On March 7, members of The Writers Guild of America (WGA) voted just short of 99% in favor of a list of new demands from The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) – which represents Amazon/MGM, Apple, Disney/ABC/Fox, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount/CBS, Sony, Warner Bros., Discovery (HBO) and more. The demands are in pursuit of higher pay, adjusted residuals, new staffing requirements and protections from artificial intelligence (A.I.), amongst other concerns. 

Six months later, no agreement has been reached and the WGA is currently on strike, joined now by The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), marking the first joint strike between actors and writers in 63 years and the first joint walkout since 1980. With seemingly no end in sight, many actors, writers, unions, laborers and fans alike are left wondering what this strike could mean for the future of the entertainment industry.

The WGA is looking to address concerns within three main categories: compensation and residuals; pension plans and health funds; and professional standards and protection in the employment of writers. Their list of demands within these three categories is as follows:

Compensation and Residuals

• “Increase minimum compensation significantly to address the devaluation of writing in all areas of television, new media and feature”
• “Standardize compensation and residual terms for features whether released theatrically or on streaming”
• “Address the abuses of mini-rooms”
• “Ensure appropriate television series writing compensation throughout entire process of pre-production, production and post-production”
• “Expand span protections to cover all television writers”
• “Apply MBA minimums to comedy-variety programs made for new media”
• “Increase residuals for under-compensated reuse markets”
• “Restrict uncompensated use of excerpts”

Pension Plan and Health Fund

• “Increase contributions to Pension Plan and Health Fund”

Professional Standards and Protection in the Employment of Writers

• “For feature contracts in which compensation falls below a specified threshold, require weekly payment of compensation and a minimum of two steps”
• “Strengthen regulation of options and exclusivity in television writer employment contracts”
• “Regulate use of material produced using artificial intelligence or similar technologies”
• “Enact measures to combat discrimination and harassment and to promote pay equity”
• “Revise and expand all arbitrator lists”

On March 20, negotiations between the WGA and AMPTP began but eventually stalled. Demands were not properly addressed before the set deadline of May 1, which provoked the WGA members to withhold labor starting May 2 after a nearly-98% vote in favor of a strike. As a direct result, many prominent late-night shows such as “The Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” were shut down, along with “Saturday Night Live,” “Real Time with Bill Maher” and “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.” 

As the strike continues, the list of projects that have halted production includes “Stranger Things” (Season Five), “Euphoria” (Season Three), “The Last of Us” (Season Two), “Abbott Elementary” (Season Three), “The Handmaid’s Tale” (Season Six and Finale), “Severance” (Season Two), “Big Mouth” (Season Eight and Finale), “Cobra Kai” (Season Six), “The Penguin (Season One Debut), “Dune Part 2”, Sony Pictures’ “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse,” Marvel Studios’ fourth and untitled Spider-Man film, “Kraven the Hunter,” “Daredevil: Born Again” and “Deadpool 3,” among many others.

On June 5, SAG-AFTRA voted with nearly a 98% majority to strike if a deal could not be reached with the AMPTP by the end of the month, which would place them on the picket line alongside the WGA. SAG-AFTRA published a document detailing their positions, in which they explained they had already compromised during negotiations. However, according to this document, the AMPTP was not willing to meet the following demands:

• “Performers need minimum earnings to simply keep up with inflation”
• “Performers need the protection of our images and performances to prevent replacement of human performances by artificial intelligence technology”
• “Performers need qualified hair and makeup professionals as well as equipment to safely and effectively style a variety of hair textures/styles and skin tones”
• “Performers need compensation to reflect the value we bring to the streamers who profit from our labor”
• “All performers need support from our employers to keep our health and retirement funds sustainable”
• “Principal performers need to be able to work during hiatus and not be held captive by employers”
• “Principal performers need to be reimbursed for relocation expenses when they’re employed away from home”

According to the document, the AMPTP was only willing to agree to what SAG-AFTRA refers to as “simple basic issues of fairness and respect,” such as:

• “Access to reproductive healthcare and gender affirming care for performers working away from home in states that restrict medical access”
• “A consultation process to guard against racist and sexist “wiggings” and “paintdowns” of stunt performers”
• “Safety for performers working with animals on set”

In turn, SAG-AFTRA officially began their strike on July 13, which severely impacted the promotion of director Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” and director Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie.” Actors were unable to make media appearances pertaining to the release of either film, and the cast of “Oppenheimer” walked out of the premier of their own movie when the strike was announced. In spite of the clear negative impact on the two films, both Christopher Nolan and Greta Gerwg expressed their support for the WGA and SAG-AFTRA.

