We love you Americans

In the last few days I have been very taken by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike vs the A-wossname^.

We love you Americans. This is a small sample why.
* YouTube of Seth McFarlane http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGqRN1t2ZQc&
* "Stars Picket Universal" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1_jd_MXdlU
* Daily Show writers http://strikenotes.blogspot.com/2007/11/brought-to-you-by-authentic-daily-show.html
* "The Office is closed" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6hqP0c0_gw)
* Late Show writers http://www.lateshowwritersonstrike.com/

I love the wit and erudition and likeability of Americans, when given a chance.

...this part of America, not so much. Corporate Overlords. The avatar of the Seven Sins http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_deadly_sins

* http://unitedhollywood.blogspot.com/2007/11/heartbreaking-voices-of-uncertainty.html
In their behavior I see Lust for power, Gluttony of profits, Greed (Avarice) for profits, Sloth (Laziness) in their short-sightedness for the future wealth of America, Wrath (Anger) in their firing of show assistants, probable Envy (Jealousy) that show viewers sympathise more with the WGA worker than with the Corporate Overlord, and Pride (Vanity) that they are more powerful than WGA.

I am heartenned that, as I miss my Daily Show, I am able to view this industrial action via the new media on the internet. I hear nothing from my tv news. I don't read much in my newspaper. But I can see the WGA on the internet thanks to YouTube. This demonstrates to me WGA are justified in their stance for residuals from new media.


I am intrigued by this dichotomy of information gap, which is fuelled by www.currenttv.com I am hearing from people on the ground about their perception on the world. I'm hearing about how they feel about the way things are. I am linked up. This is making feel like I am at the dawn of a new age. It feels akin to the dawn of the website (late last century before virus sites, etc got into the pool).

This gives me hope for the political process in America. If WGA can do it, so can concerned citizens. Maybe that is why Corporate Overlords (who donate to politicians) are so afraid. If their staff can do it, so can their consumers.

If this matter of writers' residuals is not resolved in favor of WGA, you can bet that it is one more example to the world that America is a corporate paradise, and not for the middle class.

I sincerely hope and wish that WGA get the residuals they are asking for. I know they deserve much more. The writers are one of the team who sell the consumerist world how cuddly Americans can be. American shows and the culture, which are beloved by people lucky enough to be able to watch these, are bought by foreign plebs despite the rhetoric of US politicians.

Karen Hughes did her best before she left http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7071638.stm but I'm sure anything she did pales in comparison to the amount of culture which are desired overseas, including video/dvd sales, internet videos.


p.s. It's a shame about 30 Rock but we all make sacrifices.
p.s.s. Others do more than me right now.

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^ acronym too long, can't remember the rest but there is a 'T' and 'P' and another 'A' and perhaps an 'M' - just shows why writers are worth their money

I've been checking DU for anything about the WGA strike and support here for it, and have been amazed to see nothing so far.

I was not surprised to learn that the writers who create all the shows everyone enjoys do not receive anywhere near what their work is worth. They deserve much more, and I hope they receive enough support to persist until they get it!

I'm totally with you regarding the sinful nastiness of the Corporate Overlords. Strange you chose this exact term, because just yesterday I was chatting with my best friend and kept talking about the "overlords" who control everything, to the detriment of regular folk who don't know how to fight back against them.

The writers have the right idea -- hit them where it hurts! Those overlords couldn't write a creative page if their lives depended on it.

Thanks for this thread, and for your support for our writers!

http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html I think the Corporate Overlords must have learned from the internet :-(

So I'd like them to keep in mind:

and <fx: drumroll />


I'm not sure what I can do from overseas to support the writers. But have you seen this petition? http://www.petitiononline.com/WGA/petition.html :-)

"without the writers, I'm a dead man". We went to see K.T. Tunstall last night in a tiny nightclub in Hollywood. She's plugging her new album and came here to be on the various talk shows only to have them all running old shows. K.T. is a Scottish girl - and a smart one at that. She decided to go to where the strikers were and give them a mini concert, and in doing so made the news out here. I think that's clever. What I'm hoping for is that the writers show America once again what happens when you stick together and fight for what's right. Americans used to know that lesson, but have forgotten it somewhere along the way. The strike will be long, but when we all get tired of seeing the same old shows over and over again I really believe the writers will win. We need to do our part by complaining to the networks about having to watch reruns. Thanks for your support of the writers, and thanks for posting.

YouTube and the internet makes it easier for WGA to deliver their message, much more so than their earlier strike in 1988. The Studios lose out because viewers will turn off their tv because the content sucks. As you say, we will get tired of re-runs. Macgyver isn't the crowd puller it once was. Neither is Airwolf. Nor Bionic Woman. Reality TV is all juvenile.

Already I am watching more WGA on YouTube than I am Daily Show re-runs on tv.

