Please support the striking writers

I was going to see "I am Legend" this weekend, but I thought better of it. Instead, I'm going to find something entertaining to do that doesn't involve crossing the picket lines of the writer's strike.

Sound extreme? I don't think so. Fact is, the AMPTP seems to be hoping that you'll think it's extreme. They're betting that most people are too addicted to TV and movies to stop watching, even when they behave like a greedy, evil "big corporation." They're betting that they have more money than the writers do, so they can hold out longer, thus forcing the writers into a corner where they have to agree to just about anything the AMPTP presents them.

Thing is, people are still watching TV and still going to movies. Will Smith's movie made $80,000,000 on its opening weekend? So, the general public is basically saying, "Fuck those writers, they don't deserve to be compensated for their hard work. At least not more than I deserve to be entertained."

Don't let this happen to you! Don't become a mindless drone, feeding on the whatever the corporations give you. You're better than that! You can choose what you do with your life.

Do like me. Refuse to watch a movie until the strike is resolved. Don't go to one, don't rent one, and don't watch your television. Sound extreme? It's not, you're just feeling the side-effects of the brainwashing being undone.

Don't think you can do it? Pull out a board game. Play World of Warcraft. Listen to the radio. Read a book for crying out loud! Hell, after a few months you may even decide that you like these forms of entertainment better than the drivel the movie industry has been feeding you anyway.

While you're at it, sign a petition to let people know that you disapprove of the AMPTP's practices. In the notes section, put a comment in that you intend to cut back on your viewing until the writers get a reasonable contract.

Don't think you can do it? "I can't go months without movies!" you're saying. Try going months without pay like the writers! But if you really don't think you can manage it, just make an effort to cut back. Downgrade your Netflix membership and rent 10% less movies this month.

If every consumer out there makes a little effort, the studios will be forced to start being reasonable.