television off

[zenithblue]

So I don't know if I have much to add to the conversation about the WGA Writers' Strike, but my TV is off until the strike is settled.

Part of me is sad that, of all the injustices corporate America perpetrates, the one that gets attention is the one that threatens to take away peoples' televisions. Somehow it's become unfashionable to support workers' rights in this country (you get called a socialist! Or worse: French!). This is even more disheartening as the divide between rich and poor becomes more absolute.

That said, this particular strike is close to home for me. I'm virtually married to someone who works in the media industry, which is a realm that gets away with treating people like garbage because "that's just how it works." We have friends in the production industry, and friends hoping to finagle their way into the production industry, most of whom do so because they believe that serial storytelling can, at its best, be a powerful creative medium. And the industry takes these people, grinds them to a pulp, and throws them aside.

So, yes: I support the WGA, and I support anyone who wants to take a stab at the behemoths we've created to sell us products.

Oh: and I do wish Steve Carell a speedy recovery from his unfortunate case of enlarged balls.

Comments

[helpimarock.livejournal.com]

This has a lot to do with why I have almost completely given up on going into audio production. Which kind of sucks considering I'm little more than a dozen credits away from having a bachelors degree in that field.

And while I'm totally on the side of the writer's in this current situation, I generally have no love for the WGA or any of the entertainment industry unions. Especially SAG, they're the worst -- like crooked and unfair on the level of pipefitter's unions. They create just as many problems for their workforce as the corporations do by essentially saying "you can practice you art... so long as you practice it *only* with the other people in our little club." Fuck that, that's not art, that's a dictatorship. It's almost the same mentality that led to the movie studios essentially *owning* actors like they did in the first half of the 20th century. Which is ridiculous b/c the unions were created to stop that crap.

But yeah, what are we going to do? Having the screwed up trade unions is infinitely better than letting the corporations run wild.

[alecaustin.livejournal.com]

Dunno if you've seen it (it's all over the place, & you mentioned Steve Carrell), but there's a nice clip from the writers at The Office that explains the logic behind this particular strike quite well.

[drawgirl.livejournal.com]

But how will you know that the strike is over if your tv isn't telling you?

Fun fact to know and tell: somehow, magically, the strike does not affect animation.... not quite sure how that works.

[antarcticlust.livejournal.com]

This is spot on - when banana pickers, or a car manufacturing union, or what-have-you go on strike, the effects aren't quite as dramatic and immediate. Even with transportation strikes (maybe because the government gets involves) there are alternatives to, say, US Airways, or what-have-you. It's really rather sad that television hits people where it hurts, when aspects of their consumerist lives don't.

It makes me feel a little guilty that I only watch television on DVD.