We live in a time where there are a lot of people who may not know that a Hollywood Writers Strike is happening. That would not have been the case in decades past. In the age when broadcast television was ubiquitous it would have been impossible not to notice when the nightly variety and talk shows went off the air and weekly favourites went into reruns all of a sudden. The gravity of the entire American entertainment industry grinding to a halt was very tangible and immediate to general audiences, faced with the prospect that their favourite shows could be delayed or outright canceled. They paid attention in 1960, in 1981, in 1988, even in 2007-08.
Today it is a very different story. We are nearly two months into a Writers Guild of America strike, and for most of the public the ramifications are still yet to be felt. This is in part due to its timing at the start of the summer, when most broadcast shows go into hiatus anyway, but it also is down to less and less people watching broadcast television at all in the age of streaming. It’s relevant too that this time we have also recently been through a similar entertainment drought when film and television productions shut down in the light of the COVID pandemic from 2020 to 2021. That instance introduced people to the reality of being sustained by preexisting film and television content available through streaming and on-demand services. There’s an attitude that this can be waited out again, and with it a certain cynicism, emboldened by a news media that only seems to want to report on the strike by emphasizing what shows and movies are in danger. It’s not uncommon online to see grifters, trolls, and just general idiots comment on how shows and movies suck now so it’s no big loss, insinuate that writers are entitled, lazy, and overpaid enough as it is, and that the Hollywood system would be better off actually with just generative A.I. writing everything.
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It makes sense reactions have changed so much –the industry this strike concerns has changed so much. And yet the fact that the apparatuses around it have consciously not adapted to those changes is why we are here in the first place. Arguably the biggest issue at stake for this strike is streaming residuals, an issue borne out of the fact that the streamers have essentially exploited a loophole in Writers Guild precedent that dictates how writers are paid residual fees for their work. Rather than maintain a livable income off of receipts for repeat broadcasts, licensing, and home video sales -which don’t exist for streaming, writers are paid a paltry sum of the streaming service’s profits -which the streamers, though Netflix most egregiously, are determined to keep secret from the general public. And the moment something is gone from a streaming service those residuals dry up entirely -hence a major reason why Netflix, Disney+, and Max are getting rid of some of their own original shows and movies. Additionally, writer’s rooms have shrunk with the lower production of episodes, and on streaming shows they’re often condensed to mere “mini-rooms” of a small handful of writers brought in for a short period to break down a season before someone else takes the actual responsibilities of writing and showrunning. As many writers on the picket lines have attested, their career has essentially been turned into a gig economy, as streamers -now represented heavily in the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) consistently devalues them.
Then of course is the most prominent discussion point: A.I., and the use of A.I. in further marginalizing a writer’s contributions. It’s something that the Writers Guild is being proactive about, having by some accounts failed to do so in 2007-08 on the advent of streaming. The A.I. available now can by no means “replace” writers (certainly without turning out something entirely derivative, copyright infringing, and just generally unusable by the most basic standards), but it is a tool that producers could and have very much indicated a desire to use to further delineate the writing process and hire fewer writers -presumably by giving it a prompt and then just using a single writer as a glorified copy editor. It is one of the Guild’s most adamant positions and the one that the AMPTP rather tellingly seems most resistant to budge on as well.
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This has been the situation since May 2nd, but there are a few other factors around this strike that make it particularly interesting and even more momentous. Because as the Writers Guild contract was due to expire, so too were those of the other two major unions of the American entertainment industry -and several of the issues the writers had, translate across disciplines. The Directors Guild entered negotiations and did reach an agreement with the AMPTP, though with a few directors, notably Lilly Wachowski, voicing opposition to it. But where things concern the Screen Actors Guild, the largest of the three, it’s not been so steady. Like the writers before them, SAG-AFTRA found the situation tenuous enough to vote on a strike motion -which came back at nearly 99% in favour of (for the writers it was 98%), an unprecedented positive reception. As of the writing of this, contract talks are ongoing between SAG and the AMPTP and could extend past the end of the month, but if their terms aren’t met and a deal is not reached, the actors will be joining the writers not only in solidarity, but on strike themselves -which would just about shut down Hollywood completely overnight.
This is what the producers, the streamers, the studios are worried about, and what honestly folks like me are hoping for. Of course ideally a deal will be struck that is entirely to SAG’s liking -but if the AMPTP is as hard-lined on streaming residuals and A.I. for the actors as they were for the writers, I don’t see it happening -though I imagine they will try to prolong the negotiations to avoid a second, more immediately consequential strike. In any case the suits being under pressure by the artists they undervalue is a good thing, and incentivizes them to meet the Guilds’ demands -which are more than fair, they are necessary; as writers have pointed out, existential even.
Writing and acting are both tough professions. Despite what the internet dopes would say, a computer can’t do their job -deep-fakes can’t do the job. And the idea that the powers in Hollywood are steadily moving in that direction is why it’s so important these artists stand up now, withhold their labour, and demand their work be adequately rewarded. It’s ridiculous that an Emmy-nominated writer for The Bear had to borrow a suit to go the awards show because he had a negative bank account. It’s ridiculous there are writers for fairly successful programs out there essentially living paycheck to paycheck, unable to get steady work for a show that recycles its staff, produces fewer episodes, and gets canceled after just a season or two. The proposed minimum standard for a writers room is probably going to be the hardest sell (in fact Yellowstone showrunner Taylor Sheridan has come out criticizing it), and honestly the one the WGA might have to relent on; but it stands as an assurance of job security that like any employees writers deserve to have. Actors can’t quite negotiate for the same, but certainly their own work is devalued by the harrowing possibilities of A.I. touching up or replacing an aspect of a performance. And if The Flash, to cite the most recent example, can resurrect the images of long-dead actors what does that say for a public figure’s digital afterlife. Any use of an actor’s image without direct consent should be finely scrutinized, if not regulated outright.
