A Scary Halloween Indeed

As I type this one can only hope that the disastrous events that have been set into motion can be averted before midnight strikes tomorrow night. What is taking place is a monumental struggle to keep the life force of pop culture alive. The battle between the major film and television studios and the Writers Guild of America has been widely publicized within publications that those of us here are likely to read. As we try to once again find our footing here at Pop-Pop, it is essential that the source of our admiration continue unabated. The results of these negotiations could play a significant role in the fate in the near future of our happy little blog.

Due to the magnitude of this event I felt it was worthy of our pop cents. First, it is important to realize what is at stake here. If negotiations between the two sides fail, then the Screenwriters Guild will call for a strike. This will result in major disruptions to television and film schedules and thereby disrupting our pop-culture intake. Television will be affected the worst due to the short production period. Late night shows will suffer immediately. Granted, the world is certainly a better place if Jay Leno can no longer spin new material. However, losing original airings of Late Night With Conan O'Brien will be a blow felt around the universe. Eventually sitcoms and finally dramas will suffer the blow of striking screenwriters. All that will be left would be the cultural void of reality programming. While I occasionally view a reality program from time to time, I would surely enjoy the television landscape purged of that scourge. However, in this dark future that a strike presents, the studios would warmly embrace the low-cost alternative of reality television. The infamous "Slut Wars" from The TV Set could actually become a reality. Yikes! If the strike were to proceed for a decent length of time, movies would certainly take a hit.

Personally the thought of getting cut off from the pop-culture we hold dear is a disturbing one. It is a thought that can keep fanatics, such as ourselves, awake at night. Who the hell do these screenwriters think they are anyways? If they have to make sacrifices so that we can continue to receive our daily dose of pop culture, then so be it. What's the big deal anyways? Sure the entire landscape in which consumers view television is changing. And, yes, the new distribution methods almost completely ignore the rights of those writing the material.

But how much money do these greedy writers need? Even George and Jerry received at least 8 grand for their script about nothing. I would take that in a heartbeat. What's that you say? The basic television set as a portal for television shows is dying? Television ratings and total viewership has been in decline for years? Alright, so what? They are still making money hand over fist. Right now they are doing fantastic. Yeah maybe unions are supposed to look out for the future interests of its members. But the needs of the future are so far off. Wait... you say that television shows are the fastest growing sector of DVD sales? And viewership of shows online and through programs such as ITunes is increasing constantly? Hmmmm.

All kidding aside, it seems pretty clear to me that the studios are realizing that in the future standard television viewing as we know it will be obsolete. They are trying to set themselves up in the new system without having to pay due diligence. Did they really feel they could sneak past the writers the new profits from DVDs and the internet? Screenwriters deserve much more credit than they currently receive. While directors and actors get all of the credit, the writers are often times, the true geniuses at work. They deserve a fair percentage of the new innovations in television and film viewing. Hopefully the federal mediator that arrived today will see that and make the right decision. Otherwise, we could be in for a long winter.