Remember the Hollywood writer's strike of 2007? That seems like eons ago! Anyway, during the strike, I shared my thoughts on how I hoped the strike would help Indie Business owners use their time more wisely by swapping out TV time for business planning and goal execution time. In the post, I said:
I'm all for standing in solidarity with union brothers and sisters to fight for what is right. But I hope that some of the striking writers are also making the strike work for them by using some of the time to explore how their God-given talent can be used to generate income on their own terms so they never have to strike again.
This morning in my email box, I found out that I wasn't the only one thinking along those lines. I was excited to discover a great article about how TV and movie writer-director Joss Whedon used the 100-day strike period to conceive an online musical comedy designed to help explore options for creating and profiting from independently produced content.
While there are a few broadcast television shows I like and maybe a few more cable ones, the fact is that, as Joss says, so much of it is "homogenized, globalized, monopolized." As an Indie Business owner, I don't like it when power is so concentrated that it silences talented Indie voices. I'm glad the strike resulted in Joss taking action to put his talent and the talents of others to work in ways that provide more options for viewers while helping him generate the income he deserves as a talented writer-director. I hope others will follow suit.
In my opinion, it can't happen fast enough.
Question: What do you think? Are you as excited as I am for more "regular" people to have a shot at creating their own media and distribution outlets? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.