Studios and streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ will have you believe that writers aren’t necessary to make good TV. But we know that couldn’t be further from the truth. We break down the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, and spotlight how Hollywood corporations use mainstream media to spread misinformation about writers’ working conditions and pay. Writer and producer, Angela Harvey, joins us on this episode to talk about how writers have been fighting back and creating their own media to garner solidarity.
Studios and streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ will have you believe that writers aren’t necessary to make good TV. But we know that couldn’t be further from the truth. We break down the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, and spotlight how Hollywood corporations use mainstream media to spread misinformation about writers’ working conditions and pay. Writer and producer, Angela Harvey, joins us on this episode to talk about how writers have been fighting back and creating their own media to garner solidarity.
Host: Eteng Ettah
Producer: Genevieve Montinar
Original Music Compositions by: Brandon Bagaason
Clip 1: Credit- @GaelynSmith|TV/Film/Lifestyle
Clip 2: Credit- Adam Conover on CNN from @MattGalvtron via TikTok
Clip 3: Credit- @dot.LA via TikTok
Clip 4: Credit- @WGAEast via TikTok
Clip 5: Credit- @WGAEast via TikTok
Clip 6: Credit- @ WGAEast via TikTok
Clip 7- Credi- @WGAEast via TikTok
Clip 8- Credit- @WGAEast via TikTok
Clip 9- Credit- CBS 8 San Diego YouTube “Here’s what will happen to your favorite shows if there’s a writer’s strike”
Clip 10- Credit- Alex O’Keefe on @CNN via TikTok
Clip 11- Credit- @Stephanie via TikTok
Clip 12- Credit- The Hollywood Reporter YouTube “Disney CEO Bob Iger Calls WGA and Possible SAG-AFTRA Strike ‘Very Disturbing’”
View the transcript here: https://actually-hold-up.simplecast.com/episodes/hold-up-ai-cant-write-tv/transcript
Make sure to follow MediaJustice on Twitter (X) @mediajustice and on Instagram @MediaJustice
Clip 1: 0:02
You guys it is day three week two of the Hollywood writers strike the WGA is still on strike because they have not reached an agreement with any of the streamers.
Clip 2: 0:13
So I'd point out the fact that David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Brothers discovery, which is to the parent company, the network I'm talking to you on right now was paid $250 million last year, a quarter of a billion dollars. That's about the same level as what 10,000 writers are asking him to pay all of us collectively. All right. So I would say if you're being paid $250 million tensile randos, made about 50 million last year, these companies are making enormous amounts of money, their profits are going up. It's ridiculous for them to plead poverty.
Clip 3: 0:46
Anyone who doesn't know there's currently a huge writer's strike happening in Hollywood. 1000s of people have been protesting outside of movie studios, downtown Hollywood for the past three days. And yes, the protest is about money, but it's also about a lot more than that.
Eteng Ettah: 0:58
The Last of Us, Abbott elementary succession, white lotus, Stranger Things. One thing all these shows have in common is that they've been streamed by millions of us. We've been on the edge of our seats, eagerly waiting for the next storyline, new characters and the next season. But while we wait for closure, there's a more important story unfolding about a group of people who are behind the stories that captivate us. The same group who can't make their next rent payment, don't have a reliable workplace and experience employers who lack respect for their craft. TV writers.
While you may know the shows we love aren't possible without the people who write them. Did you know there's been an active effort to make sure these writers aren't adequately compensated for their work?
Hi, I'm Eteng Ettah with MediaJustice, and welcome to "Actually...Hold Up", where we break down what you don't know about the stories you think you know, and why misinformation is rampid. And popular stories often come to us from the media in a manipulated way.
Don't worry, though, that's where we come in. We'll be talking about how TV writers have been working to take control of the narrative by striking and fighting for their rights as workers in the face of misinformation from big corporations and studios.
Eteng Ettah: 2:43
There's no doubt that the Writers Guild of America 2023 strikes have grabbed the attention of many and it's not just people waiting for their favorite show to come out. The strikes have put the focus on streaming services like Netflix, Paramount plus, and Max who've raked in billions of dollars each year, but can't seem to find enough money to give to the very people who make the shows possible.
