Why was Spider-Man a box office hit and a colossal Broadway failure? Can Les Miserables do any wrong? Will we ever see Hamilton: The Film? This course asks what makes films and plays distinct forms of entertainment, looking at notable examples of successful films and plays from the past decade as well as works that have had success both on the stage and on the screen. We will look at all of the films and plays mentioned above, as well as Rocky, Much Ado About Nothing, Mad Max: Fury Road, Slumdog Millionaire, and The Book of Mormon.

There's nothing chill about Netflix; what started as a service that delivered DVDs to your door has completely revolutionized the way we consume entertainment. From pricing to content to the ways you can watch, Netflix has forced cable providers and networks to scramble and innovate at an unprecedented speed in order to avoid losing their customer base. In the course of an hour, I hope to convince you that Netflix has had a bigger impact on the media industry than the introduction of cable television. TV shows and programs studied include Master of None, Mad Men, Mr. Robot, Black-ish, The Colbert Report, and John Mulaney: The Comeback Kid.