First of all, lets define "abuse" so we are on the same page.
| Abuse | dictionary.com |
|---|---|
| verb (used with object), abused, abusing. | |
| 1.to use wrongly or improperly; misuse: | |
| to abuse one’s authority. |
In this story, when we talk about abuse in the entertainment industry, we don't focus on one side of the coin as both performers and companies can be the "abusers". We will focus specifically on the relation between actors, models, and any other form of talent and the companies that hire them.
For too long this has gone on unregulated.
The world has known entertainment since the dawn of time. It's normal and it's logical, we need a way to relieve stress and get distracted from our daily lives.
For some entertaining is a passion that became a way of living, while for others entertaining is a way to express themselves.
When we look at the entertainment industry however there are two sides of a coin. On one side you have the entertainers, or "talents" as we will call them here and on the other side you have the talent bookers and the companies that need talents to promote their brand.
The main issue we are going to talk about is how abuse is still possible in such an age old industry and what forms abuse can take.
It all starts with accountability. The lack of regulation in this industry allows companies to connect talents with brands and brands with talents without real reprecussions when something goes wrong. Why? Because for some businesses these are mere "transactions" that sometimes go well and other times go bad. Only the really big scandals will harm their reputation. Surprised you didn't hear about that scandal? That just proves the point that too much goes unnoticed and gets forgotten too fast. There is no accountability due to the lack of a universal regulation.
So what is going on then?
When we take a closer look at the bustling economy that is the entertainment business, we see that even the small pool of performers that are famous enough to make the news, have scandals and problems on a daily basis. They don't even represent the millions of actors, dancers, singers, magicians, clowns, … that don't make the news. Or do they?
I want to talk about that part, the part that doesn't make the news.
Only yesterday we had an interview with an agent and a model/actor to talk about the issues and abuse that the entertainment industry is facing. This was not a blame one blame the other type of conversation, instead, we learned some really interesting things.
A lack of accountability, transparency and reprocussion is allowing both companies and talents to do as they feel. Not everyone is playing the long game, but it's harming those who are.
What do we mean? Well, to take away what we understood from talking to many agents, companies and talents, we noticed that they are all frustrated about the fact that there is always a risk when working with a company or talent that you haven't worked with before. On one side, there are millions of companies that often get away with treating talents poorly, not paying them on time and even sexually harass them and on the other side, the talents that get hired, hold a certain power over the companies when they decide to cut ties half way in an expensive production or not deliver what they promised.
The reason this behavior still continues today
Nowadays there are countless talent agencies, companies and talents that come and go. With that, peoples' lives are being ruined, damaged, and dreams crushed. The reason that this trend is still keeping up today is because there is a lack of one universal platform that regulates, monitors and supports companies and talents in this industry.
If accountability, transparency and safety keep lacking in this industry, then the trend of abuse in the entertainment industry will keep on living.
Of course, there are companies like these that are working on solving those issues, but without the support of everyone who enjoys entertainment, and yes that also means you, the issue of abuse will remain and damage the lives of millions of people worldwide.