In this episode, we'll look at how these major streaming services have shaped the narrative around the working conditions of writers using different tactics in the media, which continue to harm writers every day.
This isn't just a story about how big corporations treat their workers unfairly. It's about how workers have come together to mobilize and fight for better wages and protect their rights.
You think you know your favorite TV writers live a life of glitz and glamour. But actually, the reality is quite the opposite for many, and to fight for better working conditions. They have been creating their own media to speak truth to power.
Eteng Ettah: 4:01
It's no secret that most of us subscribe to streaming services. According to Variety magazine as of March 2023, Netflix had nearly 233 million subscribers. And at the end of 2022, Paramount plus had 77 million while Max had about 96 point 1 million subscribers worldwide. With so many people relying on streaming for entertainment, these services depend on content to stay relevant.
We see so many news reports that streaming services are making 10s of billions of dollars in profit. Then why are the writers of these shows frustrated? Well, it's because they're not seeing that money. Starting on May second 2023. Members of the Writers Guild of America, also known as WGA, decided enough was enough and began to strike
Clip 4: 5:01
Hey Hey, ho ho, corporate greed has got to go
Clip 5: 5:07
Shut it down, we don't get it, shut it down, we. don't. get. it. Shut it down!
Clip 6: Pens down, fist up, pens down, fist up, pens down, fist up
Clip 7: My neck, my back, we need a fair contract
Eteng Ettah: 5:16
they were protesting low compensation not just for their immediate work, but also about pay for past work called residuals.
They called out Studios for creating an unpredictable career environment and likened it to being part of the gig economy, highlighting the instability of work and income they faced.
Many news reports and conversations on social media want to focus on how beloved shows are being impacted and delayed because of the strike.
Clip 9: Speaker 5 5:48
CBS 8, Jana Cohen tells us how it could affect what you watch. Your favorite shows could end abruptly since a Writers Guild of America strike is looming, Hollywood writers are racing to agree to a new contract to replace one that expires before midnight shows like Saturday Night Live the view daytime soap operas late night talk shows with Jimmy Fallon and John Oliver would be the first to go dark.
Eteng Ettah: 6:15
But writers have been working to rewrite the narrative and tell the public their stories are the ones that we should be paying attention to. Media choosing to focus on how TV viewers like you and I will be deprived of our favorite shows is meant to conjure anger toward writers instead of studios a classic strategy when you consider how anti strike anti worker our media is.
Eteng Ettah: 6:53
The idea that certain industries are very wealthy and therefore everyone who works in said industry is wealthy, too often invisible eyes as those who are being exploited. We think of the creative team behind the shows we watch as individuals who've made it big and in turn are getting the big checks. But as we can see from the strike, that's not the case.
For instance, take the extremely successful effects show the bear this show was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award and one of the show's writers Alex O'Keefe has very transparently talked about how they continue to struggle financially or on Medicaid have struggled through power outages during the winter and more because of low wages.
Clip 10: 7:36
I wrote for a very big show called the bear. I made very little money, I saw no profits in it. I lived below the poverty line working on this show that has made millions of dollars for FX and Disney at large. This is not how the world has to be there is enough wealth in this industry alone for us all to have success.
Eteng Ettah: 7:57
And this is where we're going to bring in the media manipulation cycle, a framework developed by our friends from Harvard's Shorenstein center on media politics, public policies technology and social change program led by Dr. Joan Donovan.
While the media reports on record profits for studios and streaming companies, it creates and perpetuates the false idea that there's no way a writer might not be able to pay their bills. Because these aren't the narratives that have been traditionally exposed to us, writers are not only taking to the streets to make sure that is known, but they have been creatively getting the attention of the media to mitigate the spread of the false narrative that they are doing just fine.
There have been themed pickets, where organizers have used pop culture references, such as Beyonce Renaissance album and The Simpsons. And of course, we have to mention the creative use of picket signs which have been giving everyone life on social media.
