The Magic, Miracle and Magnificence of Film and Television
An audience member’s perspective of the Film and Television Industry
It is a familiar rallying cry, a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.
This has been the catch-cry from the union movement for decades. Encouraged by
empathy it is all about reasonable compensation for work, consent to use that
individual’s work and consistency in that compensation. On the other hand,
bosses are motivated by malice, greed, self-interest and maximising the bottom
line, whatever the cost.
Thus in the film and television industry in America, the concept of
fairness is lost in the land of the free and the parallel universe that is
Planet Hollywood. The land of the free is certainly not the land of fairness or
indeed the “fair go” once cruising those boulevards. Worker’s rights are about
as foreign to Americans as universal health care, compassion, generosity of
spirit and social justice. For one of the wealthiest nations on Earth, it would
be safe to conclude that they have some of the lowest paid workers in the
Western world. Fran Drescher (13 July 2023) in an impassioned speech pointed
out this battle between corporate greed, wall street and labour in the context
of the film and television industry. The magic of the motion picture lost and
forgotten in the lust for corporate profits at the expense of talent,
creativity and self-expression.
Some months ago, reports emerged about a writer’s strike in America,
being held by SAG-AFTRA, the union who defend and protect workers’ rights in
the American film and television industry. The industry bosses at the studios
and streaming services had not negotiated in good faith with workers and have been
effectively underpaying workers, in particular, writers, but also some actors,
for quite some time. But the exploitation is more insidious than that. Meanwhile,
the industry had also been taking advantage of actors thanks to the growth of
artificial intelligence (AI). I am not quite sure how one uses AI in an
industry that is human-centric and requires human genius, passion, expression,
creativity and talent to thrive, succeed, inspire and touch the soul of another
human being. But it seems where there’s a way to cut out the human element and
save a buck or two, the big wigs of Hollywood are all for it and cannot wait to
eliminate the talent from the formula. What is the equation, the end result?
Maximising profits or exploring and expressing human potential or, as one
individual stated in a reply to a tweet I sent in reply to John Cusack, mere
“entertainment”. This reduction of art to a pure spectator sport, without a
deeper connection with the audience, seemed harsh and unjustifiably indifferent
to the effort and passion that goes into the film and television industry.
Thus the writers and actors are fighting two battles. Firstly, the right
to be paid fairly; and secondly, the right to be employed on an ongoing basis
and not have their identity indiscriminately hijacked and used by artificial
intelligence to generate an ongoing income stream for the studios but not the
actors. Yet it seems this virtual identity theft occurs unwittingly when the
actor allows their likeness to be replicated by the studio who then, without
the actor’s consent, seeks to continue using the likeness without consent or
compensation for the actor, but still profiting from its usage. A third issue,
the lack of apparent affinity between artist and audience forms the basis of
this essay as it influences the idea that human involvement in art is easily dispensed
with in this era of rapid wealth accumulation with minimum human input and the
rush to entertain above all else, no matter the means used.
What does this all mean for viewers, the audience, the paying patron at
the cinema or of the streaming service or the networks who pay for television
series to be broadcast on free-to-air TV. The quality of the output is
invariably diminished when the standard of the input is no longer of paramount
importance. What does this do for the experience of watching a movie or TV show
knowing the actors and writers are being treated of lesser value than they
deserve while the audience is at risk of being short-changed by watching
artificial intelligence and not the real actor? This all seems to have happened
in a sneaky and under-handed way as I am not sure how many people outside
Hollywood realised this was on the studios’ radar.
Like the automation you
see in a car manufacturing factory or some generic production line, it seems
movie-making is being reduced to the same automated process where the human
element is automated to produce the finished product more efficiently, while
underpaying everyone else and still charging the consumer a premium for the
final product. How this product can have any kind of true value without the
human touch is beyond me. It diminishes the actor’s worth and it reduces the
writer’s task to a meaningless exercise in profit-generation for a studio
unwilling to share fairly the spoils of such labour. It is quite remarkable and
unsettling the way the big wigs in Hollywood have succeeded in diminishing the
human experience yet again, this time in a place that should be sacred and
untouchable. A place that makes children and adults alike dream and feel again,
wonder and imagine, and enjoy the euphoria of their soul soaring as they are
inspired by the experience. Is the film and television industry really
something you can just reduce to a production line-type exercise to generate
money for the few at the top? It seems like they want us to believe that is
what it is about. But I believe film and television is about something deeper,
more special and more meaningful, powerful and beautiful. It is an art form to
be respected, nurtured and understood, not just another product to be consumed
like a can of Coke and discarded and forgotten about. If we automate creativity
and art and reduce actors and writers to mere economic units to utilise solely
for profit and not self-expression and inspiration, what has our ultimate
purpose as human beings become? AI experts might care to enlighten the world as
to how or why AI should usurp humans in the creation of art. Or is it a misuse
of AI, yet again…..
