As a Democrat I must say that I have always had an affinity for a good old fashioned strike. Even as I have aged and developed more moderate fiscal leanings I still love the power that a union holds when they say that they will not work unless they are treated more fairly by “the man”. It is really beautiful to me the power that a small group of people holds when they strike. It’s cheesy to say, but its one of the things that makes America a truly great country!
With that being said, as a consumer of pop culture, it is not great that the Writer Guild of America has gone on strike.
This issue is not getting the media attention that it deserves so I will provide the details. As I’m sure you are all aware, all television shows and movies have writers. Well, not all. Reality shows do not, but who wants to watch “Tila Tequila” followed by “I Love New York” on repeat? The strike is taking place over “new media” that the writers want to get a bigger stake of. Residual payments for downloaded move and DVDs have not been equal for writers and the last time a strike occurred, in 1988, negotiations were rushed and therefore are no longer sufficient.
The strike will affect many facets of media. Most shows that are on television are written well in advance and will have enough episodes to make it at least through 2007. In addition, most movie studios have enough scripts to make movies (and my “make movies” I mean make good movies) at least through the summer. This is going to impact talk shows the most. “Colbert Report”, “Daily Show”, “The Tonight Show” and “The Late Show” are going to be among the first effected. Some sitcoms are already shut down, but don’t worry to much… only “Big Bang Theory” and “Two and a Half Men” are shut down. And lets be serious, who wants to watch Charlie Sheen?
Personally, I believe that it is essential that the writers get what they want. They are the building blocks for all media, or at least all GOOD media. While the role of the writer is not as glamorous as the producer, studio chief, agent, publicist, or actor their role is arguably the most important because without their participation in the process there is no process. Instead of a process there are shitty reality shows, which, rest assured, will be coming our way in a few months. With a strike that is predicted to last up to eight months get ready for shows like, “Farmer Wants a Wife” on the CW network. And no, I am NOT making that up.
Also disturbing is the limited media attention placed on this strike. It is understandable. The media outlets that control the news, to one degree or another, have writers on strike and programming which will be affected as a result. The more public knowledge of the strike increases, the more support the writers will get, thus increasing the likelihood of negotiations swinging in their advantage.
In the end, the choice is simple. Give the writers what they deserve and lets all get back to work. Save the country from “Farmer Wants a Wife”. Do it for the good of humanity.
Posted: November 6, 2007 2:04 pm | 0 comments
Tags: farmer wants a wife, hollywood, movies, pop culture, television, writers guild of America
Hey everyone! Make sure that you check out senate next Wednesday, November 14th! We will have a panel titled “Got Inclusion?” It should be a great panel about inclusion at Simmons.
It will be in C-103 at 3:30 pm! Be there!
Posted: November 10, 2007 11:39 am | 0 comments
Tags: inclusion, SGA, Simmons
There has been some discussion over the past few months about political trophy wives in the media, specifically Fred Thompson’s wife, Jeri Thompson, and I can’t help but add my two cents to this debate.
Jeri Thompson hails from Naperville, Illinois, not far from Wilmette. She went to DePauw University in Indiana and spent about ten years living “in sin” with a boyfriend and not doing anything particularly “career oriented”. In the late 90’s she met divorced senator Fred Thompson and they started to date. At this time Jeri was working on a website about Tennessee politics and her relationship with Fred catered nicely to this venture. He is 64 and she is 40. They were married in 2002 and he is now running for the presidency.
First and foremost I would like to state that I absolutely hate when people bash large age gap couples. Are they happy? Is it what they want? Good! Go mind your own business! How does her being younger affect anyone other than her and her significant other? Plain and simple, it doesn’t affect anyone else. Leave them alone and let them just be married. Many people argue that its “creepy and weird”. My response is that while it might seem “weird and creepy”, it’s creepy to you and not to them. At the end of the day they are the ones that are married. All of America is not in their marriage. It is him and her and if it works for them who are you to say anything negative about it? All of America is not privy to their personal life and so why do we even care? Are we jealous and angry or are we simply grossed out? Well, here’s what… it doesn’t matter what we think. It’s their life to live and as the old adage goes; if you have nothing nice to say why say anything at all!?
It has also been proven time and time again that potential first ladies sway an election about as much as a still day sways a kite. There is no conclusive evidence to prove that first wives, or husbands, sway elections. Personally, I do not find her to be that outrageous compared with things other political wives of the past.
The term “trophy wife”, as Jeri is referred to, is also grossly misunderstood. Trophy wives are not simple, young bimbos that sit in their husbands shadow and shop all day long. Granted some do shop all day but the traditional definition of a trophy wife is a women that is younger AND accomplished in her own right. She’s nice to look at but she also has a point of view and something to say and why wouldn’t an older man, like Fred Thompson, be attracted to that? Jeri Thompson is no fool. She is educated and there has been pubic discussion about her role within the campaign and her political prowess. Contrary to popular belief that says you cannot be young, beautiful, and also smart it is possible and she is one example of it. While I would not exactly label the term “trophy wife” as being “empowering” per se I would go as far to suggest that it isn’t as negative as some would have you believe, although popular culture might suggest other wise.
Finally, I would like to address one point that has been bothering me for some time. This is the sort of the common, stereotypical thing to say but I think we should take a moment and consider what would happen if Bill Clinton was 14 years younger than Hillary. I think public out cry from some would be much different however, I would like to state and I would feel the same way I do about Jeri Thompson. If there happy and the relationship is satisfying to them, who cares!?
Posted: November 12, 2007 10:01 pm | 1 comment
Tags: age, Fred Thompson, Hillary Clinton, Jeri Thompson, politics, relationships, trophy wives
