Anita Hill: Why a Safe Working Environment Also Includes Protections Against Abuses (Guest Column)

For weeks, entertainment leaders have been working on myriad guidelines necessary to restart film and TV production. Their deliberations are critical to alleviating the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the industry. As the new normal is being created, nothing is more important than the economic and physical well-being of the hundreds of thousands who want to get back to work. New health and safety standards are a must.

Power in Hollywood has always been easy to exploit because of the desperation for work. With an estimated 350,000 entertainment jobs lost in the past six weeks, the economic power balance has further tipped. Simply put, no worker should have to silently tolerate abuse or harassment because of the financial exigencies of the times.

Hollywood’s track record on ageism is well-established. Only 11.8% of the 1,256 speaking characters in 25 best picture-nominated movies from 2014 to 2016 were 60 years of age or older, and the near-total absence of staff writers over 50 is clear evidence of systemic age discrimination. With eight out of 10 COVID-19 deaths reported in the U.S. in adults 65 and older, this vulnerable population could not only be shut out of entertainment jobs but also disappear from storytelling entirely.

• Creating new or revised workplace meetings and work-from-home policies outlining one-on-one meetings or work place meetings, and informing everyone that though the locations are different, the anti-harassment and discrimination rules apply

Source: Entertainment Trends (entertainmenttrends.net)

I get she's paid to say these things, but Hollywood's biggest problem is its total shutdown, flight of production to more hospitable states, and job loss for men and women of all colors. Boldly declaring there's an anti-Asian bias is great, but if there are no jobs, it's moot.

Good. Every time I turn on Netflix it takes ten minutes to get past the shows they’re trying to make me watch and on to the ones I want to watch.

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