3 ms·
Hollywood's answer to a part of the problem, that of how to take care of the people that are already in the system, is unions. How to take care of the people th
by vinceguidry 8y ago
Hollywood's answer to a part of the problem, that of how to take care of the people that are already in the system, is unions. How to take care of the people that aren't in the system yet but really really want to be, that's the problem I'm talking about.
I live in Atlanta, huge movie and TV presence here, I rub shoulders with actors and all kinds of workers. The people who are in the system are extremely quick to lend a helpful ear or advice or stopgap job here and there. The whole system is set up to gently shake the talent pool so that people eventually find the part of the industry that they can find a foothold in that won't kill them. The people who do wind up as grips or whatever can still nurture their creative side and there's still quite a bit of glory in working on that side of it.
Hollywood, somehow, has figured out how to stop eating its young and start nurturing them.
- slg 8y agoI would argue that unions are a direct cause of some of that behavior. Union members generally don't have to fear new competition the way non-union workers do. They don't have to fear someone doing their job at 90% of the quality for 50% of the salary. Non-union workers have a disincentive to mentor people who immediately become their competition for jobs. Unions help remove that disincentive and allows members to function as a single cooperative group instead of as individual people competing against each other for the same opportunities.