For now, that human
element in the craft of film and television has come under continued attack by
the studios thus leading the industry to strike for their rights to be
acknowledged and for their work to be fairly compensated and appreciated. It is
the age-old clash between so-called rational minds that led to the
Enlightenment versus the sentimental types who emerged during Romanticism and
wanted to follow their hearts, create, feel and express themselves through
their talent and ideas (and get paid for it). Sentimentality is frowned upon
these days. Emotional types are scorned. People who act according to their
feelings and conscience mocked, ridiculed and derided. There are those who
ignore the heart and there are those who follow their hearts. We cannot forsake
the latter to appease the financial whims and insatiable greed of the former.
Yet that is what is currently happening in America with the strike. As the
situation currently stands, neither parties are backing down and the strike is
set to continue for some time yet as the studios stubbornly insist on “crying
poor” and refuse to negotiate in good faith, treating the writers and actors
with utter contempt, derision and disrespect. The question thus remains, why is
human input, involvement and expression still so important and necessary in the
film and television industry, even in this Age of Technology, Innovation and
AI? No doubt, technology plays its part in the industry, obviously, but one
must wonder if this time it is being taken too far and sacrifices too much for
little gain or benefit.
The heart of creation
is the human soul and imagination. Expressing that desire in our chosen way
gives meaning to this human experience. Our collective intelligence and
creativity can be used to enhance the human experience, or sadly, it can be
used to diminish the human experience. Mankind has embarked on a technological
revolution for much of the 20th and 21st Centuries.
Initially, it was sparked by the Industrial Revolution, though technological
advances have been occurring for millennia in one way or another as humans
always search and strive for more fulfilling ways of being and better ways of
doing things. Indigenous populations and communities were remarkably advanced
in their ways of being and doing things. But in this day and age, efficiency is
the name of the game and most of the technological advancements have been in
destructive pursuits, rather than upholding noble ideals and a magnificent
vision for humanity. Now it is about least input for maximum output. Quality?
Take it or leave it. Something carefully crafted and meticulously detailed for
hours and days will always be more finely and carefully created and valued than
a mass production and assembly line pumping out the product in minutes, devoid
of heart, energy, time, effort, enthusiasm, passion, care or skin in the game.
No reward for effort in the machinery of industry. Maybe that is why it has
been so easy to replace people with robots with little resistance. Despite
this, manufacturing companies are still going belly-up. Or maybe because of it
as cheaper means of production are sourced around the world, thanks to
globalisation, a blessing for Capitalists and Globalists and a curse for local
communities and craftspeople.
Thus in more recent
decades, technology has flourished a lot closer to home in the form of
household items and personal effects. All in the name of making life easier,
more convenient, quicker. With a tap of a button, you can now access your
favourite music and movies and you don’t even have to pay for it at the local
record store. You can measure your vital signs, and you don’t even have to see
a Medical Doctor. You can access volumes of knowledge, and you don’t even have
to go to a library or bookstore. You can spend all your pay in one hit, and you
didn’t even have to go to the shops to do it. You can even gamble away your
life savings without leaving the sofa. You can have alcohol and fast food
delivered to your door, just like that. You can have a romantic relationship,
and never even meet the person you’re talking to. In fact, you can do all this
without even getting out of bed. The human element in such transactions is no
longer required. Effort, energy, passion, heart, soul and enthusiasm is no
longer required. You can live your whole life without even seeing the light of
day. Now, all this human ingenuity can be created without a human being even
being included in the picture.
