Some of my good friends are SAG members or are writers of content for our entertainment and education. They are being manhandled by the folks who produce the TV/film/streaming content that we all consume with a never ending appetite. These incredibly wealthy producers…most of whom could not write or act their way out of a paper bag don’t value the work of the artists who make their lavish lifestyles possible. No writers…no shows of any real value. Pick your favorite program…who writes it ? Who acts in it?…..and not just the above the credits stars…all of the actors and extras….and then guess what? When these folks are on strike….ALL of the other departments, the technicians, crafts people are out of a job.
So, how do we, the consumers of all of this art…all of this hard work, by dedicated professionals…affect this issue in this moment ?
We give…you and me…all of us together the studio execs, the PR people, the folks sitting in the glass towers high above it all a Norma Rae moment.
We stop consuming. We cut them off. We drop their streaming service for a month.
Cancel your Netflix, Disney, Apple, Hulu…whatever. Xfinity has basic packages of 10 and 50 channels. We can survive for 30 days without being wired to every possible content service….can’t we ?
If they loose 5 million subscribers in a week…they will take notice.
and we need to demand quality programing. Real writing, real acting…Not a bunch of crap reality shows. They are making billions of dollars off of us…our viewing. I know that I have 100 TV channels I never watch. I want a package of channels that I care about.
I believe this is the moment we all channel our inner Sally Fields actor and Irving Ravetch & Harriet Frank Jr writers and demand justice and fairness in the creation of our entertainment. This writing team won a number of awards for writing Hud, staring Paul Newman.
Here’s your chance to join the picket line…watch some DVDs this month…or go listen to some local music…catch a play…turn off the TV
Peace.
I just read a post from SAG members asking people to not cut off their streaming services...yet. They asked for donations to their support funds instead. If I sounded "grouchy" in the post it's because I've been taken advantage of by producers and studios in the past and it punches one of my buttons to see creative people not valued by the folks who make very good livings off of their work.