Over the past few weeks, entertainment consumers have been forced to watch reruns as our favourite shows and movies gets delayed as of the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) union walk off
the job.
Writers in Hollywood work tirelessly to generate and adapt ideas into programming for network television and streaming platforms, with many of these writers represented by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) union.
On the opposing end of this strike is the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which is the body representing the corporations behind studios.
Despite industry profits rising exponentially from $5 billion in 2000 to $30 billion in 2021, writers have contrarily earned 4 per less over the same period. With the inclusion of inflation, this pay reduction equates to a 23 per cent reduction in wages. Essentially, the WGA workers ar stuck in a system that is consistently devaluing their work.
Over six weeks, The WGA and AMPTP negotiated on this wage discrepancy, in addition to industry gig-economy practices and the potential of AI to threaten writers’ jobs. But the lack of mutually beneficial resulted in nearly 98 per cent of the WGA to voting to strike.
With the exception of writers in radio and online media, all WGA writers have stopped working until an agreement between the WGA and AMPTP is reached.
With writers on picket lines, all film production shutters.
Film production can’t continue without scripts. Ongoing productions can’t be shot without writers to address changes during shooting. Shows in the final stages of filming are also at risk of being delayed, as the writing process continues through a show’s creation process.
As such, programs ranging from prime-time dramas to late night talk shows are at risk of having production halted until WGA workers are properly compensated for their work.
This isn’t the first time professionally scripted content has been in short supply, as in 2007, the WGA went on strike for 100 days. Using the consequences of the 2007 Writer’s Strike, plus the events of the 2023 strike, two main societal consequences of the strike can be identified: economic, and pop culture.
The strike causes a domino effect that can impact the economy of California. For example, the WGA strike in 2007 resulted in an economic loss of $2.1 billion. With many shows also being filmed in Vancouver and Toronto, the strike will negatively affect the Canadian economy too.
The economic loss can also harm student life.
Many students are active job seekers, and take jobs in the film industry it be to boost their resume and cover living costs. However, economic loss reduces jobs will inevitably negatively impact student job opportunities—especially students seeking a career in film and media.
If successful, the strike could provide benefits for students who rely on gig-work. Gig-economy practices overall devalue jobs and can create a harmful employment environment, especially in the context of student jobs that are highly competitive. The WGA’s fight against such practices opens the door for other sectors to push-back against the practice and improve the student job-market.
While it remains to be seen how the entertainment industry will be impacted in the long-term, mainstream entertainment will likely have to pivot to different types of content to satisfy heavy demand for entertainment.
Entertainment seekers might see a boom in reality TV, as production companies seek to fill out airtime with unscripted content.
Without new content to keep us satiated, there could potentially be a renaissance of older cinematic classics, filling our social media feeds with nostalgia.
The absence of material produced in Hollywood leaves a gap for the international market to fill. International content, like K-dramas, might also soar in popularity.
There’s also the possibility of using AI to generate more content, which will inevitably raise increased controversy and debates.
Overall, we will see a huge shift in culture as the traditional entertainment format changes from the status quo. As alternative media replaces scripted content, the demand for various programming will change for generations to come.
The WGA strike highlights the silent power American writers and the WGA have in the context of shaping society and culture. Writers are important because they create personable and unique content that resonates with us for generations to come. If their work is not valued and preserved, then numerous mediums of entertainment leave with them, reducing the richness of society and culture.
Writers add richness to our lives via the scripts they pen, and if that isn’t an ability worthy of appreciation, including fair monetary compensation and overall employer appreciation, I don’t know what is.
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