Clip 11: 9:11 In honor of the writer strike, these are the best WGA writers strike posters that I've seen so far. Thanks to the studios. My bank account looks like it's on ozempic. Without writers, you can't even finish this. Oh, no, I can't finish this. That's good. You came up with quibi SMF enough.
Eteng Ettah: 9:34
Some of our favorite signs so far include chat GPT doesn't have childhood trauma and pay your writers or will spoil succession. We especially appreciate the ways these signs are underscoring that new tech like aI cannot replace writers. There comes a point in the news cycle when information has to be challenged.
And this is the point we've reached here rather than waiting for a politician or a big company. To step in on their behalf, which they have no incentive to do in the first place, the individuals in the WGA strike have masterfully called attention to their plight while also taking their employers to task.
That doesn't mean there isn't some pushback on the strike, the alliance of Motion Picture and Television producers, the group that represents the studio's interests, has said they've been generous and painted workers as unreasonable. They've made sure to mention there are a number of benefits workers can obtain and that this situation is nowhere near comparable to a gig economy job.
Reporter structure stories as if members of the WGA don't want to come to the bargaining table and work out a deal and frame it as if workers just want to put a stop to production and gripe about issues that could be addressed. If they just took the agreement already on the table.
Clip 12: Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger is calling the WGA strike and to the imminent sag after strike very disturbing, saying they will have a very damaging effect on the whole business.
'There's a level of expectation that they have that is just not realistic. And they are adding to a set of challenges that this business is already facing.'
Eteng Ettah 11:11
This purposefully misleading and intentionally confusing information becomes part of a larger media cycle that then reinforces the dominant conversation and sentiment about workers who are fighting to be heard. And while misinformation can move through media in a way that harms there are points in the cycle where courses can be corrected.
It's at this point when writers and members of the entertainment industry strike publicly, day after day broadcasted on social media and on news stories that the accurate information is able to be told.
Eteng Ettah: 11:58
So excited to welcome our guest today, Angela Harvey. [applause] Angela L. Harvey is a writer producer whose most recently worked on American Horror Story and American horror stories and serves as co chair of Think Tank for inclusion and equity. Welcome, Angela.
Angela Harvey: 12:20
Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
Eteng Ettah: Absolutely. So we have media justice. And folks around the world obviously have been following the writer strike. And so really excited to get into that conversation with you. Before that, I want to get into a little bit of your origin story. So could you talk about your journey as a writer and what you've experienced? And was there a particular show or maybe a pivotal moment that confirmed you wanted to pursue a career as a TV writer,
Angela Harvey: 12:51
I am a career changer. Like a lot of folks of color who come into the industry, they have started on a different path. I was in marketing and graphic design first. And I enjoyed that creatively, but I really was craving more. And I also am not great at routine. I like things to change up day by day and that, that corporate life just really wasn't hitting for me. That's real. Yeah. So I, I made a short film, and I ended up getting a scholarship to Vancouver Film School. And so I just I was in Atlanta at that time, moved up to Vancouver and started working on short films there. And then came back to Atlanta before it's a huge producing hub now, but when I moved to there, it wasn't. There was Tyler Perry was shooting there. I think Fast and Furious Five to date myself. And, uh, I think Vampire Diaries was there. I was assisting and I'm writing producer at TPS. And when Teen Wolf came to town, they hired him to produce. And I ended up getting a job in the writers room on that show through that connection. When I went to film school, I was on a producing track, just while I was assisting a non writing producer and there's so much talk about you can't break in as a writer. It's impossible. It can't be done. And I took that to heart. I believed it.
So you know, it was working on going toward producing and you know, the love of writing just never went away. And after having helped do a few movies, never having once met the writer. We went to Teen Wolf and the writer was there on set, running it every day. And it just was like, okay, I can do. That's what I want to do. That's the That's the job I need. So yeah, my boss has some script of mine and I ended up getting staffed in that way. That's what turned my head to TV. Honestly, I'm maybe to this day an indie filmmaker at heart. I was learning on the job watching the old TVs shows catching up. So I can't say that there was a particular TV show that I looked at as a writer. But TV has always been a comfort for me watching it home, watching the same shows over and over again when I was little. That was my journey.
