Lately, the entertainment headlines are reminding me why it took less than two years in the industry to make me abandon my dream of working in television. Most of the people who work in entertainment take themselves way too seriously and are completely out of touch with anything resembling reality.
    I've been observing the strike and reading all the support there is out there for the writers. I understand it. The writers are the clear underdogs in the fight. Studios have plenty of money to go around and yet they're holding out on these lowly scribes who are just trying to make a living. It's seems almost too easy. There's a reason for that. The writers make a lot of good points, I will admit. However, and I'm going to duck flying produce as I say this, I think people are being too hard on the studios. How can I say such a thing? Well, people are getting angry at the studios for only caring about themselves. Duh. That's kind of what we expect them to do. Writers are doing the exact same thing, only they're treated more sympathetically because they're not the symbol of greed and power. Now you're asking how I can be so insensitive when writers are just going in there to fight for what's rightfully theirs...I know, I know. Case in point, when Carson Daly, a non-WGA member whose late night program is barely a blip on the radar screen, said that after weeks of supporting his writers he was going back to his show to preserve the jobs of his non-writing staff, he was completely lambasted for it. At the beginning of the strike, Ellen Degeneres made the same decision and was also treated like a pariah. The writers bully anyone who dares to try to keep working in the industry while they are on strike. After all, where would the industry be without writers. Yeah, I get it. I also have to wonder where the industry would be without...oh...cameramen, lighting directors...people who actually get the printed words on film. The truth is, it's easier to make TV without writers than it is to make them without studio technicians. Let's not forget that striking writers are still earning residuals on their previous work while all of this is going on. The "evil" networks even kept non-writing staffers on the payroll for many weeks, even though they weren't getting any work out of them, and then were treated like the portrait of evil when they decided it wasn't in their best interest to continue doing that anymore. Hello, it's the entertainment BUSINESS. Why do we expect them to be anything more than the corporate, bottom-line watchers that they are. Granted, the studios have been hypocritical on some of the issues. As one writer famously pointed out, they claim internet broadcasting is promotion that does nothing for them financially, then sue YouTube for millions in damages over their programs being broadcast without their consent. If what the studios say is true, then shouldn't they be thrilled at all the "free promotion"? Studios claim that they make nothing from the internet and writers believe they make a small fortune. The truth lies somewhere in the middle and it amazes me that no one's been able to figure out the truth and present it with facts. Meanwhile, the writers try to paint this picture that they're only asking for a few crumbs that fall to the floor from the studios' banquet, but in reality some of their demands are really out there. I'm not sure where the idea of forcing writers that are currently under the jurisdiction of other unions to be under the authority of the WGA falls into their "we're just trying to make a decent living for our families" sob story. I keep reading on these industry sites how "the public is with the writers", and I wonder how true that is. Are we talking the New York and LA "public" or the public in general - the people who work every day to build their employers' companies for a modest paycheck, hoping to unwind to a little TV at night only to find nothing but reruns because the writers believe that they aren't getting enough every time someone makes money off of their work. That's what most of America deals with every day.
    Similarly, I read today about freelancers in New York complaining about benefits. That in and of itself confused me. I've never heard of freelancers getting benefits. Apparently, Viacom utilizes the help of freelancers on a full-time basis and offers them some benefits in return for their steady work. Now they've cut those benefits, so the "permalancers", as they call themselves, walked out and took to the streets to protest their unfair treatment. "This company that doesn't officially employ us has cut our benefits!" they could have chanted. A blog even had the nerve to refer to them as slaves. When I freelance, and this is pretty much true for every freelancer I know of, it is known that you are a contractor. You pay your own taxes, you are responsible for your own retirement savings, and you take care of your own insurance needs. There are also advantages to being a freelancer over an employee. You can say, "I don't want to work here anymore" and leave. Since you are not officially employed, there's not much they can say to you about that. You are officially your own boss and you can choose to sell your services to someone else. That seems to directly contradict that whole "slave" mentality this underappreciative group seems to have. If you want retirement savings, then save your money. Put it in an IRA or other savings plan like every other freelancer in the country has to do. In fact, that's the responsible choice for anyone who isn't officially employed by a company. As a freelancer, you are responsible for your own well-being. That's the way it works. I don't care if the years you've spent working there makes you feel like you're more of an employee than a freelancer - if that's what you are officially, then that's what you are and you need to be aware of what that entails. You may be used to the benefits Viacom has given you, but they are in no way required to give them to you. By the way, is there any way we can get "Roots" played on the big screen in Times Square, where the walkout is going on, to put the suffering of these Viacom "slaves" into perspective?
    I feel the most appropriate way to end this is the way I started this: Most of the people who work in entertainment take themselves way too seriously and are completely out of touch with anything resembling reality. It's entertainment, people. You make entertainment. Maybe it's time you all chilled out and got a little perspective.