Words by Natasha Hemraze
The Writers Guild of America, made up of over 11,500 film and television writers, has called a strike.
Early this month, the Writers Guild of America East and West “voted unanimously” to call a strike. The WGA has been negotiating with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, arguing that “the survival of writing as a profession is at stake in this negotiation”.
Over the years, writers have been overworked and underappreciated. Worse than this, they’ve been underpaid: the median pay for writers has been on a decline for a while. So, in retaliation, they’re fighting for the establishment of a Minimum Basic Agreement. It would provide and protect writers’ salaries, benefits, pensions, working conditions, residual payments and creative rights.
Alongside a 14% decline in pay, other facets of writers’ experiences within the industry have also faltered. For example, mini rooms have transformed significantly. Mini rooms tend to be composed of a few writers collaborating to create scripts for a show. However, mini room writers are reportedly being paid inadequately and no longer getting the opportunity to be involved in the production and post-production processes.
Streaming has also had a major impact, making writers’ careers “less sustainable and less livable”. Services like Netflix, Disney+, Paramount+, and Apple TV continue to pose a threat to the livelihood of writers amidst the streaming boom. Retaining billions in subscription revenue, they are more concerned with churning out content rather than the well-being of their writers, depriving them of being paid a fair share for the success of these movies and shows.
The guild has also called for regulation in the use of artificial intelligence in writing. There has been emerging anxiety over which jobs and industries can be replaced by AI, so the WGA are trying to protect their writers’ job security in this arena too. Actor Sean Penn went as far as to describe AI as a “human obscenity”. Though ChatGPT is great for those wanting an easy break with homework, it has begun to pose a threat to writers and creative industries. Still, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has stated that it is open to yearly meetings to “discuss advancements in technology”.
It has been three weeks since the strike began, and we won’t notice the effects as we keep our consumption of content on rotation. However, some shows ceased immediately including Saturday Night Live and late night talk shows with Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and Jimmy Kimmel – all of whom showed solidarity alongside their writers.
This isn’t the first time the Writers Guild of America went on strike. In 2007, the WGA striked for 100 days, causing a loss of $2.1 billion to the Los Angeles economy.
For decades, writers have been at the core of our favourite shows and movies. Perhaps we have forgotten that their creative instincts and innovative imaginations are what brought our favourite characters to life. Technology has been great for the film industry, but at the root of it all is a writer’s pen and artistry that we must not take for granted.