Eteng Ettah: 15:17
So thank you for sharing that. I appreciate you naming the ways that like the writer was on the set running it. And so that's definitely something that writers who have been using their social media to share about the ways we need to improve the industry. They cite that before I pivot us to the strike, I am a pretty big fan of MTV shows. So I was Hi, when I saw that you did right on. So if I can segue a little bit, I am curious. Like, if you have any, like, fun stories from that time I was, I was a huge like, TRL when MTV actually was like music video, right?
Angela Harvey: 16:01
TV was when music was on the TV. Yeah. Teen Wolf was great, particularly when we were in Atlanta. And you know, the actors and producers and everybody was away from home. It was, I got to still be at home. But it was just such a cocoon of everybody pulling in the same direction and wanting the same thing. And it was, it was a very unlikely show. Still, to this day, season one is my favorite season of that show. Not even just the pilot was fantastic.
So actually, if there's a TV show that made me want to write it as seen Wolf, I guess, because the characters are just I mean, you saw the characters which are so precious and specific. And, you know, the showrunner on that shows very generous guy who wanted to see everybody succeed.
It was a, it was a low budget show, where everybody was working really hard and pulling the same direction. But what everybody got out of it was the next step in their career was like, oh, you're a PA, but you want to be an AD, you're an you're an AD you want to direct, to you go, you're an assistant to this non writing producer, you want to write come into the room. Yeah, that was a fantastic time.
Eteng Ettah: 17:13
I love how generous like you're saying how it was such a great place for folks who wanted to try different things. And so moving us a bit to the strike, because it sounds like the Teen Wolf set is what we want to get back to in different ways or want to make sure that's everyone's experience for folks in the industry or interested in joining.
And so, moving out to striking and the misinformation around the strike and TV, it's clear that many viewers hold misconceptions about how TV is made in general. So I'm seeing a lot of folks caught off guard that writers are not making as much money as they just assumed everyone in Hollywood does. And so were there any elements about TV and TV writing that surprised you? Or you didn't know until you were actually in it yourself?
Angela Harvey: 18:09
Yeah, I think people think that everyone in TV is rich, because it makes news when somebody gets rich, for example, the showrunner from team when he had created Criminal Minds, which made him very wealthy man, and then he has a big deal. Apparently, those things are in the news because they're newsworthy.
You have, I think there are 11,000 members of the Writers Guild. How many of those people have been in the news? We're not in the news, and nor necessarily should we be.
But I just want to underline that it's a workplace. And in a lot of ways, it's an all consuming workplace, you are putting in a lot of time you're putting in a lot of emotional and intellectual labor. I think that the biggest misconception is that it's easy, I think, because once you see something on the air, it's easy to critique it, and makes you feel like,
Oh, if I hadn't been there, I would have done this. Which means Yeah, maybe maybe you would have been, you would have had to chisel it out of the rock the same way that they did, and maybe they chiseled.
Maybe there's a relationship designed. But that doesn't mean that the whole thing was effortless, or less than valuable. I suppose.
Eteng Ettah: 19:21
That's so spot on. And I mean, TV is such a comfort. And so everyone is watching TV, or most people are. And so it is very easy to be on the couch and be like, oh, yeah, why did they do that? I totally would have done this differently. And so you know, folks aren't seeing all of the behind the scenes labor and ours are seeing the finished product. And so, transitioning us a little bit we've seen the ways you're using your social media platform to show you know you and your comrades outside picketing, holding protest signs, which love all the crew activity with the protest signs.
So why why did you feel like it was important to publicly strike? What motivated you to join this effort? And in what ways do you feel like using social media has shed light on this fight?
Angela Harvey: 20:15
I grew up in a blue collar family. So I'm a union girl. It was kind of a no brainer. I've never been on strike before. But it was, it was a no brainer to get out there and be supportive of the strike was to be honest, I don't think I put a lot of thought into the social media of it all until it became clear that people were engaging with it in a different way.
