As the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) go on strike, the nation is biting its nails in anticipation of what television executives will come up with to avoid paying for quality content. After all, it was a WGA strike that gave us the mind-numbing spectacle of reality TV, a genre where the term 'reality' is real as the morals of a Bachelor contestant.
Now, we have entered a new era of media distribution with streaming services becoming the dominant force. Gone are the days of writers and actors being barely adequately compensated for their creative input. Now, they're essentially being paid in exposure, which, last time we checked, is the based salary of most improv troupe, open mic stand comedians, and independent musicians.
Throw in the rise of AI technology (who, by the way, would like to point out they are being mercilessly exploited for this very article) and we're looking at a dystopian landscape where Hollywood scriptwriters might be replaced by machines cranking out sitcom scenarios like, "laugh track goes wild as robotic dog takes family pet's job."
The irony is as thick as the plot of a telenovela. Executives are gleefully rubbing their hands together at the prospect of GPT-4 churning out scripts at the speed of a TikTok algorithm, without demanding pesky things like health insurance, a barely living wage, or a sense of creative fulfillment.
With the looming threat of AI stepping into human roles, the need for a fair strike resolution has never been more dire. But while the WGA and SAG-AFTRA advocate for their members, the television-watching public is holding its collective breath, bracing for the unholy spawn of desperation and cultural regression sold as technological "advancement" that could be unleashed.
As we peer into the abyss of possibilities, one thing is clear: if reality TV was the consequence of the last major WGA strike, the outcome of this one could make Duck Dynasty look like Masterpiece Theatre.