The Hollywood strikes that took place this year were not the first of their kind and I highly doubt that they will be the last. And you know what, I feel great about that. For a couple of different reasons, obviously, but the biggest would have to be that it has reminded the country what worker’s solidarity is supposed to look like and the effect that it can have on so much.
Shortly after the WGA (Writer’s Guild of America) began to strike, UPS began to strike as well, which was a coincidence believe it or not but a spectacular one because it would shape how the vast majority of people would react to those strikes and the multiple strikes afterward. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.
There have been 23 major strikes in Hollywood’s history, starting all the way back in 1936 and continuing until today. Hollywood has always been a structure of workers that stand up for themselves as they are easily affected by changing technology, laws, and economics. Especially since the industry is entirely built on the work of collaboration of multiple people all concentrating on different trades that then bring their skills together to fulfill one vision. In an environment like that, every person and every job is important.
So, since an industry like that can be protested against to ensure the rights of workers, an industry with so many workers to please and so many different goals that need to be met, any industry should be able to be held accountable for what their workers deserve. I think that’s the biggest thing I took away from this.
Any person, company, industry, or system can be held accountable for wrongdoing if enough people are willing to stick it out when applying that accountability. This is great lesson for the country to be reminded of, especially in the times that we are currently living in now.
I did also learn something else, however, and it is far uglier and much more than I bargained for. People are so selfish and lacking in empathy that they do not understand the point of a strike as if the rights of workers are not important to them because they are not one of those workers (which wasn’t the hard part) and so many people feel this way.
I know why. Capitalism has not only served as an economic and legal corrupting force in the world since it reared its ugly head in western society, but it has also fundamentally corrupted society socially. I’m not sure where to even begin fixing that set of massive issues but giving one of the greatest displays of people standing together for others, whether you know them or not, in modern memory that did not deal directly with a murder of some kind is a huge step forward. A step forward that desperately needs to have more made to carry us forward.