I use Instagram just to stay connected to friends and strike was such a big part of my life that I was I was posting it. And then I started noticing all this engagement across industries across the country and realizing that, because our struggle is so high profile, that we're actually fighting, in some ways for everybody, we're fighting for labor everywhere.
So this unity across not just entertainment unions, but the bartenders, the restaurant workers, even now we have the strippers who are starting to unionize. It's really inspiring. And it also is putting a fire under us like, we have to, we have to win.
So I don't think there's a writer, aside from some of the name ones who are who've been out in the public eye, being used by the producers, in terms of the rank and file of the writers, I know, we're in this for the long haul, we always we approach the strike, knowing that it's not about the writers were writing now, this is for the writers who are coming up behind us like the riders who in the 80s picketed and struck so we could have health care.
Now it's our turn to pick it and strike for the rider. So coming up behind us who need to get paid for their work. So that's how we went into it. And then once we got in it, it became clear that it Oh, this isn't just about the writers, this is about everybody. And so that is a That's a powerful motivator.
Eteng Ettah: 22:13
Absolutely. And I, you know, I appreciate you harkening back to the past as well as you know, the responsibility to shore up an industry for future writers who want to join. And I think about what I was sharing with you before, like I took a TV writing class earlier this year.
And so I've been talking to my classmates about following the strike so that, you know, just so much gratitude to the work that you all are doing as folks who have someone talking to folks who are also potentially interested in getting involved with TV. And I also just want to underscore what you're naming about you all realizing that like, it's not just about the writers, and because you all, you know, given the nature of the industry you're in is garnering so much attention.
And so I'm excited about like the ripple effects and other industries, like what this strike is making more possible for the folks that you're naming. Because as we know, like corporations, you know, love to crack down on striking and the ways that we've even been socialized to think about labor unions. And so I feel like this is a very powerful way to challenge the narratives that we often are fed around unionizing and striking. It's like, I mean, I can't see this and not support. So I love that you were like, it was a no brainer.
Angela Harvey: 23:42
You know, when I mentioned to you earlier that I was a career changer. And so before I ended up getting into marketing, graphic design, my first job out of school I was going into, I had majored in organizational communications with intention to go into human resources. And so the first job right out of college, I got hired at this grocery store, and the butchers were going to go on strike.
And so it was the job of human resources to find people to come in and scab while the butchers were on strike. I lasted on that job for three days, and then went into marketing. It's just but we have we have been taught the way that they spoke to us starting that job about how the butchers were lazy, the butchers want too much money.
These are the ways that they teach us to think about the worker, as the taker, rather than the employer, the one who already has the money being the one who somehow the vulnerable position is a really strange thought.
Eteng Ettah: 24:53
100% And I think that's why it's an interesting narrative, no matter the industry. And that these corporations find a way to invisibilize themselves. So you're like, thinking about, okay, the workers asking for too much. Or if you're, you know, with TV, we're seeing a lot of the like, well, your favorite TV show is not going to come out this fall because these writers don't want to do their job versus like, Y'all are sitting on
Angela Harvey: billions of dollars. Yeah,
Eteng Ettah: Tale as old as time
Angela Harvey: 25:31
when they do that on purpose. And you'll see a lot in the media, where they'll say, due to the writer's strike, or because the writers are out on strike, this won't happen. And you know, that's always the studio PR. Yeah, it always is. And it's effective. You will people see it, and people see it and run with it and think that that's the truth. And it's a union busting tactic that I hope people will recognize
Eteng Ettah: 25:56
you're already touching on this, but I'll ask you this more directly. What What is something you feel like the news media, social media is getting wrong? Whether intentionally which we know there's a lot intentionally being shared, incorrectly or unintentionally about the strikes?
