While the CEOs of studios in Hollywood have entered the billion-dollar range in their yearly salaries, their writers can barely afford rent. The entertainment industry and major studio executives have exploited writers and their hard work for as long as the concept of media has existed. For the first time since 2007, writers are fighting back.
Late-night shows are shutting down, production on almost every television set has come screeching to a halt, and the entertainment industry is at a dystopian standstill. This has all been catalyzed by the actions of the Writers Guild of America (WGA), a union formed to protect the rights of the scriptwriters who orchestrate what we see on our screens. After 15 years of silence, approximately 11,000 writers are going on strike against the influence that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) has on labor conditions and wages. This strike has the power to bring down the entertainment industry as we know it.
Following the Covid-19 pandemic and the insurmountable climb of streaming services’ popularity, CEOs of streaming services and Hollywood studios have pocketed millions while their writers’ wages have decreased. Because of this, a job that already fluctuates in instability is more financially insecure than ever before. The WGA East and West asked the AMPTP to meet their demands of fair and equitable pay for writers, which includes a 10-week guarantee of work, mitigating the use of artificial intelligence in the writing process, and a reworked residual pay structure to protect their finances.
To their dismay, the AMPTP refused to meet these demands, resulting in a strike on May 2, 2023, with writers refusing to work until their demands were met. Numerous television series currently in production have shuttered, and movies set to be released in the coming months are likely to stall.
Furthermore, the ever-looming threat of artificial intelligence overtaking the job of writers has caused them to ponder the longevity of their careers. In an article in The New York Times entitled “Will a Chatbot Write the Next ‘Succession?’,” showrunner and creator of The Good Place Mike Schur said, “It is not out of the realm of possibility that [the next time the WGA negotiates with the AMPTP, the AMPTP] might just go, ‘you know what, we’re good […] we don’t need you.’” Frankly, the AMPTP has ignored the needs of writers doing the heavy lifting behind television and movie sets for many decades.
The strike has garnered the support of many high-profile actors, directors, and other members of the entertainment industry who understand the importance of fair treatment and representation of writers. During a pre-recorded speech at Sunday’s MTV Movie & TV Awards broadcast, acclaimed actress Jennifer Coolidge defended the strike. She explained, “Almost all great comedy starts with great writers, and I just think that as a proud member of SAG (the Screen Actors Guild), I stand here before you tonight side by side with my sisters and brothers from the WGA that are fighting right now, fighting for the rights of artists everywhere.”
Likewise, many have taken to social media to voice their support; this solidarity speaks to the larger issue of income inequality in the entertainment industry, where those at the top reap the rewards while those at the bottom struggle to make ends meet. By taking a stand, the writers are not only fighting for their own rights, but also for the rights of all those who work tirelessly behind the scenes to bring us the movies and television shows we love.
I believe that the ideological difference — where producers wish to create content, whilst writers wish to create art — has engendered this massive conflict. This art cannot be made without the sufficient pay and stability created by the AMPTP, and the writers are finally exercising their right to push back against their monopolizers.
What the AMPTP will soon realize is that the industry simply cannot create content without the writers behind it. No matter how flashy and modern a streaming package may be, it is but an empty stage without the writers orchestrating the whole show. This strike is a necessary course of action for an industry that has become oversaturated with the need for content.
There is an inherent structural issue with the way that Hollywood pays the people behind the scenes, and it is time for a change. Studios are going dark, writers flood the streets chanting “no contract, no content,” and streaming services lack content. It might be the end of the entertainment industry. It might be the beginning of television written entirely by artificial intelligence.
It remains to be seen how long the strike will last, but one thing is certain: the writers have shown that they are willing to fight for what they believe in, and they won’t back down until their demands are met. It’s the start of a revolution, and we all have a front-row seat.