While some might say
this is “progress”, it would be unwise to lose sight of the big picture and the
consequences for the individuals who pursue avenues like acting as a career, a
calling, their passion in life, a fulfillment of their life purpose. Acting is
an artform that takes the human spirit to new heights. Writing the part, like
playing the part, plays a special role in society as it takes us to a place
unimagined, unseen and unexperienced before. Yet we are left feeling that new
experience, emotion and state of mind, as if we had been there ourselves. This
is the magic, miracle, mystery and magnificence of cinema and the silver
screen.
It broadens our
horizons and opens our minds in ways we could not have achieved on our own.
It takes a special
person to enliven and enhance the lives of strangers from all walks of life and
from all corners of the globe in such a wonderful, awe-inspiring, unifying and
thought-provoking way. It is a journey that takes us to the deepest, darkest
recesses of our mind, but also elevates us to the heavens with light, wonder
and beauty. From horror to romance, and the brilliant kaleidoscope of colour
and enchantment in between, we are allowed to experience an array of emotions
and flourish as a human being, as a result. The spirit is enriched and
rejuvenated, sometimes challenged and drained, but it all leads to growth,
expansion, and appreciation. This is the idea and purpose of life and it takes
another human being to have that effect on their fellow human being.
Thus being receptive
and open to soul-searching and being reinvigorated and impressed by the breadth,
depth and scale of the human imagination brightens our lives, society and
civilisation. It all leads to a more fulfilling and satisfying human experience
and emboldens us to take chances and try new things we might not have otherwise
tried or delved into without that prompt and impetus. It adds colour and
flavour to the quality of our civilisation and elevates the type of people that
we are, collectively. It encourages us to see beyond our own perspective and
rise up to a new vantage point. This is not merely entertainment. This is a
journey that means more, gives more, encourages more and expects more from the
person experiencing it. It is not merely an intellectual exercise or a way to
pass time. It is an opportunity to also feel deeply and do something with that
inspiration.
It is true that some
will wander through life uninspired by the ingenuity around them. Unaffected,
untouched and unmoved by the passion and fervour of the craft. They will only
ever hold a monochrome view of life while others will see the world in vivid
technicolour and even make new colours, new vistas and new horizons…….. A
glorious new landscape that elevates us to higher places. While some remain
unaffected, for others, it can be life-changing and liberating. As the quote
goes, once your mind has been expanded and stretched by a new idea, it can
never return to its original dimensions or impressions of what was. You are
changed forever and that experience has been able to shine a light into who you
are and who you seek to be and this can change you, for the better. A whole new
bright world opens up to you when that happens. Open minds and open hearts lead
to open doors, new paths and wonderful opportunities. Opportunities for
enhancement and more love, beauty, heart, soul, passion, kindness, generosity,
reflection and wonder. Above all, more creativity and imagination and a more
powerful vision of what to do next and what to create next, for writer, actor
and audience member alike. It is a dynamic and reinvigorating process for
everyone involved.
The essence of being
human is this ability to create and the willingness to appreciate an expanded
vision of the world. Nothing is more disheartening than stagnation and
destruction. Our greatest capacity is our ability to visualise and imagine a
world and a civilisation bigger and better than ever before. Our purpose is to
create a more magnificent place than our ancestors created and to build on
those creations and build on our own sense of selves and what we believe we are
capable of achieving. The ability to discover our talents and explore and
nurture those gifts is our primary purpose and a real blessing. We have all
been born and blessed with capability and ingenuity that is designed to be
fully explored and utilised so we can live our lives to our fullest potential
using those talents and gifts. As someone once indicated, we are duty bound,
once we discover our gift and purpose, to share it and give it away.
Thus taking away that
ability to create is akin to taking away our life purpose and that sense of
fulfillment and gratification that comes from being alive, achieving our dreams
and sharing our talents. It is crushing the soul and spirit of people born to
create, inspire and motivate. When you say to people that their ability to
create is worthless and can be artificially replicated, you are destroying
their sense of worth and purpose. Moreover, you are detracting from the
collective growth and enjoyment that comes from experiencing and witnessing
another human being's ingenuity, gifts and talents.
At a basic level,
it is saying to people that creating, whether it's acting, writing, journalism,
or music, is not a real pursuit and can be replaced by computer-generated words
and imagery. It is saying that this vocation is not a real job, that what they
are passionate about doesn’t matter and it can be artificially reproduced with
the same results. More importantly, that it can somehow have the same
emotional, spiritual and intellectual impact on the person watching or reading
the creation. That it can still retain its value to the audience.