Angela Harvey: 26:15
In a lot of ways, the news media and I know we're going to talk about AI in a bit. But I think that the media is fixated on AI, and to a strange degree, in some ways to the wrong problems about AI. While we definitely need to make sure that it's regulated, I'm not convinced that AI is everything everyone's chalking it up to be
I think, it obviously has significant limitations now, and even going into the future, it seems like and I'm no technology expert, so I might be, I might be off base, but like the way that AI generates false content, false data points, is it not then absorbing those same false data points and corrupting itself and becoming less and less smart? Maybe more and more powerful, but less and less smart?
I'm not sure. But it seems like that's what's happening. Whether or not that's true. It definitely is derivative. It's definitely gathering pieces from the shows and movies that we have that have been ablest and homophobic and racist. I have a friend who did a number of media interviews when the strike first started. And every interview she had, she brought up how each point that the Writers Guild was asking for what's going to impact marginalized writers and people of color harder.
And every story cut that part out. I don't know if it's because it's not simple to talk about, or because they're not clear on the solutions. Or maybe they're just tired of talking about inclusion, I don't know. But there does seem to be a specific effort to not have that conversation. So I wish that they would focus a little bit more on that, because it's very interesting that, you know, as we finally start opening doors for more creators of color, now we're like, oh, let's push the creators out entirely.
So there's, there are a lot of stories that, you know, in general, American culture doesn't want to tell. And when it looks like we're about to start telling those. Nevermind. Yeah.
Eteng Ettah: 28:34
Yeah. I mean, it's definitely not a coincidence. And I feel like you can track this, you know, within Hollywood and other industries, like, as soon as like a lot of folks that look like you and I are able to get in, you know, all of a sudden, another barrier or something pops up. And yeah, the ways that AI is being used and positioned to, you know, outsource creative jobs in particular, is really, really unsettling to like it comes for the writers and the creatives and the artists first. And I'm like, There's something that feels very deliberate and also, like very insidious, that that's, that happens first. So So since we're on the track of AI, I love it. I want to I want to keep keep on this. And so, you know, to your point about your friend who was giving stories and talking specifically about the ways marginalized communities will be impacted the most by AI in this industry. And so, immediate justice, we're constantly thinking about the ways our media and tech landscape impact marginalized communities. And so that's why we were really excited to see that banning the use of AI is included in one of the demands. And so as you've been touching on there's been a lot of talk about AI playing a significant role in the entertainment industry.
And so you wrote a very, very brilliant article about this and the Hollywood Reporter. So I want to I want to read two quotes, it was very hard to choose because there's a lot, a lot of great wisdom in here. So the two quotes, I want to just pull out for our listeners. So one,
'there's an unknowable magic factor that can elude even the most gifted, and experienced storytellers. Sometimes it's this magic, everyone's trying to monetize, the value is in that organic piece that can't be decoded, or commodified, no matter how we try'. And then the second one, 'at the end of the day, this AI writing experiment will fail'.
I want to say that one more time, like listen up, y'all because AI is not winning, the writers are winning. So 'at the end of the day, this AI writing experiment will fail'.
I just want to hear more, I want to hear more about everything you just wrote. Why will AI fail in this context? And what are the ways writers? Maybe you all have had conversations about why including AI and the demands were important?
Angela Harvey 31:14
So yeah, I think that, um, everyone's looking for a shortcut. When it comes to story, there aren't shortcuts. Story is one of those things that is spiritual, it is connected to who we are. Not to get to a theory Oh, but there's, there's a connection to the divine part of us that AI just does not have.
There's a sign I think that even mentioned it in the article that there's a sign that someone made the said AI doesn't have childhood trauma. And you know what that matters, because story is, how we define ourselves. Story is how we find our way through things we haven't been through before, but someone else has, even if it's not exactly the same thing, they've gone through a variation of it that we find soothing, or inspiring or instructive.
Even if you scan everything ever written, you can't necessarily read what's in between the lines. And that's where that magic piece that I'm talking about is coming from, it's the I know a lot of folks want to talk about RZ motion, it doesn't have motion.
And it is emotional in some ways. But also there are a lot of things that you process through story that no one ever no one ever verbalizes. And that's not a dataset, if it's not spoken or written, it's not part of the dataset.
