In 2023, the Writers Guild for America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) put Hollywood on hold as they began strikes, feeling as if their needs and concerns were completely overlooked during the show and film-making process. Simply put, they felt like an after-thought in their careers, a sentiment which resonates with many across the globe.
Regardless of whether you work a nine-to-five, part-time, or even in a specialized field, it’s common these days to feel detached from your work. From balancing the high demands put on you at the workplace to dedicating the time needed for these responsibilities, work as a whole is becoming less enjoyable, even when you’re in an industry you love. It raises the question: What’s the cause of these feelings? While it can be dismissed as a by-product of working, Karl Marx proposed another idea for this detachment.
Marx is undoubtedly a divisive historical figure. While his theories are seen as synonymous to communism, it’s more apt to say that Marxism laid out the framework for the latter. The greater part of his ideologies were more concerned with pointing out flaws in the capitalist system, one of which was the emergence of these feelings of detachment. Marx believed that working in a capitalist society made workers feel alienated or isolated on four dimensions – alienation from the process of labor, products of labor, species-being, and other workers – that ultimately created an overarching sense of unhappiness. Although this is an abstract concept, it can be better understood by looking at the concerns which sparked the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in the first place.
Nearly two decades ago, at the peak of network television, writers would be writing as episodes of a show were filmed (roughly for 30-40 weeks straight) and were often on set making revisions as they or actors felt fit. In contrast, under the streaming model, screen-writers are no longer welcome on set and only work for about eight to ten weeks before filming even starts. As Marx says, when the commodities a worker produces are dictated by their bosses, they often play a reduced role in the entire production process.[1] This limited role leads to alienation from the process of labor and is reflected in the experiences of screen-writers who are now expected to work as quickly and independently as possible.
Additionally, reduced working time means reduced pay. While screen-writing is the back-bone of all shows and movies, production houses can get away by limiting their pay. Writers only make a miniscule slice of the profit generated from tv shows and movies. They have no access to the entire profit of their product; this is the concept of alienation from the products of labor.[1]
Moreover, less pay often prompts screenwriters and actors to take whatever jobs are available as they need the money. This is a similar trend among young actors, such as Rachel Zegler, Sydney Sweeney, and Jacob Elordi, who have been vocal about taking roles for the purpose of having a job. When screen-writers and actors prioritize money, they aren’t pursuing meaningful projects, which causes them to sacrifice their creative visions or dreams. Marx coined the term “species being” to describe this internal essence– how one treats oneself “as a universal and therefore a free being.”[1] He goes on to say that if we feel unable to do the things which we find meaningful, we lose this ability to feel free, and thus alienated from our self-being. By prioritizing income, actors and screen-writers face this dilemma.
Plus, since there are numerous screen-writers and actors, production houses have a tendency to treat them as replaceable. This coerces them to look at others in their field as competition rather than collaborators. This is what Marx identified as alienation from fellow workers.[1]This isolates them from the only other people who acutely understand their struggles.
While the four forms of alienation and their effect are easily identifiable in the film industry, alienation exists in every industry, creating a destructive cycle for those involved. Even when it feels as if we’re the only ones who feel that way, the experiences of screen-writers and actors show that we aren’t, nor that we should lose hope. By taking collective action like the strikes, we are able to make use of our combined power and work towards a future where no one feels alienated.
[1] Marx, K. (2007). Economic and philosophic manuscripts of 1844 (M. Milligan, Trans.). Dover Publications.