On Aug. 4, representatives of the WGA met with studios but to no avail, reporting that the AMPTP was not open to engaging in screenwriters’ issues. Now, over three months into the strike, a growing list of delays and cancellations is the least of the problems. The result of 171,500 actors and writers on strike in Hollywood is a hit to local economies all across the U.S. including a $3 billion blow to California. Consequently, 1.7 million out-of-state industry workers have been negatively impacted.

Though neither the WGA nor SAG-AFTRA could reach an agreement, The Directors Guild of America (DGA) agreed to a new contract with the AMPTP on June 23, shortly before SAG-AFTRA went on strike. The agreement between the AMPTP and DGA secured wage increases, better residuals and some protections from AI for directors. DGA released a statement on their website the following month, affirming their support for the WGA and SAG-AFTRA during their respective strikes.

For the strike to end, an agreement must be reached by the AMPTP with both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA. It is difficult to predict when this will happen, but, for now, an agreement seems unlikely in the near future. 

Predictably, Saturday Night Live (SNL) had an opinion on midterms – and just as predictably, this opinion tries to balance appealing to both the left and the right. While some jokes land fairly liberal, much of this past weekend’s episode vocally attempted to stand outside party lines.

The latest episode begins with a sketch wherein Jeff Sessions, recently fired by Donald Trump, is cleaning out his desk. Numerous jokes allude to his old age and presumably degenerate upbringing, with Sessions bringing out the cardboard box he says he was born in. Sessions also pulls out a mug advocating hate with a confederate flag on it. He begins singing an Adele’s “Someone Like You” as the sketch finishes.

The last moments include Robert Mueller bidding Sessions farewell, alluding to details in the Russia Investigation. Afterwards, Sessions advises him to not be “cocky,” because it’s likely that Trump will fire Mueller too. They embrace and sing more Adele as they shout “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”

As with many opening sketches deriding the Republican Party in the White House, the President, his colleagues and children are depicted with stupidity. While it insults the presidential staff and depicts topical moments of idiocy from the past week, the casual focus on idiocy lingers even on more serious issues, such as when, as the opening sketch nears the end, Sessions casually comments that he’ll still be up to no good – causing one to wonder what role humor plays in the depiction of our news.

While SNL is definitely not claiming to be a news source, it does claim a position of authority and spokesmanship within American entertainment. Does the humor it employs become a coping mechanism for our malfunctioning government, or does placing a comedic spin on people who abuse their power normalize their abuse?

These are not easy questions to answer and I don’t have a definitive response. However, it is important to keep these in mind when watching. I believe it is our responsibility as citizens to play an active role in the entertainment we digest, thinking about it rather than simply absorbing it.

Another SNL sketch from this past weekend features a playful music video where people gather together, despite their major differences, to celebrate their shared minor dislikes. These are things like people swiping through photos too much, the word crotch and wet jeans.

The Weekend Update sketch began with midterm election details, mentioning some noteworthy winners, though it ultimately focused most on skimming through the election details and focusing on Pete Davidson’s prior insulting comments. Davidson remarks that the U.S. is unified by their hatred of him.

The theme throughout this episode seemed to be one of careful middle grounds. Although picking on the Republicans in the White House is fair game, SNL still feels obligated to make snappy commentary about the lack of unity within the U.S.

Is this true, though? Is the U.S. heavily divided based on political differences? Yes. But to insinuate an equality in that divide is complicated.

Many people speaking out against the Republican party, for example, cite their attacks against common human decency, their willingness to oppress minorities and line rich people’s pockets. Is it right for SNL to act as though the differences within the U.S. today are not important, or are easily overlooked?

But then, what is SNL’s position in our political entertainment sphere? What does SNL want to accomplish?

So far, perhaps they are doing a decent job of satisfying the majority of their viewers. With their criticism of Trump carefully obnoxious yet omnipresent, as well as their attempts to sling mud at both conservatives and liberals, it seems as though SNL would rather court both sides than make any real political commentary.

As a source of entertainment, SNL isn’t necessarily lacking. However, their stance as a political force remains murky to me.

Photo courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter