Labor unions are a core part of society’s biggest businesses, artists, and more. SAG-AFTRA and The Writers Guild of America have a core part in supporting what makes Hollywood so important, protecting the real art of acting and creating. Over the summer, both unions took it to the picket lines, protesting against unfair wages and use of artificial intelligence within creative industries. Due to the strike, many forms of TV, movie, and media have been greatly affected. Shows and their seasons are on hold, and many scripted favorites are not allowed to promote. This also applies to late-night TV. Streaming services such as Netflix, however, prepared for this ahead of time.
Quantity over quality: that’s where the future of TV and media lies. Hollywood is built around scripts, but if we must go without our favorite scripted series and films, streaming services are here to prove that their stash of pre-written shows will suffice, and that their viewers will pay the fees necessary in order to binge watch. This contributes to profound changes in how Hollywood does business, perhaps most significantly how writers work and how they get paid. Several streaming-related issues are now being litigated in the writers strike. The writers of Hollywood have been on strike now since May 2nd, 2023. The strike is known as the biggest interruption to American film and television production since the COVID-19 pandemic, and is the largest labor stoppage that the WGA has performed since the strike of 1988, which lasted for 154 days.
How has this already affected your favorite films and TV shows? When it was announced the actors guild would be striking, the star-studded cast of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer walked out of the London movie premiere. Countless movie promotions have been cut due to the failure of negotiations for a new film and television contract.
The state of creative direction, the use of artificial intelligence, and fair wages are in our hands now. Only time will tell how long it will take for both the Writer’s Guild and SAG-AFTRA to earn their new contracts. Until then, the strikes will continue on.
Works Cited
“How a writers’ strike might affect your favorite TV shows.” CNN Wire, 1 May 2023, p. NA. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A747666072/OVIC?u=fcpsfhs&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=8a6188a2. Accessed 6 Sept. 2023.
“Hollywood writers are still on strike. Here’s where WGA, studios stand.” Washingtonpost.com, 27 Aug. 2023, p. NA. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A762506005/OVIC?u=fcpsfhs&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=22c17f54. Accessed 6 Sept. 2023.
Sen, Mallika, and Jennifer Farrar. “This Isn’t the First Time Hollywood’s Been on Strike. Here’s How Past Strikes Turned Out.” AP News, AP News, 19 July 2023, apnews.com/article/past-hollywood-strikes-62de005f62e38dd09b38cd591ea26123. Tanyos, Faris. “Stars of ‘Oppenheimer’ Walk out of Premiere Due to Actors’ Strike.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 14 July 2023, www.cbsnews.com/news/oppenheimer-stars-walk-out-london-premiere-actors-strike-emily-blunt-matt-damon-florence-pugh-cillian-murphy/.
