Writers' strike
Jan. 12th, 2008 01:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
(Forgive inebriation. Will try to not let it interfere with point.)
Just a short point.
So you miss your favorite TV shows. So you're angry the writers are striking. "They're gonna cancel Supernatural!" you cry. "Damn them, anyway! They get enough money! They should be glad they're doing what they LOVE for a living!"
Except ... why should that matter? They're doing a job, and frankly, 99.9 percent of writers of any stripe get zero respect for what they do. It's the money people who get the respect - with newspapers and magazines, it's the advertising staff that gets accolades and bonuses and recognition for selling, selling, selling! With movies, it's the actors and crew (rightfully so, but still), and the studio that makes the decisions for marketing and such. (See, by bitching out Ted and Terry for POTC, even though I dislike their choices, I'm actually giving them respect by recognizing they exist in the process.)
Writers are not often thought about ... and yet, when they strike for any length of time, it's amazing how much goes down the tubes in the industry. Jobs, catering, projects are lost, shows are threatened to be canceled, etc. And the most common sentiment I'm seeing is: CALL OFF THE STRIKE! BE OVER!
It's not just about money. It's about respect. It's about the fact that more and more entertainment has been going to "reality TV" over the past several years, which is cheaper to produce because it's talent-poor and ad-heavy. The CEOs and heads of studios and executives are getting more money with increased revenue both from bigger ad shares and the "new media" that's at the heart of the strike; the writers are getting no extra, and their jobs have been cut as a result. Yet - I don't see people yelling at the studio heads to give in to some demands that would end the strike.
Just because writers might derive some joy from their work does NOT mean they should be punished with less income than someone else doing a job that touches a lot of people positively. That's bullshit thinking. I'm sorry, but writing is harder than some other jobs that pay much better, and ought to be rewarded properly - with both income and respect. Especially the latter.
(EDIT:
moar funny pictures. Especially if you remember my post in December 2006 about the small owl I think he killed in self-defense.)
Just a short point.
So you miss your favorite TV shows. So you're angry the writers are striking. "They're gonna cancel Supernatural!" you cry. "Damn them, anyway! They get enough money! They should be glad they're doing what they LOVE for a living!"
Except ... why should that matter? They're doing a job, and frankly, 99.9 percent of writers of any stripe get zero respect for what they do. It's the money people who get the respect - with newspapers and magazines, it's the advertising staff that gets accolades and bonuses and recognition for selling, selling, selling! With movies, it's the actors and crew (rightfully so, but still), and the studio that makes the decisions for marketing and such. (See, by bitching out Ted and Terry for POTC, even though I dislike their choices, I'm actually giving them respect by recognizing they exist in the process.)
Writers are not often thought about ... and yet, when they strike for any length of time, it's amazing how much goes down the tubes in the industry. Jobs, catering, projects are lost, shows are threatened to be canceled, etc. And the most common sentiment I'm seeing is: CALL OFF THE STRIKE! BE OVER!
It's not just about money. It's about respect. It's about the fact that more and more entertainment has been going to "reality TV" over the past several years, which is cheaper to produce because it's talent-poor and ad-heavy. The CEOs and heads of studios and executives are getting more money with increased revenue both from bigger ad shares and the "new media" that's at the heart of the strike; the writers are getting no extra, and their jobs have been cut as a result. Yet - I don't see people yelling at the studio heads to give in to some demands that would end the strike.
Just because writers might derive some joy from their work does NOT mean they should be punished with less income than someone else doing a job that touches a lot of people positively. That's bullshit thinking. I'm sorry, but writing is harder than some other jobs that pay much better, and ought to be rewarded properly - with both income and respect. Especially the latter.
(EDIT:

moar funny pictures. Especially if you remember my post in December 2006 about the small owl I think he killed in self-defense.)
no subject
Date: 2008-01-12 08:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-12 08:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-12 08:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-12 12:11 pm (UTC)I've noticed nowadays that the trend is starting to deflate, thank God. Survivor, The Real World, The Bachelor, those kinds of shows used to get much more attention. Now it is Heroes, Supernatural, House, Lost, Grey's Anatomy, etc.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-12 07:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-12 02:50 pm (UTC)I personally aspire to be a screenwriter "when I grow up", so I'm completely sided with the writers in this strike. I'm just really pissed at the AMPTP for not giving them what they want when they're losing money, the writers are losing money, people are getting laid off, and the tv viewers are getting irritated. I heard that the WGA strike of 88 lasted 22 weeks, so I really hope this one isn't nearly as long.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-12 07:07 pm (UTC)I think respect for unions as a whole is going down in this country. People no longer understand how they got started, why they were necessary, and what they've done for the modern workday and pay schedule. Corruption in some instances is not a reason to throw out the entire system.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-12 03:10 pm (UTC)Because of course if you enjoy doing what you do for a living, you should be so grateful to be paid at all that little details like whether the bosses are screwing you over to line their own pockets shouldn't matter. It's not as if you have to pay bills and raise a family like everybody else, right?
Riiiiiight.
Oh, and I'd bet that eagle is thinking, "Can I carry it to the nest, or will I have to eat it here?"
no subject
Date: 2008-01-12 05:50 pm (UTC)(I don't care how big that bird is, if he made it back to his nest after attempting that, he'd be plucked like a chicken and have more aeration holes than a wiffle ball. *G*)
no subject
Date: 2008-01-12 06:09 pm (UTC)And you're right, the "My favorite show is going to be cancelled!" whiners should be complaining to the studio moguls, not demanding the writers give in.
(If he were seriously planning that, he'd be hovering for an opportunity to strike, not sitting on the rail. If, OTOH, the cat is stupid enough to try to jump him unprovoked, that beak could do some serious damage to that pretty white fur coat.)
no subject
Date: 2008-01-12 04:23 pm (UTC)A-freaking-men.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-12 05:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-12 06:58 pm (UTC)As for the picture... Munchkin and a bat. I want that photo.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-12 07:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-12 08:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-13 12:32 am (UTC)Oh yeah, and edited because I saw this on lolcats, and wondered if you had as well, because it made me giggle like a loon:
http://icanhascheezburger.com/2007/12/23/funny-pictures-davy-jones/#comments
/rant
no subject
Date: 2008-01-13 05:39 pm (UTC)My father was an automotive worker for 30 years; I grew up out in the middle of nowhere, and I understand this mindset. Doesn't mean I agree with it. Writers may not stand on their feet all day and have to suffer with loud noises and the possibility of physical injury, but many have given up a portion of their lives and future income toward education to do what they do, and have sometimes gone through periods of very little or no pay for what they do, while juggling menial jobs they didn't want - not to mention great personal debt - to get where they are.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-13 09:49 pm (UTC)Having said that there is danger if this goes on too long. If all of the next TV season or more is lost, it will matter significantly less what the writers (directors and actors) can get, because there will be less for them to go back to. People won't wait forever, and TV and movies aren't the only game in town any more. Habits will change and the longer they are out the fewer people come back, and the next generation may very well be completely unreachable.
Poor puddy, someone should warn him that that birdy has almost as many pointy ends as he does.