio Pi a : The “t ea . The “ o e! I

Post-TV: Piracy, Cord-Cutting, and the Future of Television, 74–93. Toronto:
University of Toronto Press.
23 Apr Gates, Kell . . Will Wo k fo Cop ights: The Cultu al Poli of A ti-Piracy
Ca paig s. Social Semiotics 16 (1):57–73.

Lo ato, ‘a o , a d Julia Tho as. . The Busi ess of A ti-Piracy: New Zones
of E te p ise i the Cop ight Wa s. International Journal of Communication 5
(October):1–27.

“ h a z, Jo as A de sso . . Ho o a ilit a d the Pi ate Ethi . I A Reader on

International Media Piracy: Pirate Essays, edited by Tilman Baumgärtel, 81–110.
Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
30 Apr Ch istia , A a Jea . . Ope TV Dist i utio : “t uggli g fo a I depe de t
Ma ket. I Open TV Innovation beyond Hollywood and the Rise of Web Television,
156–211. New York: New York University Press.

Krüger, Steffen, and Gry C. Rustad. . Copi g ith “ha e i a Media-Saturated

Society: Norwegian Web-“e ies “ka as T a sitio al O je t. Television & New
Media, November.
07 May Da , Faithe. . Bet ee But h/Fe e: O the Pe fo a e of ‘a e, Ge de ,
and Sexuality in a YouTube We “e ies. Journal of Lesbian Studies 0 (0):1–15.

M Nutt, M les. . Class oo I st u e ts a d Ca pool Ka aoke: ‘itual a d

Colla o atio i Late Night s YouTu e E a. Television & New Media, July.

6|Page
 Dr Mark Stewart – m.w.stewart@uva.nl

14 May Ga dolfi, E i o. . Pla i g the Post / on Game Service Platforms:

P e ediatio i The Di isio ia T it h.T a d “tea . Convergence, November.

Ma ti , Cô e. . With, Agai st o Be o d P i t? Digital Co i s i “ea h of a

“pe ifi “tatus. The Comics Grid: Journal of Comics Scholarship 7.

Veale, Ke i . . F ie dship Is t a E otio Fu k uts : Ma ipulati g Affe ti e

Materiality to Shape the Experience of Homestuck s “to . Convergence, June.

7|Page