Sadly, the WGA writers' strike is still going on in Hollywood. I TOTALLY support the writers in their fight for a few more pennies on the distribution of their work, no matter where and how it appears. Why the Hollywood studios don't give writers the respect they deserve is beyond me. No TV show or film is worth seeing, if the story does not capture the hearts, minds, and imaginations of its viewers. Remember that as your favorite television shows roll into their fourth rerun in as many months.
Or better yet, speak out — to the studios and their advertisers. Here's how, as noted in unitedhollywood.com:
"Other sites joining FireDogLake in the campaign are Daily Kos (4,050,000 hits/week), Raw Story (2,833,500), Crooks and Liars (1,850,000), AlterNet (1,500,000), and Democratic Underground
(1,500,000). Carried on all those sites, almost 12,000,000
visitors/week will have the opportunity to click and send a complaint
to the studio of their favorite show.
has recently launched an advertiser boycott and guerilla commerical
project. What's nice about this idea is that it encourages fans not
only to stop doing something (buying products) but to DO something
(make a video). We at United Hollywood don't all agree on boycotting
practices, but we do agree that no boycott is effective if it's done
silently. If you're not going to buy products, make some noise about it!
to send the message that viewers and advertisers alike have a stake in
seeing a fair settlement. Their goal is to tell advertisers ‘loud and
clear they need to put pressure on the people they pay to sell their
things – people refusing to pay others a fair wage. Or we as consumers may decide not to pay them by not buying their goods.'
"TV
fans are angry about their favorite shows going into reruns or going
off the air. Reading the fan sites, it's great to see how connected
people are to their shows. They appreciate the importance of writers,
and to show their displeasure, they have been emailing the networks and
studios who produce their shows. They've heard that the AMPTP is
prolonging the strike to hurt the writers and the whole entertainment
community, and they aren't having it.
"There have been rumors
that major advertisers, hearing the concerns of viewers and livid over
the conduct of the networks, have threatened to take all their
commercials off the air if the strike isn't settled before Christmas.
That's a serious threat, with serious consequences…."
Now that you know who to bitch at, get clicking. The sooner you do, the sooner you'll get what you really want: great plots — albeit in between all those commercials.
