If you’re a writer, read on.
If you’re a lover of film and television, read on.
If you’re someone who wonders how issues of fair compensation and artificial intelligence can affect people’s livelihoods, read on.
If you’re interested in how all this can impact you, by all means, read on!
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
Beginning at midnight on May 2, 2023, the Writers Guild of America (WGA)—a group of labor unions that represent film, television, and other online media writers—went on strike.
The strike is a manifestation of an ongoing conflict between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), specifically concerning a multitude of issues that writers have been facing when negotiating new contracts with Hollywood studios. During these negotiations, both sides were already preparing for the strikes to occur, a testament to the overall polarity and concrete resolutions showcased by both the Writer’s Guild and the AMPTP. After six weeks of back and forth between both groups, the WGA announced that it would be going on strike in protest.
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?
On Monday, May 1st, the Writers Guild of America website published an update, announcing that they would begin their strike the following day, as new contracts had not been sufficiently decided upon before the old ones expired. To add some context to this fact, as elaborated on in a New York Times article covering this topic, the WGA and AMPTP have historically renewed their contracts every three years, allowing for sufficient edits and alterations to be made.
However, this year, things did not go as planned.
The WGA maintains the position that, in essence, writers are being severely undervalued. As much of the film and television industries have moved toward an emphasis on streaming services in the last few years, the compensation and security granted to the writers of this media has been anything but emphasized. Rather, many writers have felt their contributions to the media world become largely undermined, as expressed in the lack of just compensation or fair pay that writer’s feel they are deserving of, yet not receiving. This dispute over what constitutes fair or deserved compensation remains a concrete pillar in the ongoing disagreements between the WGA and the companies under the branch of the AMPTP.
In addition to the argument regarding lack of value placed on writers—as expressed through a lack of fair pay and job security—a second issue must also be brought to light, one that is especially intriguing to me. This is the issue of artificial intelligence, or AI. As many of us know, recent years have emboldened the discussion of AI and the virtues or faults of using such technology. While technological advancement is, in many ways, inevitable, this fact of life means that society must begin to think of how it can and should be properly used in our daily lives. In their negotiations with the AMPTP, the WGA included a specific proposal regarding the use of AI: “Regulate use of artificial intelligence on MBA-covered projects: AI can’t write or rewrite literary material; can’t be used as source material; and MBA-covered material can’t be used to train AI.” The AMPTP rejected this proposal.
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?
Though there are many new nuances to this writers strike, it is not entirely unprecedented. Fifteen years ago—from November 5, 2007 to February 12, 2008—the WGA also went on strike over similar issues.
Just like what occurred then, it is likely that many television shows will experience setbacks, postponements, shortenings, and even cancellations. Without the creative minds behind the media, these shows cannot continue as usual; instead, the production companies must puzzle through a myriad of changes and adaptations that must be made in response to a lack of writers, many of which alter the media they are trying to produce altogether.
In short, the longer the strike goes on, the more you expect your favorite television series—both current and anticipated—to be affected.
Until the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers can come to an agreement, the future of television is, in many ways, unclear.
THE VALUE OF WRITERS (COMING FROM A WRITER)
To conclude this article, I would like to offer my thoughts—albeit biased ones—about one of the overarching themes of this ongoing strike: the value of writers. I know, I know…coming from the writer of this article, it seems evident what my opinions are. Nevertheless, this is something that I, and I’m sure many of you, are passionate about, which makes it quite important.
Storytelling as an art form is something that I believe is vastly underappreciated in our society. So much of what we rely on for entertainment, connection, and even happiness comes from the minds and hearts of storytellers everywhere. Sure, these stories are produced by fancy companies and brought to life by glamorous actors, and while these truths are by no means insignificant, I do not think they should be seen as more significant than the minds behind the original material.
As an English major and hopeful future author, I have been met with endless questioning and criticism surrounding my chosen career path. How will I make money? How will I get a job in the real world? How will I contribute to society?
I, for one, think that perhaps it is time to stop asking these tired, discouraging questions and instead ask new ones: Why does our society place so little value on writing as a career path, even though it is necessary for nearly every job? Why do we pretend that stories are not the backbone of our culture? Why do we praise the final products, but neglect the minds that made them possible?
I certainly do not have all the answers, not to these questions or to the uncertainty regarding the current writers strike. What I do know is this: we have to support writers. We have to support creatives. We have to support storytellers.
Without them, we would certainly be lost (and probably very bored).