WGA Survival Guide
Jan. 9th, 2008 09:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jenny_wildcatI used to be the Survival Guide writer at Snow College and it's time to revisit those glory...erm... years... (I really only did it for a semester before I became Editor-in-Chief and kicked the forsaken thing out of the paper on it's hind end). Inspired by this comic from 24thecomicstrip and various conversations I've had with various people. Meant to be funny, but we'll see (some slight "24" trailer spoilers will be mentioned, but nothing too hairy):
Granted, if I were to turn this in to a newspaper as a column, it would be horribly edited down in the final product, but, eh... that's what LJ is for. It's fun to put on my columnist hat again ^_^
24thecomicstrip and various conversations I've had with various people. Meant to be funny, but we'll see (some slight "24" trailer spoilers will be mentioned, but nothing too hairy):The Writer's Guild of America is on strike for about a month now. That means the new spring season of TV shows are postponed indefinitely from lack of new scripts. That means instead of new episodes of shows we get a new glut of seasons that were filmed but the show originally tanked (ie "Jericho"), pointless reality shows that feed on sob stories like piranha (ie, "insert any pointless reality show here"), and reruns (which aren't necessarily bad, but it's rough already knowing the "surprise" ending because you've seen your favorite episode of "CSI" twenty times on the Spike channel).
What is a TV fan to do? You can bemoan the fact that you really liked "Chuck," but now you're not sure what effect this strike will have on it's return. You can agonize that the trailer of "24" was released and now you don't get to witness the return of the wonderful Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard), even if it looks like he's now a bad guy. You can be thankful that "Heroes" ended on a relatively non-cliffhangery note, except it really kind of did and now what do you do?
Or, you can follow these suggestions and tell the WGA and their studios where to stick it:
1. Respect the Classics: During my senior year of college, my roommate,shellic, was appalled that I had never seen such movies as "Roman Holiday." She had it on DVD and we watched it and I loved it. Same with "Spaceballs." Most of my family are big John Wayne fans. Even though the movie industry isn't going to be immediately affected by the writer's strike, there are a ton of old movies that are waiting for a new audience.
2. Make New Friends: During my freshman year of college, another roommate,faewren, had a rather large collection of anime and manga. I had known about anime before then, but wasn't really into it, though I was interested. She had the entire "Fushigi Yugi" series, so we watched it together. I loved it and that led to "Fruits Basket," which I still love, and many others. Maybe you're curious about "Smallville," but you've never gotten into it, but you know someone who has all the seasons on DVD. Maybe you're the one with the DVDs of any given series. Introducing others to these series is a great way to make new friends and have something to talk about with these people. That's how fandoms get started.
3. Unearth Old Treasures: As in once-treasured hobbies. During a recent foray into post-holiday-home-muck-out, my mom and I found some cross-stitch pieces that she started a long time ago, but never finished. Why not finish them now? Same goes for any hobby: card-collecting, model-ship-building, any kind of craft, drawing, etc.
4. He... Could... Go... All... The... Way! The one constant in entertainment is sports. Now is a perfect time to look up a local team (or one with a cute quarterback) and see how their season is holding up. The NFL is right in the middle of playoffs. The NBA is in full swing. If hockey's more your thing, or golf, or table tennis... whatever, pick one! And don't discount college or high school sports. At the very least, you can wonder why the Dallas Cowboys are letting their cheerleaders into the VIP box all of a sudden (oh, wait, that's Jessica Simpson in her pink Tony Romo jersey. My bad).
5. I Say a Little Prayer for You: Maybe you'd like to give back to the community. Volunteering is a great way to help others and feel productive. Go read to kids at a local library. In Salt Lake, they have the LDS Humanitarian Center and Welfare Square where you can go help can food and sort through donations (they also have projects you can do at home like school bags and hygiene kits). Maybe the food bank could use an extra pair of hands. Visit elderly people at a retirement home. Help shovel sidewalks (I hear there's been a lot of snow lately). There are opportunities for helping others all over the place if you know where and how to look.
6. You Oughta Be in Pictures: So what if Hollywood isn't producing anything new? You've got two feet and a heartbeat, what's stopping you? (hey, that rhymed!) Try your hand at writing and producing a short film. It seems like everyone has video capabilities at least on their digital cameras. Maybe you can find a couple of friends to act in your movie. Do you know someone who'd like to design sets or costumes? Most computers come with a basic film editing program (like Windows Movie Maker). And you can post your video to YouTube and get all kinds of free press. If you don't feel like posting your video online, you can leave it on your computer and just share it with close friends and family. It doesn't have to be perfect, but you can at least say that you made one. Even Spielberg and Lucas had to start somewhere.
7. The Best Things in Life Are Free: Like library cards (I saved the best for last). Get one and wear it out already! Or visit the dusty stacks in your own living room. When's the last time you read a classic Jane Austen novel? A Shakespeare play? A Edgar Allen Poe poem? A Steven King thriller? (I had to throw that one in) Where do you think the WGA writers get their inspiration, for pity's sake? The best thing: books don't need fancy Blu-ray players or surround sound or high-def to be properly enjoyed. The most HD you need is an HD imagination (*insert cute Sesame Street jingle here*).
See what you have time for when the TV's unplugged and your mind gets to wander freely? I'm sure you can even come up with things I haven't suggested here (and if you think of something, feel free to post it in the comments).
I'm not saying that the WGA isn't justified in their complaints, but I am saying that regular people honestly don't much care (the Golden Globes were canceled. What fans are running to demand that they be held on pain of... whatever the fans can inflict pain on?) Contrary to what you read in the grocery store checkout line, the world does not revolve around Hollywood and the stuff they come up with to taunt us like "Neener-neener, I'm famous and you're not, and the paparazzi likes to film me with my mouth unflatteringly open at a fancy restaurant you can never afford" class warfare bullcrap.
To most regular people, TV is what you watch after a hard day of daily life and before the 10 o'clock news. Maybe we'll go see a movie on the weekend. Even to the rabid fans of whatever show, the time we devote to our fandoms could be easily invested in other hobbies and interests. Perhaps this strike is a chance for regular people to discover new things or rediscover things that they used to love.
What is a TV fan to do? You can bemoan the fact that you really liked "Chuck," but now you're not sure what effect this strike will have on it's return. You can agonize that the trailer of "24" was released and now you don't get to witness the return of the wonderful Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard), even if it looks like he's now a bad guy. You can be thankful that "Heroes" ended on a relatively non-cliffhangery note, except it really kind of did and now what do you do?
Or, you can follow these suggestions and tell the WGA and their studios where to stick it:
1. Respect the Classics: During my senior year of college, my roommate,
shellic, was appalled that I had never seen such movies as "Roman Holiday." She had it on DVD and we watched it and I loved it. Same with "Spaceballs." Most of my family are big John Wayne fans. Even though the movie industry isn't going to be immediately affected by the writer's strike, there are a ton of old movies that are waiting for a new audience.2. Make New Friends: During my freshman year of college, another roommate,
faewren, had a rather large collection of anime and manga. I had known about anime before then, but wasn't really into it, though I was interested. She had the entire "Fushigi Yugi" series, so we watched it together. I loved it and that led to "Fruits Basket," which I still love, and many others. Maybe you're curious about "Smallville," but you've never gotten into it, but you know someone who has all the seasons on DVD. Maybe you're the one with the DVDs of any given series. Introducing others to these series is a great way to make new friends and have something to talk about with these people. That's how fandoms get started.3. Unearth Old Treasures: As in once-treasured hobbies. During a recent foray into post-holiday-home-muck-out, my mom and I found some cross-stitch pieces that she started a long time ago, but never finished. Why not finish them now? Same goes for any hobby: card-collecting, model-ship-building, any kind of craft, drawing, etc.
4. He... Could... Go... All... The... Way! The one constant in entertainment is sports. Now is a perfect time to look up a local team (or one with a cute quarterback) and see how their season is holding up. The NFL is right in the middle of playoffs. The NBA is in full swing. If hockey's more your thing, or golf, or table tennis... whatever, pick one! And don't discount college or high school sports. At the very least, you can wonder why the Dallas Cowboys are letting their cheerleaders into the VIP box all of a sudden (oh, wait, that's Jessica Simpson in her pink Tony Romo jersey. My bad).
5. I Say a Little Prayer for You: Maybe you'd like to give back to the community. Volunteering is a great way to help others and feel productive. Go read to kids at a local library. In Salt Lake, they have the LDS Humanitarian Center and Welfare Square where you can go help can food and sort through donations (they also have projects you can do at home like school bags and hygiene kits). Maybe the food bank could use an extra pair of hands. Visit elderly people at a retirement home. Help shovel sidewalks (I hear there's been a lot of snow lately). There are opportunities for helping others all over the place if you know where and how to look.
6. You Oughta Be in Pictures: So what if Hollywood isn't producing anything new? You've got two feet and a heartbeat, what's stopping you? (hey, that rhymed!) Try your hand at writing and producing a short film. It seems like everyone has video capabilities at least on their digital cameras. Maybe you can find a couple of friends to act in your movie. Do you know someone who'd like to design sets or costumes? Most computers come with a basic film editing program (like Windows Movie Maker). And you can post your video to YouTube and get all kinds of free press. If you don't feel like posting your video online, you can leave it on your computer and just share it with close friends and family. It doesn't have to be perfect, but you can at least say that you made one. Even Spielberg and Lucas had to start somewhere.
7. The Best Things in Life Are Free: Like library cards (I saved the best for last). Get one and wear it out already! Or visit the dusty stacks in your own living room. When's the last time you read a classic Jane Austen novel? A Shakespeare play? A Edgar Allen Poe poem? A Steven King thriller? (I had to throw that one in) Where do you think the WGA writers get their inspiration, for pity's sake? The best thing: books don't need fancy Blu-ray players or surround sound or high-def to be properly enjoyed. The most HD you need is an HD imagination (*insert cute Sesame Street jingle here*).
See what you have time for when the TV's unplugged and your mind gets to wander freely? I'm sure you can even come up with things I haven't suggested here (and if you think of something, feel free to post it in the comments).
I'm not saying that the WGA isn't justified in their complaints, but I am saying that regular people honestly don't much care (the Golden Globes were canceled. What fans are running to demand that they be held on pain of... whatever the fans can inflict pain on?) Contrary to what you read in the grocery store checkout line, the world does not revolve around Hollywood and the stuff they come up with to taunt us like "Neener-neener, I'm famous and you're not, and the paparazzi likes to film me with my mouth unflatteringly open at a fancy restaurant you can never afford" class warfare bullcrap.
To most regular people, TV is what you watch after a hard day of daily life and before the 10 o'clock news. Maybe we'll go see a movie on the weekend. Even to the rabid fans of whatever show, the time we devote to our fandoms could be easily invested in other hobbies and interests. Perhaps this strike is a chance for regular people to discover new things or rediscover things that they used to love.
Granted, if I were to turn this in to a newspaper as a column, it would be horribly edited down in the final product, but, eh... that's what LJ is for. It's fun to put on my columnist hat again ^_^
