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The SAG/WGA Strike Could Affect Content Creators. Here's What to Do About It. ('You'll Be Known as a Scab')
Mashable ^ | July 13, 2023 | Elizabeth de Luna

Posted on 07/13/2023 11:48:15 PM PDT by nickcarraway

Actors aren't working right now, so studios will turn to you for content in their place. Don't fall for it.

If you're a content creator, the SAG/WGA strike will likely affect you in some way. It might change the way you view Hollywood, affect what opportunities are available to you, or keep your loved ones from finding work. Here's a quick run down of why you should support the strike and how you can show solidarity.

What is this strike about?

What are SAG and WGA striking over?

We've put together a helpful summary at this link but basically, amidst an ongoing WGA strike, negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have soured.

SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said in a statement earlier today that, "The [companies of the AMPTP] have refused to meaningfully engage on some topics and on others completely stonewalled us. Until they do negotiate in good faith, we cannot begin to reach a deal. We have no choice but to move forward in unity, and on behalf of our membership, with a strike recommendation to our National Board."

This morning, the board chose to strike.

What can't actors do while striking?

Actors cannot participate in projects (acting of any kind, including voice acting), promotions (interviews, social media, public appearances), or any pre-production-related activities (costume fittings, etc). They also cannot negotiate new opportunities. This helpful TikTok video from Variety lays it all out:

Why you should support the strike:

Actors aren't working right now, so studios will turn to you for content in their place. Don't fall for it. Without working actors, Hollywood will still want to make money. To do that, they will turn to content creators. But this is not your time to cash in, and it's not your "big break."

Standing in solidarity with the SAG and WGA will ensure that more than 180,000 people can make a decent living off of their work. Plus, once the unions come to an agreement and go back to work, the studios will drop you, and you'll be known as a scab(opens in a new tab) — someone who worked while everyone else was striking.

Better working conditions for SAG/WGA means better working conditions for everybody

The 160,000 members of SAG and 20,000 members of WGA deserve to make a decent living off of their work. By supporting their strike, you support their survival and ensure the strike doesn't drag out longer than it has to.

Crossing the picket line now may make it difficult for you to join a union in the future

If you're a content creator who wants to become a screenwriter or actor, crossing the SAG/WGA strike picket line may affect your ability to join either union in the future. That means you'll have fewer protections as you work and a smaller community of collaborators to work with (because nobody likes a scab).

What you can do instead:

Pivot your content

If you make entertainment content, creator Imani Barbarin(opens in a new tab) suggests pivoting your content:

"You need to be actively talking about the strike as well as what has happened during past strikes and how it changed entertainment... 'the plot holes that arose in my favorite show during the last writers strike or actors strike' or 'actors that have participated in strikes in the past and were blackballed by studios...' The reality is that in your content, this will be a momentary blip... Pivot your content to stick with the artists and actors... because in this industry, those are the people you are most likely to connect with."

Walk the picket line

If you can, get out and walk the picket line with the actors and writers. And guess what? A day on the picket line can easily be transformed into content, too.


TOPICS: Computers/Internet; Music/Entertainment; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: amptp; hollyweird; hollywood; sag; sagaftra; strike
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1 posted on 07/13/2023 11:48:15 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: DeathBeforeDishonor1

Ping


2 posted on 07/13/2023 11:48:45 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway
Who really cares? They can go away forever. I won't miss their slop.

3 posted on 07/13/2023 11:50:43 PM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie (LORD, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil.)
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To: nickcarraway

Haha! My first job (I think I was at 14 or 15- I remember riding my bike and my Mom picking me up late at night) was as a scab at Safeway. I recall the strikers being especially nasty people (on at least one occasion they threw rocks at me)- not surprising as the Safeways I have been to employ some of the laziest and most insolent public facing employees I have ever met (save for government).


4 posted on 07/13/2023 11:52:51 PM PDT by mikegreenwell39
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To: nickcarraway

Unions hate competition.


5 posted on 07/13/2023 11:53:56 PM PDT by agere_contra
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To: nickcarraway

Somebody’s missing the point. If we “content creators” cross the picket line, we help corporate, who hate us and who we hate. If we don’t, we help the writers and actors, who hate us and who we hate. How about the whole festering lot of them can go to hell?