The writers of the world should unite, and not scab. What is happening in America can happen anywhere. Why?

Corporate. Overlords. They are corporate, accountable only to their shareholders. They are bound by any single country or nation. They are international. They are faceless.

Fox, Viacom are prominent examples of what the consumer is up against. No-one will take accountability for not stepping up to the re-negotiation table that will give the writers reasonable residuals from new media.

"YouTube and the internet makes it easier for WGA to deliver their message, much more so than their earlier strike in 1988. The Studios lose out because viewers will turn off their tv because the content sucks."

This is the very thing I hope hits home hard with those corporate overlords (I refuse to even capitalize the words!) in Hollywood as the strike progresses.

(Thanks for the petition link, btw -- I signed it and was pleasantly surprised to see I was number 51 thousand something! To think that even in these very early days of the strike, that many people have already taken the time and cared enough to go sign that petition is pretty amazing.)

Actors, comedians, damn near ALL those in front of the camera in the performing arts end up being just mute boobs without the creative people -- the WRITERS -- giving them words to utter.

And don't even get me started on the so-called "reality" programming! You said it simply: it's juvenile. I'm practically a shut-in, disabled and aging and all that; but when my old pc died in July and I had none until two weeks ago, I preferred to read novels one after the other rather than watch most of the crap taking over the tv. The overlords LOVE "reality" tv because it is UNscripted, of course, and not real drama at all but just contrived conflict situations designed to bring out the worst in all participants!

Already for some years I have been shifting my viewing habits to the likes of the History Channel, the Discovery Channels, Animal Planet and even the Weather Channel as good dramatic shows became scarcer. Now I have my Internet access back, I can get so much there like others do, too! Even before the WGA strike, I figure the overlords of Hollywood were already concerned about its potential impact on their income, so surely they're getting far more nervous now.

And as another poster indicated, the writers can set a great example for everyone else if they can stick to their guns until the overlords realize their excessive, haughty greed is gonna cost 'em a lot more than being FAIR will.

All most of us really have to do to support the writers, I believe, is to talk about it as we're doing here, and do it frequently, to everyone we encounter! SPREAD THE WORD, in other words, until folks realize what's really going on and who is responsible for the situation getting to this point in the first place.

Thanks for signing the petition :-) According to even AMPTP's own sources, internet is the place of the future revenues. The other alternative for overlords is for the creative sources to produce themselves. I wish they could.

http://www.youtube.com/user/wgaamerica

I'm picking up some great vids, which again shows why writers are more entertaining that studio moguls.

"Everybody hates Studio Moguls" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I8pS0HOQ0E
"Who are they lying to?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjGbHHtbZP0

http://www.amptp.org/

I'd like to be fair-minded. I am airing the other point of view. And they have this:


Writers Guild of America has the specific numbers here e.g.


Y'know that sounds really unfair of WGA to be hogging a whole 0.3% of profits. This means that right now when the writers who do get the $0.03 per $1 residual on, say a $35.99 dvd on Amazon.com, that means they'd be getting $1.0797 per unit in the bank, but only if the overall sales are at least 1,000,000,000 units or $35,990,000,000.00

So in reality land when the shows for dvd and video reach a million units, the hardworking writers will have $1,079,700,000.00 in the bank and the Studios have been stiffed out of that additional 0.3% of profits.

If that doesn't sound threatening enough then consider the WGA proposal outlined above - they have the temerity to demand an 100% increase on their 0.3% residual for the same media! To the total value of an immensely whopping 0.6%!! So using the same example of a $35.99 dvd the Studios will be wrought of $2.1594 or rather $2,159,400,000.00 when dvd+video sales reach a million bucks.

Folks, for fun and cognitive dissonance, compare and contrast the other positions of AMPTP and their own links to industry news. E.g. the Internet starts to play a larger role in delivering video content (Sept 12, 2007), Internet ad sales expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 22% (Nov 9, 2007).

I am flabbergasted. The AMPTP also has this to say: "There is no way that these increases (700%, 200%) can be deemed reasonable."

Wow. AMPTP doesn't like writers to keep $0.03 of each $1 earned for their team effort in creating saleable content of one million bucks. For gods sakes, this only leaves $0.97 per dollar or $970,000,000.00 to share around when sales reach a million dollars.

Now for extra credit, who can count up to one million?

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Disclaimer: Mathematical errors are all mine, except for the bits which aren't.

Check out this old video of Fry and Laurie: :D
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2284955

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117976094.html?categoryid=1066&cs=1



This news makes me very happy. I am very glad that the WGA cause is making waves in more than USA. Given this notice, what are the chances the AMPTP will go back to the negotiating table?

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(this is very strange, this writing to myself. but it seems to be the only place to gather information about this issue which interests me. to whomever reads this I hope you have found it interesting too.)