Writing being my favorite form of expression, I feel a personal attachment to the current writer’s strike. In this media ravenous culture that we have created for ourselves, the strike seems to effect our lives on many different sides, from movies to television dramas to reality TV (yes, it is very scripted) and even to politics and the economy.
As far as the economy goes, writers are throwing a wrench in the machine that is the entertainment business. Many people, for example lighting and filming crews, are angry that a few members of a large production on the set of every show and movie are refusing to work. This unfortunate strike consequently puts many more people, who are making much less money, out of their jobs. Cities heavily reliant upon the entertainment industry, like Los Angeles and New York, are stagnated because of the dearth of trickle-down economics from the previously lucrative film and television businesses.
I say politics are affected because the most exciting thing on television right now is the presidential primaries, which is a sad statement indeed. From Clinton crying, to Huckabee surrounding himself with the likes of Chuck Norris, to Obama saying “Yes we can!” we are getting a healthy dose of drama that makes us almost forget about our beloved “Desperate Housewives,” “24″ and “Heroes” (although these events appear to be very contrived).
Now, maybe you have not noticed much in the way of a change in our culture, but you will. Since the strike started, we have had a month-long break where many of us have neglected the television in exchange for family, friends and exotic vacations.
On top of this, there have been spectacular sports games and scandals mixed in with this break in case we feel the need for that glowing radiation box. There were the numerous college bowl games, the NFL playoffs, basketball and the Australian Open, not to mention the ensuing Clemens saga that is so brilliant, nefarious and regular that it might as well have its own time slot (I think I may have just crossed the picket line by coming up with a new show: Roger Clemens the Denial Artist. Please don’t blackball me, I didn’t mean to).
Maybe, you say, this strike is a good thing, as it is forcing us to focus on real life events, like friends, politics and sporting events. But remember that all of these interesting real world events are much like the break we just had. They are but a brief holiday and unfortunately they will not last.
You can only talk politics for so long before you become a blowhard. What happens when football is over? Oh, you still have basketball?
Well that story was written a long time ago: the Celtics continue to dominate the NBA and will go undefeated in the playoffs. Sorry, I didn’t provide a spoiler warning.
Honestly, do you actually want to focus on the real world? Here are just a few stories from CNN.com right now: “Woman Tried to Save Four Girls, No One Listened,” “‘Earthwide’ Search for Marine on the Run” about a Marine that killed another Marine because he did not want her to testify in the rape case she was bringing against him, and “2 Tiny Corpses Found; Search Resumes for 2 More” about a father that threw two of his children off a bridge and the search for the other two siblings.
This is my point: we need fictional stories of interest to keep the weight of the world from crushing us like crack vials under the boot of an undercover cop in the ghetto (I have been watching too much of “The Wire,” not a good example of escape).
We have not yet felt the true effects of the strike because we have, in many ways, been on vacation. Soon we will realize (like when networks keep producing shows that were previously canceled due to total lack of interest such as “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”) how much we miss our regularly scheduled getaways that allow us to laugh at the horrors of the world like “The Daily Show” (I know it’s still on, but it’s just not the same) or forget our tribulations by watching others in what we perceive to be worse situations, like the cast of “Lost.”
Make no mistake, the coming months will be dreary, unfunny and all too real for me. Pay the writers whatever they want so I can leave all of this reality behind. That is, unless I happen to be watching “Crowned.”

Christian is a senior in Arts & Sciences and a Forum editor. He can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].

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