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Clearly, the guilds are on the right side of things with their concerns, and much as the writers strike has been muted by the general noise of other news stories and as noted earlier it’s easy for a lot of the public not to be aware of it at this stage, the internet has amplified pro-strike sentiment on a scale that’s never before been seen for a Hollywood worker’s stoppage. The WGA has received intense support from both inside the industry and out –with the AMPTP’s terms made public, everyone can see how shitty they are. Not to mention the breadth of the solidarity across both that union and others, including SAG-AFTRA, the IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees), the Animation Guild, and of course the Teamsters, is monumental. In an era when union membership is at a historic low, there’s something powerful in the fact that public opinion so clearly skews towards the workers.
It’s not universal though, and the studios and streamers certainly prefer when the media frames the situation overtly in the negative light of what it costs audiences in terms of viewing habits, what it costs economies in terms of revenue, and the fallout on other industries that struggle as a result of the strike. They smile too upon those who blame the writers for unsatisfying shows and movies (and who always seem to have blue checks on Twitter…), vilifying them as the aggressors to the poor defenseless multi-billion dollar companies. And yeah, strikes aren’t a great thing objectively –they are a sign of a system that isn’t working. Nobody wants to be out of work, going unpaid, standing on picket lines each day just for the kind of fair compensation and safeguards they should inherently deserve. But it is necessary to give them power over the companies and the suits -and for that strikes are a very good thing.
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In the first couple days of the strike, a CNN interview with writer, comedian, and board member for WGA-West Adam Conover went semi-viral in encapsulating the writers’ side of the conflict and putting in perspective their reasonable demands. He pointed out that David Zaslav -ever the villain in Hollywood these days- owner of the network he was speaking on, made in one year what ten thousand writers are asking to be paid collectively; and comparing the obscene wealth of these companies and CEOs to writers who can’t afford basic necessities some months and even have to go on government assistance. In a separate interview for The Wrap from the picket lines he made the case for the strike’s power of statement, amidst the tedious, arduous experience it is for the writers. He argues that by disrupting the day-to-the-day operations of Hollywood they can affect real change. And there’s precedent for that. In 1960, the writers won the rights to their own scripts produced for television, in 1981 they secured residuals for payTV and home video, in 1988 they won residuals for international distributions, and in 2008 they won jurisdiction over “new media” -streamers- which were and are still required to staff their productions with WGA writers. Looking at SAG-AFTRA if they choose to follow the WGA -their only previous strike in 1980 resulted in a share of home video residuals, and healthcare and pension benefits. There has not yet been a strike of this kind that hasn’t at least in some way gone in the favour of the picketing workers.
And what this strike could possibly net may be more important than anything else -especially if writers and actors join forces. Though they may brush some of the inconveniences off, focus on alternative content, there will be a point where the studios have to acquiesce -it costs them too much! Don’t doubt that Netflix isn’t looking at the Duffer Brothers out striking and worrying about the delay of the last season of Stranger Things (where its adult main cast is already stretching believability as young teenagers). They won’t be able to hold out forever -their bottom line depends on it and they could stand to lose a whole lot more than what they have already if they prolong the strike late into the summer or early fall.
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There is something really thrilling in seeing how this labour stoppage has brought Hollywood down a peg, forced the omnipotent CEOs and executives to squirm a little. And there are negative repercussions no doubt, as the studios will divert resources and possibly kill movies, shows, or other brands that don’t deserve it or are hugely important in their own right (looking at Zaslav again and his systemic dismantling of TCM -but that’s for another rant). It’s comforting though to know how upset they are by the potential of union solidarity and solidarity from within the unions. Though companies like Disney and Warner Bros. have threatened showrunner-writers who have contractual duties they allege beyond those covered by their WGA membership -it hasn’t worked so well; and by all accounts there have been few examples of writers crossing picket lines or “scabbing” during this strike. The writers are deadly serious, and it looks like the actors are too, should their negotiations break down. And coming out of the strike if it goes their way, writing for film and television will be once more a sustainable career path. Real, breathing human beings telling stories from places of authenticity, will be protected from new technologies diminishing or replacing their works; and hell if a writers room is restored it could mean more shows in more genres with more episodes -which I have been missing lately. Maybe most satisfyingly, those streaming giants will be forced to disclose their profits so we can see exactly how much they’ve been hoarding and how much should be equitably given over to those who make the art they profit off of. The strike could literally save artistry in Hollywood, and that is something incredibly worth supporting and standing up for.
Hollywood is rich enough that it can come back from whatever losses are accrued during the writers strike and even a possible actors strike. There will be some sustained losses in certain shows or movies that are either canceled outright or see a drop in quality. But in spite of the somewhat hyperbole in pointing to shows like Heroes, Friday Night Lights and Lost that were damaged by the last strike, the relative popularity of such impressions does seem to sway towards the writers side of things -as well as the unambiguous rise in vapid reality television that occurred as a result too (interestingly, the one creative net positive of that last strike seems to have been the truncated first season of Breaking Bad, which would have killed off Jesse Pinkman had the strike not happened and Vince Gilligan had time to reconsider). In the end though the cause for the creatives is more important. Who knows what would have come out of the next few years had they simply acceded to the AMPTP, further sacrificing their agency and livability and in some cases playing second fiddle to a computer program. It is immensely important that they succeed and prove a model to not just other creatives but workers across a range of industries as well. Collective action is how we take back power.
My firmest support for the WGA: Stand your ground and don’t give in. Show Hollywood how you have made them, and show them what you are made of.
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