Here’s the reason why I do not mind using chatGPT and other AI software that are currently causing the movie, writing, and art industries to go on strike.
Does your child dream of being on their favorite TV show? Audition Saturday now! If you click on your last audition, you end up at this page: Auditions for Netflix National Performers Academy. It shows things like Cobra Kai, although I am not sure what that show is as I have not watched it yet. This is an advertisement. If you click on the other advertisement that I just showed you, the second one is for National Performers Academy. It is for teens, young adults, and those 29 and older who want to act, model, sing, dance, and love to perform. Let your child show their talent and more. When it’s time for your audition, even before then, they will start sending you appointment reminders. Shouldn’t be bad, right? But the problem with places like this is that it’s an academy. They teach you how to act, and what you’re really paying for is exposure to certain people.
Another problem with these auditions is that I have sat in on one of these, specifically IMTA. They told you that if you could not meet the requirements for being a model, you should just give up on your dreams or lose weight. They said this directly to hundreds of teens that were there to audition that day for Disney Channel. They give you a script when you sign up for the auditions. However, when you get there, they change the scripts out and tell you that it’s because you have to be able to keep up with a fast-paced environment. This discriminates against people who have autism and other conditions where they have specifically learned these lines but are not allowed to act if they’re autistic.
But there are definitely other places out there for actors and performers to get work, like Backstage and Casting Networks. They ask you to pay a small subscription fee, kind of like Netflix, where you’ll pay to have people review your application. Also, notice the dates are like today, yesterday, the day before. I deleted some emails because I got tired of seeing all the constant emails saying, ‘Hey, come pay for us to give your application to employers.’
Since the late 90s, it has costed people to become actors, but it has never costed the writers to become writers or the artists to become artists. They simply get the supplies and go do it. When an actor could go out and buy the props all day and do the work all day and still only have platforms on YouTube. For example, Adult Wednesday Addams. She wrote the entire show, designed the costumes, and did all the artwork for the show on YouTube. Then, when Tim Burton saw what she had done, instead of inviting her onto the show or giving her credit, she got a cease and desist from The Addams Family owners because Tim Burton finally wanted to put his name to it. My point is, when the artists and writers start going on strike, you’re willing to support them. But since the late 90s, it has literally caused actors to starve on the street because the only thing they know how to do has been safeguarded by a paywall. So until we fix that situation, I will continue to use chatGPT and other AI software.
