Motion pictures are
made, not mass produced, requiring a
remarkable collection of skills, self-discipline, and
sociality—all of which are sources of enormous pride among
Hollywood’s craft and creative workers. The interviews
collected here showcase the ingenuity, enthusiasm, and aesthetic
pleasures that attract people to careers in the film and television
industries. They also reflect critically on changes in the
workplace brought about by corporate conglomeration and
globalization. Rather than offer publicity-friendly anecdotes by
marquee celebrities,
Voices of Labor presents off-screen
observations about the everyday realities of Global Hollywood.
Ranging across job categories—from showrunner to make-up
artist to location manager—this collection features voices of
labor from Los Angeles, Atlanta, Prague, and Vancouver. Together
they show how seemingly abstract concepts like conglomeration,
financialization, and globalization are crucial tools for
understanding contemporary Hollywood and for reflecting more
generally on changes and challenges in the screen media workplace
and our culture at large. Despite such formidable concerns, what
nevertheless shines through is a commitment to craftwork and
collaboration that provides the means to imagine and instigate
future alternatives for screen media labor.