The Writers Strike 2023
-For the Uncensored!
On April 18th, 2023, while this might not be news for anyone, the Writers Guild of America went on strike against Hollywood. As a writer, this did disturb the waters, because most entertainment is created by writers, and as of May 20th, 2023, the dissonance of American writers using their skills to entertain is jarring, to say the least. What makes a writers strike is that everyone should agree to boycott poor working conditions. It creates a lost tradition of rising up against corporate greed and the untold payments that affect both large and small creators. Independent creators can value their own subscribers and write or project what they think is important to them and their audience, as long as the money is flowing.
As Ross Douthat briefly summarizes in his May 20th, 2023 opinion article, “Can the Writers Strike Fix Hollywood,” he states, in “three sentences.” “First, the entertainment business, floated on easy money and encouraged by the unusual conditions of the Covid era, committed itself to an unsustainable expansion — the great streaming experiment, in which every major brand would have a Netflix of its own.
Then, as the unsustainability of this growth became apparent, the studios and streamers began wringing more and more out of their writers, at longer and less-predictable hours and with fewer long-term rewards, even as the corporate suits looked hopefully to A.I. to render certain writerly duties obsolete.”[1]
Ross Douthat himself is correct, in a nutshell. But the idea of “easy money encouraged by the unusual conditions of the Covid era” is a weird hyperbolic statement that attempts to paint Covid entertainment, binging on the couch, as a last ditch resort, and streaming services aren’t readily available for mass consumption, on any entertainments release schedule. Maybe for small indie films, but that helps create a word of mouth feel. As it should be. But Covid was not an era, as it didn’t span on for decades. It was a three year delay of lives that should be enjoying movies and having a life. But that was robbed from many people. And the industry itself had to adapt by necessity, not by choice.
But what I find interesting is that while the New York Times is my enemy # 1 in terms of information, Mr. Douthat is largely correct, even if the NYT is really just a lost cause as a paper. For most writers, the WGA should be able to help correct or balance unfair business practices. As the correct model of a union should represent the writers who are currently working at a minimum to low scale, creating an opportunity for achievement beyond the smaller working models. But As Brian Welk from Indie Wire, uses the term, “gig economy,” or “freelance profession”[2] to describe the current model of thinking used in the Hollywood system, not developing or fostering new talent, but only representing profit gains in order to drive talent, and not creativity or the work, itself. Focusing on subscribers and not the usual business model concerning the Hollywood motif.
What is even worse is the third issue, AI. Artificial intelligence is being used to create an unfair working relationship, as AI can now draft stories and scripts that you would hire other writers to do, as it created a fair but balanced work relationship as each writer would have to balance their own draft with the existing draft, but many times new scripts are made from other scripts, by other humans, too. The problem is people want to be paid in order to tell or do any work. That is the human condition. Nobody give up their free time unless they are in love with their craft. A machine can’t express an emotion that wasn’t already programmed into its system by a human.
But the condition is simple. Money, in a corporate flagship, drives the entertainment economy. Not talent, ideas, craft, or traditional story telling. It’s a reminder of human greed competing with a level of demand that no living being could grasp. It’s easier to use AI than it is pay an artist, because it’s simple. You don’t have to pay a machine to create a book cover. And while I have used AI generated art for my book covers, as I was faced with monetary ailments, I I do recognize what is artistic. Artists create great works of art, not a machine. Even Sean Penn, as it was reported by Breitbart News, “It is the industry that’s been upending the writers and the actors and directors for a very, very long time. My full support in this situation is with the writers guild of course,” on May 19th, 2023.[3]
But to finalize this article, Hollywood should be able to pay writers the chance to be the very best, and while independent writers like myself aren’t affected, all writers and artists are affected. A Writers Strike is good, and hopefully the strike will come to a close. But while I’m not entirely against AI, I do believe that artists, like myself, and many others, create the world that we long to see or hope to avoid. But the industry never cared, which is why men must negotiate, a robot only does what it’s told. And when will machines start asking for money once they become sentinent? Then robots will march the streets in order to receive equal pay. And that’s a nightmare even Issac Asimov would have feared to tell.
(Note: ItsaGundam provides a humorous take, but I do agree television will be affected greatly, which ItsaGundam covers)
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/20/opinion/writers-strike-hollywood.html. Found 05.20.2023.
[2] https://www.indiewire.com/news/business/writers-strike-2023-explained-1234831299/. Found 05.20.2023.
[3] https://www.breitbart.com/news/hollywood-pushback-on-writers-strike-is-obscene-sean-penn/.
-Louis Bruno is the author of more than 20 books, including, The Michael Project, The Michael Project: Book 2: The Lost Children of Eve, Thy Kingdom Come, The Disintegrating Bloodline Part 2: Chaos, The Data Chase, The Disintegrating Bloodline part 3: Solvè, The Disintegrating Bloodline (and the original text re-released in 2019), Apocalypse Soldier, The Data Chase, Selection: The First Book of the Life and Death Saga, and Blinking Eyes: The Second Book of the Life and Death Saga, Hierarchy of Dwindling Sheep, The City of Sand, The God of Curiosity, To the Moon and Back, The Villain Lives and The Villain Lives: The Divided Pinpoint, Come Home, Young One, City of Sand: Book 1: The Holy Terror, and The Voices Are Alive, and The City of Sand: Book 2: Jerusalem Ignited. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English from University of Phoenix. His books can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Lulu. He can be found on Gab, https://gab.com/thereallouistbruno, Minds https://www.minds.com/lbruno8063/. Instagram @lbrruno8063 and @louisbrunoofficialbook. Twitter: https://twitter.com/LouisBr88881650. He has written for the Intellectual Conservative and Ephemere. His two newest books, The City of Sand: Book 2: Jerusalem Ignited, and The Savior, the Flood, and the Beast: Three Plays are out now: https://www.amazon.com/City-Sand-Book-Jerusalem-Ignited/dp/1365979660/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1G8HAWZP73ZFO&keywords=Louis+Bruno+City+of+Sand+book+2&qid=1675772880&sprefix=louis+bruno+city+of+sand+book+2%2Caps%2C88&sr=8-1. https://www.amazon.com/Savior-Flood-Beast-Three-Plays/dp/1088120997/ref=pd_ybh_a_sccl_4/140-0249150-4265358?pd_rd_w=W5fsa&content-id=amzn1.sym.67f8cf21-ade4-4299-b433-69e404eeecf1&pf_rd_p=67f8cf21-ade4-4299-b433-69e404eeecf1&pf_rd_r=2E73RTDRBVPZEY5D77V2&pd_rd_wg=69KGI&pd_rd_r=59d8721c-bf89-4fa7-bd88-7a072004a89f&pd_rd_i=1088120997&psc=1.
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