Giving Credit Where Credit’s Due: How the Writers Strike Speaks to a Larger Injustice in our World
If you’ve ever watched any type of movie or show before, chances are you’ve probably seen the extensive credits that follow them. Chances are you also skip them unless you’re watching a Marvel movie, and even then, let’s be honest, you’re not paying attention to those names.
However, each of those names is a person who contributed to the production you enjoyed, and they are often not given the credit that they are due.
Lack of proper compensation and repeated instances of disrespect are some of the many reasons why the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike back in May. Even though the 2023 WGA strike is coming to a close, resuming production for multiple Hollywood studio projects will still be delayed. In having numerous much-anticipated projects hindered, many are wondering why writers and other film industry workers went on strike in the first place.
One of the biggest reasons for striking was the fight for writers’ proper compensation. While many assume that the average Hollywood writer gets paid thousands of dollars per project and earns a comfortable living, this assumption is nevertheless further from the truth.
The larger majority of writers on these big productions are paid a very, very small amount in the form of residual checks, which are long-term payments given to film project workers. Before streaming, writers received residual checks that were determined by how many times their project was aired or sold, allowing them to make a stable income. Now, the game has changed. With the introduction of streaming services, these “…residuals are paid annually, and generally based on the exhibition year, the length of the program, and the amount of subscribers…[writers have] said the highest residual check he’s received for a network show that went to a streaming service was worth $1,700, with the typical amount ranging between $400 to $600.” (Nguyen 13). This decrease in salary flow for writers has been detrimental to their livelihood, preventing them from being able to pay for utilities, car expenses, groceries, and rent/mortgages. “In August, the median monthly rent in Manhattan was $4,400, and it was $4,695 in downtown and the west side of Los Angeles,” so it’s not an exaggeration to say that as a writer working in one of these cities, half of your income is going towards your rent alone (Kaysen 6).
If rising house rates and declining salaries weren’t enough, the professions in the entertainment industry have the ever-lingering worry of AI takeover. Seeing as AI’s ability to write stories, make sound effects, and imitate voices is only improving, “‘The [Writers Guild of America, the Directors Guild of America, and the Screen Actors Guild — American Federation of Television and Radio Artists] each respectively [demanded] new contract language that provides clarity, protections and restrictions on the use of generative AI regarding employment terms with writers, directors and actors’”(Krienke 7). So with all of these struggles being piled onto film and TV writers’ backs, it’s no wonder that they finally slammed their computers down and decided enough was enough.
While the pay of Hollywood writers might not seem like a pressing issue in comparison to climate change or world hunger, the bigger principles behind the strike are something that needs to be seriously considered by everyone, especially those in positions of power.
If we take the WGA and the SAG-AFTRA strikes, among others, as a larger metaphor, we get a clear example of people on the top of the social pyramid reaping the rewards of the tireless work done by the thousands of people who work under them. With hundreds of “people who work in the film and television industry [struggling] to keep up with basic living expenses” and then “Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Reed Hastings [receiving] more than $50 million each”, the scales resemble an elephant and mouse in terms of benefit (Kaysen 4; Nguyen 4). The work, dedication, and abuse suffered by these film and television workers in the workplace make the taste of this pay inequity even more sour. The all-too-common stories of workers “having to track down golf carts that had gone missing after joy rides on the studio backlot” or “hand-delivering scripts every night to an actor in Malibu who did not use email” emphasize how much workers in the industry work for those small paychecks they receive (Swann 1).
This type of treatment puts into perspective the social structures in our world and the detrimental effects of taking advantage of the workers who make the big things happen. As a society, we must realize that every accomplishment is the result of a chain reaction. One job may seem insignificant, but if enough “small” jobs aren’t getting done, the whole production is a wrap (pun intended). The essential workers who make things happen in places like hospitals, local governments, public sanitation, and media should be uplifted and appreciated. The process and work that goes into upholding these crucial parts of our society should not be taken for granted, and we can see what happens when we do.
So while I don’t expect you to sit through 10-minute-long credits to read each and every name of all the people who worked on your favorite movie, I implore you to recognize the work of the hundreds of people who made it happen and appreciate the impacts essential workers in the world have.
Works Cited
Anders, Caroline. “Residuals Are a Key Issue for Hollywood Strikers. Here’s How They Work.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 18 July 2023, www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/07/15/actors-strike-what-are-residuals/.
Brown, Frederic. Polygon, May 31, 2023, https://www.polygon.com/23742770/ai-writers-strike-chat-gpt-explained. Oct.4, 2023.
Buckner, Michael. “Protests in support of the Writers Guild of America strike walk outside at Universal Studios on May 5 in Los Angeles.”Women’s Wear Daily, May 17, 2023, https://wwd.com/business-news/media/writers-strike-upfronts-wga-disney-netflix-1235655557/. Oct. 4, 2023.
“Hollywood Assistants Aren’t in the Writers Guild. They’re Still Hit Hard by the Strike.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 Sept. 2023, www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-09-22/sag-aftra-strike-writers-assistants.
Kaysen, Ronda. “Writers, Actors and Others Struggle to Pay the Rent as Strikes Continue.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Sept. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/09/21/realestate/writers-strike-rent-ny-la.html.
Krienke, Kimani. “Hollywood Is Terrified of Ai — and How It’s about to Steal Their Jobs.” New York Post, New York Post, 6 July 2023, nypost.com/2023/07/06/hollywood-is-terrified-of-ai-stealing-their-jobs-study-shows/.
Laemeur. The Hollywood Reporter, Aug.16, 2023, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/strike-earnings-hollywood-sagaftra-wga-1235567738/. Oct.4, 2023.
Liu, Jennifer. “The Top Hollywood Exec Made $498 Million in the Last 5 Years-384 Times as Much as the Average Writer.” CNBC, CNBC, 2 June 2023, www.cnbc.com/2023/06/01/top-hollywood-exec-made-498-million-in-5-years-while-writer-pay-fell.html.
McCluskey, Megan. “What Happened When SAG and the WGA Went on Strike in 1960.” Time, Time, 14 July 2023, time.com/6294777/sag-wga-strike-1960/.
Nguyen, Janet. “How Much Less Are Screenwriters Getting Paid Compared to What They Used To? .” Marketplace, Marketplace, 8 June 2023, www.marketplace.org/2023/06/08/how-much-less-are-screenwriters-getting-paid-compared-to-what-they-used-to/.
