Posted in: Opinion, streaming, TV, TV | Tagged: amptp, animation, streaming, television, tv, wga, writers' strike

WGA/AMPTP Writers Strike Notes: Viewers Have Power; Animation Writers

WGA/AMPTP Writers Strike Notes: A look at why the WGA needs to win over the hearts & minds of viewers; some animation writers share concerns.

Published Wed, 03 May 2023 08:59:13 -0500

by Ray Flook

Comments

Real life rarely offers you an opportunity to clearly & cleanly choose who the "heroic rebels" and "big bads" are in a situation. But that's definitely not the case when it comes to the Writers Guild of America (WGA) going on strike as of yesterday. Because unless you start your day "Uncle Scrooge McDuck-ing" your vast wealth, there's no way you can see what the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) brought to the table was anything more than a dismissive slap across the face. In fact, considering important key issues such as streaming residuals and AI copyright protections, calling what AMPTP had to offer in those areas "a dismissive slap across the face" is being too kind. Writers have been getting f**ked over for years, and they continue to get f**ked over, so we're all-in on them twisting the knife with the other unions until AMPTP taps (which they will).

But with that in mind, there are two points to consider that we wanted to address. First, the WGA needs to win over the "hearts & minds" of the viewing public because the landscape has shifted a lot of power to the public – and that's public relations battle that the WGA can't afford to lose because the streamers already have an advantage. Following that, a quick thought on what we've been seeing on social media from animation writers concerned that their employment opportunities are about to get even more difficult.

If Viewers Stop Caring, Then AMPTP Gets a Serious Advantage: Unlike last time, the viewing public is no longer a sideline-sitter, waiting to see how the fallout would impact their favorite shows & films. If the WGA wants to maintain the high ground in this labor battle with the AMPTP, then its members need to keep reminding viewers how much they miss their old shows and all of the things they're being deprived of because AMPTP won't respect writers. Because Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix, Disney, and others have a key weapon in their arsenal – streaming. If viewers stop caring about what's going on between both sides – if they emotionally check out from it – then you're going to see what we saw during the pandemic. Folks diving back into comfort shows like The Big Bang Theory, The Office, and others. Because there is clearly no such thing as "too many times" when it comes to rewatching a lot of favorites (coming from someone who's rewatched What We Do in the Shadows double-digit times). And with the popularity explosion we've seen in international programming, this would be the perfect time for the streamers to start pushing "lost shows" to lull viewers into complacency.

Some Animation Writers Are Getting Nervous: The fact that animation writers aren't automatically covered by WGA was a surprise that I learned only about a year or so ago. Though WGA members have pledged to fight for WGA coverage for them (and WGA West has contracts covering shows like FOX's The Simpsons and Adult Swim's Rick and Morty), most of the animation industry falls under The Animation Guild (I.A.T.S.E. Local 839) – with writers able to belong to both, but WGA membership does not guarantee WGA coverage on a specific animated project unless the member actively negotiates for it. I'm bringing this up because we're seeing some social media concerns from writers out there that an already rough animation landscape is only going to get more difficult if television & film writers begin gravitating toward animation for work. In one instance, a writer expressed concern that a production studio would prefer to have a writer with a popular television series or film attached to its upcoming project, as opposed to going with a writer who's experienced at writing in the field of animation. Coming off a brutal 12 months that saw the animation industry getting picked apart by companies looking to make up for past financial mistakes, the concern is understandable and very real.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!