Story by Grace Miller

Design by Ellie Sabatino

*“You” staff on strike (Photo provided by Kara Corthron)*

In a fast-paced world where the constant pursuit of staying current can lead to exhaustion, there remains a constant: storytelling.

Film and media serve as avenues for escaping the mundane and gaining insight into alternate realities. This year, Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” challenged the way we think by suggesting that creativity will last forever, even though humans have an end. Cinema shapes our opinions, thoughts and decisions. Through these decisions, people are able to create social change.

However, certain storytellers have found themselves overlooked. The Writers

Guild of America (WGA) initiated a strike that has persisted since May 2. It is the first time in 15 years that writers are taking a stand and battling producers for new contracts. This strike has sparked a new conversation: Why are writers not valued as much as actors?

The writers are on strike due to inadequate payment, reduced job opportunities, small writing rooms, lack of staffing and, for some, the fear of Artificial Intelligence (AI) taking over script productions.

Members of the strike are advocating for greater pay equity among writers and calling for

substantial transformations in Hollywood. Kara Corthron, a writer for the TV series “You” and “The Flight Attendant” and an MFA candidate at Ohio University, shares the situations writers are being put in, causing them to strike.

“Screenwriters are being asked to create work that makes a few CEOs extremely wealthy while many of us are barely getting by … This industry has to change, and this strike is the beginning,” Corthon says.

Corthon also writes for a hit TV show in China and was on a video call with students in her writing class in Uganda, who were all fans of the show. She says how despite the show’s sizeable audience, her international residual checks do not exist.

Talk shows on NBC, CBS and ABC have been halted, and streaming services such as HBO’s Max have stopped airing new episodes due to the strike. Meanwhile, the Fox News show, “Gutfield!” has continued airing during the strike.

Many writers and actors have shown their support for the WGA strikes. Big names in Hollywood such as Sarah Hyland, Tina Fey, Lin-Manuel Miranda and many more have participated on the picket lines.

“The WGA negotiates with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) every three years, and it is an arduous process, involving a lot of compromises,” Corthon says. This time the AMPTP was unwilling to make the necessary compromises on their end and ignored many of the WGA’s proposals, which is why we’re now on strike. The AMPTP has not called for a follow-up meeting with WGA and until they do nothing will change.”

Corthron also fears that AI could eliminate her and other writers’ jobs because the AMPTP has not ruled out using AI.

Through all of this, Corthron says, “I try to be hopeful and the solidarity of my fellow members and other unions is encouraging.”

While picketing, John Carlson, a screenwriter, director and producer saw a dozen other writers protesting alongside him.

“Where would actors be without the words to perform? I was on the picket lines for one day and I sincerely hope they make a compromise soon for the sake of the future of human generated quality entertainment,” Carlson says.

An alumnus of OU, Frank Torok, who graduated this past year with a degree in media arts production, shares his opinion about the strikes from a different perspective.

Torok is an audio engineer and producer who participated in the OHIO-in-LA Program over the summer through the Scripps College of Communication.

“Freelancers in the music industry generally do not have unions like the WGA, but this entire situation is comparable to the general environment of the music industry before the Music Modernization Act; streaming changes everything. So, I feel for the writers,” Torok says.

However, he also worries about the financial impact the strike will have on Los Angeles.

“The last strike in 2007 resulted in an estimated amount of $2.1 billion in losses,” Torok says. “Screenwriters need to be paid more through residuals just as songwriters receive more profit through publishing. Could legislation solve this issue? Overall, this is a very multifaceted situation with tons of real-world impacts.”

Since the strike began, the Screen Actors Guild has joined the strike. Corthron has been optimistic about both groups striking together.

“If SAG/AFTRA also goes on strike, that may light a fire under them, but only time will tell.” Corthron says. “Greedy, short-sighted producers are the ones who need to change.”

With no definitive results yet, time will tell if this protest creates any change. But as people in the entertainment industry come together, whether from OU or Hollywood, it is clear there is true power in numbers.

“I feel at some point, an agreement will be reached, and writers will be compensated more fairly,” Torok says. “Although bigger media companies may be the reason this strike could last so long. I’m not exactly sure if this strike will end anytime soon.”

Behind the Picket Lines

A student-run publication FOR OHIO UNIVERSITY AND THE CITY OF ATHENS