6 posted on 07/13/2023 11:54:25 PM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: Billthedrill

Yes, I was thinking along those lines.


7 posted on 07/13/2023 11:57:37 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

So many Hollywood projects clearly didn’t use writers.

She-Hulk, Witcher Blood Origin, The Rings of Power, Seasons 2 through 4 of Battlestar Galactica, Bat-Girl, the later Star War Movies, all Marvel stuff since End Game.

The ‘writers’ shouldn’t be on strike. They need to learn how to write.


8 posted on 07/14/2023 12:01:48 AM PDT by agere_contra
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To: nickcarraway

AI is believed to be a major piece of contention. No surprise there.


9 posted on 07/14/2023 12:07:37 AM PDT by plain talk
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To: nickcarraway
I have friends in the entertainment industry, and what the SAG is going on strike about is very understandable. The studios/execs want to hire extras for one day of production, and during that time scan their faces and bodies so that there's a digital model of the actor. The studios want to be able to use that model forever, and they would pay NOTHING for the use of the extras' likenesses. Imagine showing up on the set tomorrow, getting a hundred dollars for the day's work and then twenty years later seeing your face and body "acting" in a successful blockbuster... and you get nothing for it.

I don't really care for what happens to liberal Hollywood either, but even a broken clock is right twice a day. SAG is trying to head off a use of technology that threatens many people's livelihood, not just their own.

10 posted on 07/14/2023 12:08:27 AM PDT by Ciaphas Cain (#notmypedophile)
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To: Ciaphas Cain
I am not saying its not understandable, but I am asking, does SAG really have the ability to stop the studios from doing that? Soon they may not even need that extra for one day, they may be able to create the extras entirely.

And likewise, is there any way the writer's union can stop studios from AI writing?

I don't want either of those things, but at this point, are they fait accompli?

11 posted on 07/14/2023 12:13:08 AM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Will anyone even notice?


12 posted on 07/14/2023 12:21:15 AM PDT by Reno89519 (DeSantis 2024. Successful Governor, Honorable Veteran, Respectful, Respected.)
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To: Reno89519

There are probably people, who are not part of either group, that will be losing their jobs because of this.


13 posted on 07/14/2023 12:22:58 AM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway
Soon they may not even need that extra for one day, they may be able to create the extras entirely.

They can do it right now, the AI will look a little fake but if the film is low budget, you wouldn't notice that much anyway.

14 posted on 07/14/2023 3:14:19 AM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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To: nickcarraway

I want to be a content creator to royally piss these people off.


15 posted on 07/14/2023 3:20:59 AM PDT by Enterprise
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To: nickcarraway

I’m going to go create some Hollywood style content in my toilet.


16 posted on 07/14/2023 3:24:20 AM PDT by Sirius Lee (They intend to murder us. Prep if you want to live and live like you are prepping for eternal life)
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To: nickcarraway

I don’t see anyone holding pity parties for Bud bottlers.


17 posted on 07/14/2023 3:26:15 AM PDT by mewzilla (We will never restore the republic if we don't first secure the ballot box.)
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To: nickcarraway

“160,000 members of SAG” -— Most of whom cannot make a living from acting.


18 posted on 07/14/2023 4:03:23 AM PDT by PghBaldy (12/14/12 - 930am -rampage begins... 12/15/12 - 1030am - Obama team scouts photo-op locations.)
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To: agere_contra

I agree with most of those…except BSG. I know the ending was weak…but I compared to today, that stuff is Shakespeare.


19 posted on 07/14/2023 4:03:31 AM PDT by Vermont Lt
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To: nickcarraway
My personal belief, for what it's worth, is shaded by the motion picture/TV industry being increasingly co-opted into promoting leftist and deviant causes. Could not care less about their troubles. There is very little intellectual balance or substance remaining in that art form.
20 posted on 07/14/2023 4:07:35 AM PDT by PerConPat (A politician is an animal which can sit on a fence and yet keep both ears to the ground.- Mencken)
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