If someone compared my sentiment from the time I was 4 years old watching “The Wiggles” to my sentiment at 14 years old watching “Silence of the Lambs,” their conclusion would be the same: I was fascinated by film. Of course, while I loved an Australian children’s T.V. show and a cult classic horror movie for entirely different reasons, my fixation on film never changed, merely evolved.
This led to 15 year old me flying out to LA to participate in an acting workshop to understand the process that goes into creating a film. Prior to this, I was much more accustomed to theater, so it was a new experience to not only learn how to act in front of the camera, but to work behind it as well. I fell in love with the plethora of possibilities LA could offer for film opportunities, so I decided that coming to Oxy for college would be the best way to collaborate and learn from fellow artists.
The dream I thought I would live through prior to coming to LA soon dissipated after speaking with several professionals who have worked in the industry for decades. One of these individuals — who I met in the same acting workshop at 15 — is my acting coach, a member of the SAG-AFTRA union. His experiences gave me personal insight into how unstable the lives of most actors are. This may sound like an insult — which, don’t get me wrong, it is — but it’s directed towards the production companies who exploit actors, not the actors themselves. These studios will always have one objective in mind: profit. As a consequence, actors, writers and other behind-the-scenes workers are exploited and used as compensation for spending egregious amounts of money on other more superficial aspects, such as big movie stars.
Out of the 160,000 members who work within the SAG-AFTRA union, 86 percent do not reach the salary threshold to be eligible for the most basic necessities, such as health benefits. Apart from this, even the most fundamental requests — such as increased pay to support themselves and reinforcements within the residual process (financial compensation for the repeated use of an actor’s material) — are, supposedly, “too much” for production studios. Despite attempting to reach a deal, they are yet to find a suitable negotiation. The production studios’ intransigence in respecting actors’ rights means the union is still on strike, and many actors are left jobless.
The WGA, however, recently reached an agreement with production studios that allows them to go back to work. The deal — which only lasts for three years — entails a 12.5 percent total increase in payment by the third year. Writers also managed to increase their foreign streaming residuals by 76 percent. Despite this, there is no succinct answer on what production studios might do after the third-year mark passes.
Our generation is not the first to experience these worries. As one strike comes to an end — while the other has yet to close — people must realize that this isn’t the first time either strike has occurred. However, with increasing technology and digital services, the strikes also highlights the disturbing truth of how studios can — and will — evolve in their methods of exploitation. Forty-three years ago, the actors’ strike revolved around videotapes and cable television; today, it revolves around AI and digital streaming services. Both, however, are dealing with the same issue: poor compensation and even poorer stability. Eventually, the actors’ strike will come to an end, and all may be resolved — but will it stay that way?
As a fellow writer and actress, I am content with the deal the writers have made, and will likely be content with the deal actors (eventually) reach with studios. However, my particular concern does not lie in the temporary solution, but rather the longterm issues. After a time has passed, studios will discreetly revert back to exploiting their workers. Not immediately, but gradually — and, sooner or later, the strike cycle will start all over again.
For the majority of film workers — including myself — this is completely out of our control. Most eventually need to submit to any working regulations on film sets just to meet our basic needs. The “fresh in LA” folks who follow the Hollywood dream will continuously be taken advantage of unless those with more experience and power step in to educate and aid us in the process. It is obvious why people with similar artistic careers in mind would be concerned, but even for those not directly affected the entire entertainment industry is at stake and at risk of collapsing altogether. Workers will get tired of trying to fight for the bare minimum, and eventually will leave their work: abandoning film, theater, and other forms of production altogether. Only when studios are able to provide an ethical, permanent solution for all involved in the creative filmmaking process will there be stability in this industry.
In the case of the WGA negotiation, the main hope is that the union continues to keep pushing towards better rights for their writers, and doesn’t become complacent with studio practices. Similarly, when the SAG-AFTRA deal is established with studios — at least temporarily — actors should continue to advocate for themselves.
As technology evolves, production companies may resort to unethical digital practices involving AI and we must fight arduously against that. Film is created by people just like us, who should be afforded the same workplace protection as anyone else.
Contact Amber Davison at adavison@oxy.edu