Interestingly, the suggestion that artificial intelligence is capable of
offering the same compassion, warmth, generosity of spirit, expression and
empathy that the actor or writer offers to people whose stories they portray on
screen takes a dim view of the depth of the human character and the necessity
for human interaction to encourage, comfort, reassure and support people who
tell their stories and share their stories that are then shown on the big
screen. For example, Spotlight, Concussion and Still Alice
are movies where the actors could only portray the anguish, trauma and loss the
characters were going through by meeting with the people and feeling their pain
and struggle. Artificial intelligence cannot do that. Can AI really take us to
a place of exhilaration and inspiration when it is all just manufactured
emotion purely for profit and entertainment and nothing deeper or more
meaningful and valuable?
This would be a
backwards step for our civilisation. There is no sense of appreciation to be
gained from removing the human element from the creative experience. Expansion
and growth defines the human experience. Taking that away from the creative
beings amongst us is like poisoning their essence. In fact, it is akin to
tearing out their soul and leaving an empty vacuum still seeking purpose, but
floundering in the shards of broken hearts and fading dreams. We should be
encouraging creativity from human beings, not seeing how we can replace it with
non-human-generated imagery and words. People are born to create. People are
born to explore their passion and fulfill their potential. Nowhere is this more
apparent than in the film and television industry. For those that continue to say
it is just "entertainment" so who cares are lessening its value. People
create to fulfill their own life purpose, gain meaning from life and discover
something of themselves and the world around them that wasn’t there before. The
real reward comes from the acknowledgement and recognition they receive from
the rest of the world who experience their creativity in its final form.
For the audience
member, it could be an exercise in learning, growth and discovery. It is not
merely "entertainment". The creative experience motivates, inspires,
elevates, touches the heart and soul, teaches, reminds us, and gives pause to
reflect, wonder, ponder, wander and notice things we maybe didn't notice
before. It is an opportunity to escape the mundane and dream again or simply
believe in magic and miracles again. I don't just go to the movies, for
example, to be "entertained", like some medieval monarch holding
court and summoning the entertainers to create some music and laughter for a
couple of hours. “Entertainment” is such a small part of it. For me, engaging
in that experience is about thinking deeply, letting the imagination run wild, feeling
completely and dreaming freely, while escaping the reality we currently live in.
While the creator
explores their boundaries and how far they can take their talent and potential
in their role, the people who get to experience that mastery of human ingenuity
get to embark on their own journey of inner discovery and can even undertake
soul-searching and self-reflecting and uncover insights about themselves along
the way. For this reason, I expect more than “entertainment”. I want substance
in art and for the artist to have pushed not only their own boundaries, but the
audience’s boundaries. I want to be transported to another place and feel and
see things I’ve never felt before and marvel at its brilliance. I go to be
inspired and to come out a different person, to see the world in a new light,
to think differently, to think anew, to see things with a fresh perspective, to
feel emotions absent from my real life and to spark conversations and reveries.
You can simply see a movie, or you can feel the message and take something more
from the experience and do something with that emotion. Humans have a very
important stake in this creative endeavour and by taking away creative pursuits,
we are on a bleak, barren path to a dark time. We should shine a light on human
ingenuity and creativity, not hide it in a dark cave, shut away from the world,
while robots and artificial intelligence take charge.
It takes a special
group of creative human beings to create a soulful, heart-warming response in
another human. The experience becomes mutually rewarding and satisfying. To
take that away from actors, writers, poets, journalists, musicians and whoever
else they're targeting is an insult and an affront to their intelligence and
talent, and their purpose and meaning in life and it diminishes the purpose of
life for all of us. It diminishes their humanity and capacity to be an actor
and writer. Thus to refuse to adequately compensate them for their abilities
and talents is offensive, unethical, immoral and humiliating.
The advancement of
humankind and the flourishing of our civilisation is based on our dreams,
vision and abilities. AI might advance one ideal, but it is a dark path for so
many people and shatters so many other ideals worthy of being kept out in the
light. Instead of creation, they want destruction. Instead of rewarding the
talent and acknowledging their value, they choose to diminish the craft and its
place in modern society. A place that holds a special space in many people’s
hearts and souls.
