By Olivia Eiken | Staff Writer
Early this summer, thousands of members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike after failed negotiations for fair wages and protection against artificial intelligence. Most recently, members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) joined the screenwriters on the picket line.
Dr. Zachary Sheldon, lecturer in the film and digital media department, teaches a class on media in society. He said he believes the strike has been a long time coming.
“In a lot of ways, it’s growing pains in the industry,” Sheldon said. “It’s something you see consistently when new technologies are introduced, specifically streaming platforms.”
SAG-AFTRA was unable to reach a fair negotiation with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers — an association that represents some of the biggest entertainment conglomerates, such as The Walt Disney Co., Netflix, Warner Bros., Discovery and Paramount.
Netflix became the first successful streaming platform when it hit the internet in 2007. Since then, studio producers, screenwriters and actors have struggled to form a united stance regarding how they should best be compensated.
Chris Hansen, chairman of the film and digital media department, said the residual pay for streaming services is significantly less than what writers and actors would make working in network television.
“With network television, actors would get paid every time their episode aired following its premiere,” Hansen said. “With streaming, there is no ‘re-airing.’ The future is streaming. The industry needs to catch up and pay the actors and writers their worth. They need to make a fair living.”
The strike is particularly significant because it’s the first time both writers and actors have come together on the picket line since 1960. Because of this union, Sheldon said he fully plans on adjusting his curriculum to cover the strike and its impact.
“I plan on covering the relationship between the introduction of AI and the people it affects, as well as the industry having to come to terms with the technological apparatuses that it itself built,” Sheldon said.
Sheldon said he believes the strike will most likely end in favor of the unions.
“The most likely outcome is concession to the guilds from the studios,” Sheldon said. “Then, when new technologies develop in 30 years, we’ll do this all again.”
Hansen said he also believes the strike will end in favor of the unions because it’s a do-or-die situation for writers and actors.
“I don’t see the writers and actors buckling under the pressure of needing to get back to work,” Hansen said. “The unions will not survive if they go back to work under the conditions they’re currently in.”
