Indifference and neglect often do much more d a m a g e than outright dislike.
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jimmyfury asked:
Hi Mr. Gaiman, I've seen a few tweets and posts about not crossing the picket line for the WGA strike but nothing actually explaining what that entails for this strike? Is it not watching streaming services since that's one of the main issues? All tv? TV and movies? only new stuff or reruns too?
neil-gaiman answered:
No, it’s to not cross the picket lines literally. If there’s a writers guild picket in place, you don’t cross it. (But you can always join it – especially if you are in LA or NYC.)
The WGA hasn’t called for a boycott of streaming services or TV or anything like that, and until and unless they do I wouldn’t push for that.
What the WGA would like is for people to make their support for the writers clear and loud – write to the networks you watch on and tell them to treat their writers fairly, post your support on every social media outlet you can. Let the producers know that public opinion is against them.
It's easy to support strikes at first - to swap memes and say "Go Union!" and tell writers we support them.
It's harder two months in. Four months. Eight.
If this goes like the last few writers' strikes - it means a terrible tv season, a delay in movies, big changes in late-night talk shows (the talk isn't scripted; the monologues and jokes are--and they don't have half a dozen scripts in the can; they have to be written based on recent news), and other areas we won't notice until it's underway.
Strikes are a game of chicken. AMPTP is counting on public backlash to convince the WGA to back down, and that won't happen right away.
The writers are risking a lot for this. They're not getting paid while they wait. (There may be strike funds, but there are no new project deals, no bonuses, no overtime pay, and so on. And the strike fund isn't unlimited.) They're pinning a lot of hope on the skills of their negotiators.
So when they tell you what would help - believe them. That's always "don't cross the picket lines" and "express support publicly" and "if you can get there in person, the picket lines appreciate coffee and snacks." It is always "don't take a scab job doing the work that someone on strike is refusing to do." (Note that in this case, the WGA has the right to block future membership from scabs. You can't get an edge in the industry by taking the jobs that are going to open up.)
Anything other than that, the negotiators try to figure out.
Maybe that's "It'd help if people suspend or cancel their streaming services." Maybe it's "please DON'T suspend or cancel them - that's how they feel the pressure to produce new content. If people cancel, they'll claim there's less demand, less money for the writers."
We're on the outside, and there's a lot of moving parts. Listen to the union when they tell you how you can help.
And be ready to stand by them, even months later when (1) your new shows on TV suck, because the only scripts available are the ones that were initially rejected, and (2) the AMPTP starts announcing how unreasonable the WGA is being, how it's misrepresenting their claims, how they don't understand how the business works, how there's this one case where the WGA demands would make everything worse for the writers involved.
It's all lies. Stand with the union. Trust them to know what's best for their workers.
