While writers like me struggle to make ends meet, Hollywood studios get rich off the content we create.
The conformity of 1950s film and television was the result of the successful McCarthyist purge of leftists — and their genres — from the entertainment industry. The life of socialist screenwriter Very Caspary shows how it was done and what was lost.
While the methods of production and distribution have transformed several times over, every industry-wide strike since 1950 has been about residuals. Residuals have historically been the most hard-fought battles. Now there is streaming, and AI.
Last week's Oscar's ceremony was groundbreaking and historic, let's look at the origins of the awards 95 years ago. It started when the original Hollywood titans wanted an industry free of unions, of residuals, union benefits, well you get the idea.
Taking over the culture and media industry by the government goes hand in hand with efforts to limit the power of the courts. One cannot maintain a democracy for its citizens along with military dictatorship for its noncitizens, without consequences.
Reader Comments: What Price “Defense”?; Monterey Park; Readers Respond - Ukraine War and The Left; Israel; Argentina 1985; George Santos; Gun Control; Lots of Announcements; Student Activist Scholarship Applications Available; More....
Broadcasters play a propaganda role as does print media such as the Guardian. An example was the [1984] Miners’ Strike. TV presented “picket-line violence," while those involved saw police violence. Another example was the attack on Jeremy Corbyn.
Gird up your loins for Early Voting Blues
The Academy formally apologized to the Native American activist and former actress in June after she was blacklisted for representing the actor at the 1973 Academy Awards.
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