So the Militant was going through his blogroll this morning and found a nice alternate viewpoint on the WGA Strike on Blogging.la. The Militant was so inspired he was gonna comment, but decided to put his statements on his own space. But OMG Picket lines! Stop the world! Oh, the horror! THERE'S NOTHING TO WATCH ON TV! No more Desperate Housewives! (at least Filipino people can rest easy now that the show won't make any insensitive remarks towards them for the time being).
The Militant will keep this quick, after all, it's nothing he needs to be overtly concerned with.
So the writers want a fair share of their work...so they can continue to stereotype and disregard people - people who actually watch their dreck - so they can live comfortably in a nice Sherman Oaks townhouse. Uh-huh (The Militant doesn't at all dispute the fact that the producers are greedy, of course.)
The Militant cares absolutely nothing about this strike, as there are other people in this city who are struggling even more (an unbeknownst to the writers, producers, or anyone else in the entertainment industry, yes, there are other industries in Los Angeles (the health care industry is actually the largest in Southern California) this is not a "one- industry town" as those transplanted industry types constantly mumble through their culture-shocked generalizing mantras and likewise drill that point in our heads through their so-called "work"). Of course the real people (and yes there are real-down-to earth people in the City, though the industry refuses to acknowledge that) struggling in this City are people the entertainment industry purposely ignores and overlooks, simply because they don't consider them "people" in the first place.
Have fun out there, writers. After all, this is the only chance you'll get to "walk in L.A.," right? At least the weather is nice...just the way you like it!
Hey, writers are real people too. Well, at least some of them.
ReplyDeleteAnyhoo, it's not an apples to apples comparison when you say there are other people who deserve more and blah blah blah. Yes, you're right, but that doesn't change the fact that the writers are largely screwed by mega corporations and deserve a fair compensation for the work they do.
Here's hoping that one day all workers get their fair share. Until then, I say we support all groups of workers trying to achieve that.
Miles: The difference is that the writers have the support and sympathy of celebrities, etc who call attention to their cause. Other people who are toiling unglamorously in non-entertainment industry work do not, or only rarely get, that sort of media attention.
ReplyDeleteThe writers already have a lot of mainstream media support, so therefore they certainly don't need the Militant's.
When all is said and done, the writers will get their fair share, or at least a better deal. Then they'll just go back to their stereotyping.
I love you for this! I agree 100%!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Militant. I've been thinking this myself, and am often annoyed by the film industry's inability to recognize any value in other industries other than their own.
ReplyDeleteThe amount of vitriol that I have been subject to during the negotiations for fair filming rules downtown proved to me that this industry does not need any outside help, since we don't really exist anyway.
I support strikers in general, but since I have not had a TV in 30 years, and see maybe one movie a year, I can't imagine that this has any bearing on my life at all. I wish them luck, but I ain't lifting a finger for them (no pun intended).
Well, you might think that and to some degree, it may be true, but writers for a long time have been able to bring to screen (small and large) issues which were largely ignored before (Gay rights, Women's rights, Civl Rights, basic equality, etc.)
ReplyDeleteYes, they have celebrity friends and they get a lot of attention, but you can't fault them for that. That's the world we live in.
Should they do more? Yeah, probably. Should they support fellow unions on strike? You bet.
Are they perfect? No. But they truly aren't as reprehensible as you have noted. And if they are successful in their fight, then further less prominent unions have a better chance of success too.
Miles:
ReplyDeleteYes, they have celebrity friends and they get a lot of attention, but you can't fault them for that. That's the world we live in.
But...there are people who don't live in that world.
It's true and it's people like you who correctly point that out.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I support the writers. Members of my family and close friends belong to the Guild and, believe me, they have done far more than just fight for writers rights. To various degrees, they have fought for the rights of all workers. And Hollywood writers over the past 100 years have contributed quite a lot to making this country more fair.
But you don't hear about that either.
Miles: If the writers don't get their way, you feel their loss. If the writers do get their way, you feel their victory.
ReplyDeleteFor people like the Militant, whether the writers get their way or not, we're still screwed.
Yes, WGA writers were likely responsible for landmark programs like Roots. The Militant does not dispute that fact.
But Roots was shown 30 years ago, and very little has changed since then.
I too am surprised by how supportive the public is of this strike. Its all over the media (a big duh i suppose). It seems to me that other public demonstrations and strikes of truly struggling peoples (hotel worker's strikes for example) don't really receive such broad public support. In general I support strikes that increase worker's rights
ReplyDeleteStrikes that tend to lift most of the union wages increase inflation as most conservatives complain.
ReplyDeleteHowever writers supposedly can get better jobs and it is a survival of the fittest type profession. Tons of stereotypes does not make a writer and if the general writer gets a free ride with the union, quality writing may decline.
I would be fine with the writers if they include a performance clause where if the writing is mediocre, the writer could be fired....
I have a WGA card. I walked once but thats not how I make my living. At least not yet. Not all strikers are makin the big bucks militant. Oh and I'm not getting any love from big actors either. I still respect people that need to cross the picket because they need to make a living.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, expect a SAG strike soon too. Their contract is up in a few months as well.
Philpalm: The Militant is neither pro- nor anti-union, but what you describe has something to do with merit, and the Militant knows that most unions frown on anything that deals with merit.
ReplyDelete