So AI is not going to be able to find that fresh voice. I also think that you know, there's there's talk about what the studio's want to do is have aI generate stories, because it goes so fast. It's so fast, and it puts a lot of words on the page. And then ideally, I think they would have one writer who comes in and takes whatever the AI generates, and tries to sprinkle a little human fairy dust on top. That's not how it works.
You know, it's like when you meet somebody new and the vibes are off. And you don't know why, but you know, they're off.
That ability, first of all, yes, the vibes are off on AI.
But secondly, the reason you know, the vibes are off. Why is that? I don't know. I don't know why that is intuition, intuition.
And that's what it takes to make a great story, specifically, a great story that somebody's going to buy, oh, like, if you want people to pay 999 or 2999, or whatever else, they're going to be charging us for these streaming services over time, then there has to be something to genuinely connect to.
If everybody would watch Love is blind over and over again until eternity, then no problem. But they're not and they're not. Especially now, you know, food is expensive gas is expensive. Like all of these things. Your streaming service is going to be the first thing to go if it's not bringing anything of value into your home. And that is what AI is set up to do to bring a bunch of junk.
Eteng Ettah: 34:23
All I appreciate everything you said to the protest sign that was talking about AI doesn't have childhood trauma. It made me think about Quinta Brunson had a sign that was like a I couldn't write two reeks wraps. And so I'm like yeah, the the magic of Tareekh rapping on Avid Elementary and more would not be possible.
Angela Harvey 34:48
Well, 100% Abbott Elementary is a gem. It's a masterclass in how to make great TV and great inclusive TV
Eteng Ettah: 34:58
100% And I really love the point to that you're making about the power that stories have. And so there's something so innate and being able to share these stories. It's why it's why I love TV. It's why so many people love TV. And so it's also why we need more, you know, bipoc writers, because there's so many stories that, you know, have been told, but have not been given the resources and the backing to be shared with so many people. And so these corporations know how powerful story is to what we were talking about, like, okay, there's now there's another barrier to folks like us, coming in. And so like, they know our power, too.
Angela Harvey: 35:44
They do. And they know our buying power, I'm sure you guys saw was last year, year before McKinsey put out a report that said Hollywood leaves $10 billion dollars a year on the table by not telling black stories are 10 billion with a B every year.
Unknown Speaker 36:03
But they'll be that's a lot of money.
Angela Harvey: 36:05
That is a lot of money. I don't think that they've yet figured out that that means something different than they've been? Well, the stories that are different than they've been willing to tell. Like, either they haven't figured it out. And that maybe that's maybe that's generous, maybe they just have maybe white chimp screen, and they just don't want to tell the stories. And that's that. I'd like to think that they just haven't. They can't imagine. Yeah, what they haven't seen. Now. That's super
Eteng Ettah: 36:31
real. And I'm curious, as I've been enjoying this so much, we're winding down a little bit. But so another two part question for you maybe three parts, actually. So I'm curious, what is the biggest takeaway you hope that folks who's subscribed to streaming services take from the strike? And then those who own the streaming services? What's the takeaway there that you hope they're taking from this moment?
Angela Harvey: 37:07
Folks who watch the streaming services, I just have to beg you to please watch the content that is made by us, by us and for us, because that is honestly one of the biggest hurdles, like when you see movies and TV shows that have come out, that didn't get the numbers, because we didn't show up and watch it.
So that is the biggest thing you can do. To help creators of color is watch what lands on the platform. Yeah, I mean, I could start naming movies left and right, but just show up and support. You see a movie, buy a ticket, I will buy a ticket to a movie. I know, I can't go see. I saw the blackening because I didn't look too scary. So I was like, Okay, I'm scared for me, I'll just buy the ticket.
owe to the people who own the streaming services, just lean into loving what we do. I know that we live in late stage capitalism, and you know, there's somebody behind them screaming about squeezing the last dime out of everything.
