Best Signs Of The Writer Strike… So Far

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The best signs of the writer strike are mightier than the juiciest ChatGPT script.

The 2023 writer’s strike rages on, and so does the excellent signage. Writers can, in fact, still write, and if they aren’t using their creativity on shows, they for sure are going to use it to get the public’s attention. With creative messages ranging from memes to living advertisements to tongue-in-cheek self-deprecation, the writers are still entertaining the public.

It would, of course, be funnier if their livelihoods weren’t literally on the line. Yet like all well-written shows, the striking writers are adept at blending humor with despair and poignant human insight.

Angering a bunch of writers? Studios really should have known better.

 

Best Signs of the Writer’s Strike: Sorry Not Sorry

The above picture is a two-for-one image of the best signs. One makes a funny apology while calling out the irony of studios doing lip-service to mental health all while limiting writers’ access to basic survival.

 

Our therapists keep saying we have to stand up for ourselves, so here we are, sorry.

The other points again to lip service. Studios love to talk about diversity and strong female leads, and then Game of Thrones season 8 happens.

 

I like your offer as much as you like an angry female lead.

At least the writers here have banded together to say Dracarys.

 

Best Signs of the Writer’s Strike: Predicting the Future 

They’re not wrong.

 

You’re gonna end up as the villains in the limited series about this!

Maybe the world would have less problems if people in power just stopped every now and then and asked themselves, is this what the good guys would do?

 

The Best Signs of the Writer’s Strike: Memes Strike Back

These signs were all made by the same person, and frankly, she’s killing it. Musician Mason Lieberman posted them on Twitter; his wife, writer Zoe Marshall, made them.

Shocked Pikachu captioned “studio execs when you demand fair compensation” seems depressingly accurate. As does this:

 

Writer: I have a family to feed!

Studios: Who told you to have a family?!

Generally, rich people telling those who work to give them said wealth “bah humbug” in response to concerns about their families earns the rich a visit from three ghosts and their deceased former business partner. Wrong season of the year for that storyline, studio executives.

However, the best sign in this list references the so-called two buttons meme. Here, studios sweat buckets trying to decide between two options: “pay writers a little more” or “rebrand HBO MAX again.” Excuse us, Max.

 

The Sign That Is Terrifying Because It Could Actually Happen

Audiences need to band together. We have buried too many favorites over the years.

 

Pay up or we’ll kill off your favorite characters!

To quote a copy-pasta, this sign is smart. It’s possible. It’s terrifying.

 

The Goodest Boy Of The Strike

Listen, AMPTP, your writers have pets to provide for. Their favorite treats must be provided at all times. Even if you don’t care about people, surely you care about doggos and kitters… right?

Maybe sitting outside your studios with puppy eyes so you know exactly who it is you’re robbing of the best quality treats would soften a heart or two.

 

Pay/Me

Jacob Tobia mashed two human rights issues together when they held up a sign reading:

 

My pronouns are: Pay/Me.

 

No Scripts For You

This sign references one of Seinfeld’s most classic episodes. Only instead of “soup,” it’s “scripts.”

 

No scripts for you!

Come on, studios, writers aren’t even asking for free bread!

 

Best Signs of the Writer Strike: The Most Accurate 

Jenny Yang’s sign reads,

 

Give up just one yacht.

Except, this may not be just hyperbole. No, instead, it’s quite possible that producers are even exploiting the strike to enjoy their wealth. Multiple writers have stated that producers have gone on vacation en masse this month. Thanks for proving the point, CEOs.

 

The Other Most Accurate Sign

Jenny Yang also posted this gem from writer Taylor Berger. It really dives into the heart of the issue behind what studios relying too much on ChatGPT and other AI sources risks:

 

ChatGPT doesn’t have childhood trauma.

For all the potential uses of AI in storytelling, it’ll never replace the actual human beings in its capacity to create art out of the broken fragments of unresolved childhood trauma.