OK, I’ve been hiding behind the Hollywood writers’ strike. The truth is, I’ve been too busy with *work* (said with a Maynard G. Krebs intonation) to blog.
While I’ve never been a member of a union — in fact, I’m not a member of much of anything — I do sympathize with the goals of unions to represent the interests of workers . I think the decline of unions coincides with the rise of the disgusting rich and the shift in the entire society away from work and towards get-rich-quick schemes. After centuries of capitalism, we all agree money is worth more than labor. With every lottery ticket, you say, “I should be rich and the quicker and easier the better.” But no one should be stinking rich. Certainly, it shouldn’t come easily.
At some point, the only power a worker has over the boss is to withhold labor. (Similarly, the only power soldiers have over warmongers is to refuse to fight.) When no work gets done, even the rich may notice as they move from one gated community to the next.
So, I can’t really identify with the Hollywood writers’ strike. Granted, I believe we all deserve pay that is more than a pathetic fraction of the few people at the top. However, we don’t all deserve nor get $200,000 for 20 weeks of work, 20 hours per week. Work in which we sit among witty colleagues having a lot of fun. (Yes, it’s still work, but not quite the same as scrubbing toilets.) Mind you, the world desperately needs more humor and laughter is better than bloodshed. Perhaps striking writers could use this time to bring comedy to the homeless. mjh
3 thoughts on “Write On!”
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Mark,
I disagree that the upshot of the current strike is that
Hollywood writers are engaged in some sort of scam in order to avoid hard work. In the first place, these writers ARE bringing laughter
to the homeless; their scripts entertain schmucks watching the tube in both homeless shelters and billion-dollar mansions.
But
seriously, writing is hard work and folks that are able to write clear, compelling prose are extremely rare. Rare means valuable. Of
course, there are plenty of hack writers as in any field – perhaps a majority even – but we can all vote with our wallets or the remote
control, I hope. No one has ever put a gun to head to force me to watch “Desperate Housewives.” Fortunately, because that would be a
dilemma.
And the stereotype may be that these writers are all millionaires, hobnobbing with glamorous stars and other rich-and-
super-nice writers (yeah, right). The truth is that the WGA represents many thousands of writers – books, movies, tv, radio – and many of
these are making middle class wages, scrub their own toilets and are being continually ripped off over payment and control of their
intellectual property. You don’t have to identify with these guys to see their point.
Now, before you say: “Well, why don’t they
just go to a company where they’re appreciated?” remember: consolidation of the industry means only 6 major, stinking rich media
corporations own most of what anyone sees on TV or in theaters, reads, hears. Back during a more open market industry, these companies
would have been more than willing to negotiate with them for their product.
Lots of deceptive stories are being published about
this strike, written and distributed by … uh … golly! Those same 6 media companies! For a more complete understanding of the issues
in this strike I’d suggest going to:
http://johnaugust.com/archives/2007/pencils-down#comments
http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2007/11/why-strike-ii.html
http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2007/11/albatross.html
http://artfulwriter.com/archives/2007/07/john_bowman_the.html
I think the issue of intellectual property rights is translatable
across the labor spectrum and illustrates how devalued work has become in post-union, corporate America. As fewer and fewer companies
control more of the economy, that economy becomes less a free market than a company store.
We hear about this particular struggle
because 1) there’s a union, 2) because most people recognize some entertainment value in these writings, and 3) because somebody
somewhere is holding a gun to their own head and watching. The shakedown in the general labor market is no less urgent, it just doesn’t
get as much notice. And we’re all suckers compared with the average European worker. We just are. We should be in the streets over
universal health care, right? Maybe tomorrow.
I’m rooting for these union writers and their effective union. They are taking on
the Media Goliaths with the only tool they have and they are not asking for much, just something! Read the details.
By the way, I
have to pay union dues at my job, too, and all that does is line Bill Richardson’s campaign coffers. Our union is completely worthless
at negotiating and is firmly in the pocket of the governor.
The WGA is kicking ass for those it represents and my hat’s off to
them!!!
Comrade, don’t let the corporations set us working men and women at each other’s throats!
You make your point with passion. However, only some writers deserve more compensation and others need new careers. I still think the
plight of most writers is less severe than that of a lot of other people, unionized and not. (He types in a well-lit, warm room on the
new computer bought with royalties.)
As for intellectual property, (a) Americans hate intellectuals and (b) we’re at the dawn
of a new era in which nobody pays for anything except by enduring advertisements. You better do what you do for love cuz nobody’s going
to pay you to do it much longer. The new scale is the applause meter; buzz is the new gold. AmeriCo won, though it helps sales if you
think otherwise. Please press the button for another pellet. peace, mjh
Did you see the analysis of WGA members? One of the socialistic benefits of WGA membership is health insurance, but only if
that WGA member made over $30K the previous year. Last year only 6,000 or the 12,000 members qualified for health insurance.
$30K
would have seemed like a big payday in 1970, but I wonder how these schmucks can get by in LA on that chicken feed? No tears for writers
in comparison to the rest of the Corporate Victims of America perhaps, but their struggle is the only game going since the UAW pussied
out. Go WGA!!! Maybe other workers will pick up and wave the standard after the writers are mowed down by the producers. But that script
has yet to be written.
Fortunately, in a few years it’s not going to matter what or who Americans love or hate. Our opinions,
following our dollar, have been severely overexposed and devalued. Might be a good time to brush up on your German writing skills.
And I can prove America doesn’t hate intellectuals per se: “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?” QED.