It is all very well for
one lone individual to appreciate the wonder, magic, miracle and magnificence
of film, television, the silver screen and cinema. But the real question
remains, why is art and culture so under-appreciated and under-valued in modern
society? Why is there such little reward for effort for the whole array of
individuals that are involved in the film and television industry? Some are
raking it in, this is true. But unfortunately, the vast majority are barely
scraping by. Is this fair, just or right while the studio bosses make billions?
Ultimately, how can the
film and television industry retain its meaning, significance and value to the
audience when the studios, the bosses, reserve the right to diminish the worth
of the writers and actors who bring the magic of cinema and television to life?
These pursuits are what give meaning to life, it is what we live for, so I
leave you with words from Robin Williams in that most poignant and deeply
moving of films, a marvel of human talent, creativity and sentimentality, a
breath of life across a bleak landscape, a reminder of what it is to be alive,
how film, how words are used to change the world, Dead Poets Society:
“Words and ideas can change the world… We don’t
read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we
are members of the human race and the human race is filled with passion.
Medicine, law, business, engineering. These are noble pursuits necessary to
sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love. These are what we stay alive
for. To quote from Whitman, Oh Me, Oh Life, Of The Questions Of These
Recurring, Of The Endless Trains, Of The Faithless, Of Cities Fill’d With The
Foolish… What Good Amid These, Oh Me, Oh Life? Answer. That You Are Here. That
Life Exists and Identity. That The Powerful Play Goes On. And You May Contribute
A Verse. That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What
will your verse be?”
What will your verse
be? Will you be silenced and beaten into submission or will you stand up for
the writers, the actors, the poets, the musicians, the story tellers… those
passionate and dedicated enough to tell their stories and our stories and
inspire life, beauty, wonder and passion, for you, through you, to you?
Remember and consider that next time you go to the movies or encounter a story
someone put their whole heart and soul into telling. The least we can do is
demand that artists, writers and actors are paid fairly for the privilege of
that invaluable experience.
Thus we all have a part
to play to ensure this dance of life means something and can continue to mean
something to us all. We all have a part of play to stop the Studios diminishing
the human experience and detracting from our reason for being. It is up to us
to do our bit and have a heart and fire up our own souls to sustain and ignite
the embers of an industry where so many truly are underappreciated and
undervalued. The audience members deserve a say and should really consider what
we are losing in this race to replace humans in our lives versus what we are
gaining by deeming ourselves redundant, worthless and useless in the overall
experience of life. If profit is the only reason we are here, the part human
beings get to play in that game needs to be figured out. It is time to
contemplate these things. Or we will rue the day we allowed the automation of
creating all forms of art become the mainstay of the creative, expressive
experience. We all deserve more credit than that for what we are capable of as
human beings. We might be only human, after all, but we do all belong here and
deserve to be afforded the opportunity to be who we were meant to be. It is not
enough to have a life, it is essential to live that life fully, completely,
authentically. Being who we are meant to be, not accommodate what Wall Street
or Big Wigs in Hollywood Studios or Board Rooms across the Planet tell us to
be. We mould our own lives and we paint our own futures and fill it with our
own dreams, desires, vision and goals. We create the vision for our life and
fulfill our own destiny, no-body else does that. Thus if you are born to be a
writer or an actor in Hollywood, Europe or Australia or elsewhere, you deserve
to live your dream, follow your heart, pursue your passion and enhance and
enrich your life experience and be fairly treated and compensated for it. In
doing so, by sharing your gift, you enliven the life experience for the
audience and make the world a more beautiful place. That is an exhilarating
verse worth honouring and contributing to the world.
PS. If you get the chance, please go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4SAPOX7R5M to hear Fran Drescher
speak about this issue from the workers’ and union’s perspective. Also, John
Cusack wrote many tweets on this issue in July (https://twitter.com/johncusack). But in a touching
and moving tribute to his craft, one tweet in particular about the essence of
the artistry of film-making was very striking, heart-warming and is well-worth
a read, if you can find it. If you do find it, please put the link to the specific
tweet in the comments below as I would love to re-read it! Thank you. :-)
REFERENCES:
Cusack, J. (2023). https://twitter.com/johncusack
Drescher, F. (2023,
July 14). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4SAPOX7R5M
Weir, P. (1989). Dead
Poets Society. Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.
Whitman, W. (1892). O
Me! O Life!
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