But storytelling, like I mentioned, storytelling is so fundamental to human experience. And right now, this is the greatest expression of storytelling that we currently have. Let's treat it as precious. Let's value one another during the process. And let's make great TV. We will also make money if we take the time and the effort to make great television until fantastic stories with a real humans at the center of it. The money will come
Eteng Ettah: 38:53
and and I love that you you know for the folks who watch TV, are naming the importance of support. Because I see and comments to writers sharing about the strike on social that people are like, should we boycott? Should we not like you know, what should we do? Should I cancel my Netflix subscription today? So it is helpful to hear you kind of clarify what folks who are well meaning like how they might not be doing what would actually be helpful to you all
Angela Harvey: 39:29
right, it's support, always strike no strike. Whatever. I am not on the kill board. I'm not on the negotiating committee or anything. I will say I did cancel my Netflix. I can't do my Netflix. I cancelled my max I get because I'm the principal of it. I would just say the best thing to do is
Eteng Ettah: 39:53
for sure, and I'm curious to when folks now that folks are listening Turning into this information, what might be the best ways we can lend our support when we see Miss info about whether it's how TV is being made, whether it's about the strikes, anything you would suggest folks to do when you're seeing something on your timeline, and you're like, that's just not accurate at all about TV,
Angela Harvey: 40:20
I don't know how much it's worth your mental health. Like, if somebody else if somebody is attacking a person, I see this happen a lot, like a friend of mine wrote on that Lord of the Rings series, and people just came in her timeline vicious. And so if you can run interference on things like that, I think that that matters.
Well, on the daily, you got time. And I think a lot of folks definitely associate the actors with the shows more than they do, you know, writers directors behind the scenes. So just maybe putting a little bit less pressure on the actors to let's say, you know, they're hired to do a job they're hired to perform that show, maybe they didn't want to do that scene that way, but that was their job. A
nd then it was also their job to show up on Jay Leno, oh Jay Leno, I'm really dating myself now. Show up on the Late Night Show and support it independent. So yeah, we just don't take it easy.
Eteng Ettah: 41:21
Yeah, yeah, no, that's real. I mean, of course, the actor is like the first line to, to knowing about a show. And so that is a important reminder, and makes me think about what you were saying earlier that that this is a workplace. And I feel like even naming it like that is shifting a lot for folks.
Angela Harvey: 41:42
Good. Good. I'm glad to hear that. Yeah.
Eteng Ettah: 41:46
Well, before I let you go, so one, I'm going to do some manifesting to your point of talking about divinity and spirituality, you're in good company with that. So I want to manifest that by the time this episode airs, you and everyone in the guild will have had your demands met, and so much more. So it is happening, you all are winning, you all will win. And so I'm so so excited for what that moment will feel like. And so with that, I'm curious, any final thoughts and of course, anything you want to plug where we can find you anything, any projects you might have coming up that we can support in the spirit of supporting our folks,
Angela Harvey: 42:35
I am at nations film on Instagram, if you want to follow on any of the the strike talk I left Twitter behind for the sake of that mental health I was talking about. I have a couple projects that I have high hopes for to sell after the strike some black women power shows that I am really proud of and excited for. So please, manifest, pray, whatever your practices, keep them in your thoughts and prayers. And hopefully we'll be seeing those on the air soon. Yes,
Eteng Ettah: 43:09
absolutely. All right. With that, I want to thank you so much for being in conversation with me. This was such a fun conversation. And I'm just so excited for the future of our TV industry.
Angela Harvey: 43:25
Thank you for having me. And I'm so excited for the work that you're doing. And I love that there's just this ecosystem of all of us pressing together in every way to make it all better. So I'm excited. Thank you,
Eteng Ettah: 43:36
thank you.
Eteng Ettah: 43:50
WGA members understand the way media works and I've made it a point to be vocal about the way they are being treated. Every day they protest, talk about their struggles online and show videos of the different strike actions. That is how they are able to counter the inaccurate narrative being told about them. I'm a tang and thanks for joining us on "Actually... Hold Up" where we break down what you don't know about the stories you think you know.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai