The Need for a Culture Shift: What Can Be Done to Improve the Working Conditions in the Film and Television Industry

Abstract

The film and television industry has seen many shifts in the past few years due to the pandemic. Many of these changes have disproportionately negatively effected below the line labor. While various unions that cover these employees are fighting for equity and better treatment, the corporations that run the industry are overpowering them. Corporations are exploiting the labor who make film and television happen. Changes are possible if we get the corporations to care about people and understand that by focusing on slower production timelines, and a work life balance for laborers, the content, consumer, laborers, and industry will benefit. With the writer’s strike in process, the industry hangs in balance. Now is the time for change. Now is the time for corporations to understand that behind human capital are real people who want to tell stories that change the world. It is time that the corporations took a few simple steps to make the industry more equitable, safe, and sustainable.