120692 PS Proseminar Cultural and Media Studies (2022S)

In this class we will critically engage with the “promise of diversity” (Warner 2021) that streaming providers like Netflix are frequently imbued with. In the current moment of peak television, a record of originally scripted shows and films are now available, many of which are also celebrated because of their refreshing representations foregrounding the complex intersections of race, class, gender, and ability.
In the tradition of cultural studies, we will ask about structures and agency in meaning-making processes related to streaming and diversity: (How) Does representation matter? How are diversity discourses shaping cultural production in the context of streaming culture? Who benefits from the way diversity is mobilized within cultural industries? Do brands minimize risks through diversity? When is diversity a form of racial capitalism? Who is the audience? Why are many black media scholars still wary of the promise of diversity of streaming? Why have transgender employees recently left Netflix in response to how it handled responses to Dave Chapelle’s latest comedy special?
Through readings, discussions, and their own research, students will be equipped with the tools, arguments, and the wider discourses around the promises, limits, and contradictions of diversity and streaming (and especially original streaming productions).
Moreover, students will develop academic skills of drafting, writing and revising an academic paper.
Students are required to have access to Netflix.