For the first time in 63 years, Hollywood writers and actors are participating in a joint strike against production companies. The strike stems from concerns about technological developments in the field and the implications they have on pay structures.
As movie and TV consumers, we may experience a slower rate of media releases in the coming months because the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA), along with the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) are on strike. While this is frustrating, we ask that our readers give the WGA and SAG-AFTRA some grace. When you enjoy a silly comedy or a gut-wrenching drama, understand that a lot of work goes into these pieces of visual entertainment.
The WGA strike demands protections against artificial intelligence (AI) and fair residuals for content released on streaming services. Members of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) joined the strike on July 14, making this the first joint writers’ and actors’ strike in Hollywood since 1960.
The 1960 WGA strike established the system of residual wages that are currently in dispute. Residuals are payments that people who worked on a film or TV show receive when their content runs on cable television, which unions negotiate. Actors and writers also receive residuals when a consumer buys a physical copy of their content, like a DVD.
Technically, Hollywood workers receive residuals from subscription streaming services, but these payments are negligible compared to the residuals actors and writers receive from television broadcasts. Residuals from streaming services are often not proportional to the popularity of a show and, according to ABC News, many streaming services do not release viewership figures.
The current structure of residuals maximizes the money that production companies can make from media released on streaming services. From a business perspective, it makes sense to maximize profit, but it results in unfair compensation for Hollywood workers.
AI is also a crucial element to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. For writers, AI poses a threat to the credit they receive for their written material. They are open to using AI as a tool to augment their writing, but they are concerned that doing so could diminish the prestige they receive for their work. Additionally, actors are concerned that AI’s growing ability to imitate a person’s voice and likeness could render their craft obsolete.
It is hard to draw the line between smart business practices and exploitation. While it is important for production companies to make enough profit to sustain their businesses, it is also important that actors and writers have proper conditions and compensation for their hard work.
As high school journalists, we understand the passion and dedication it requires to generate high-quality written material. It is imperative that we value writers’, actors’ and crews’ creativity over production companies’ bottom line. At the Lion’s Tale, we stand with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA as they strike.
