I heard a comedian commenting in a documentary how when he’s on stage and getting laughs, he sometimes wonders if the audience members resent him for making a living in entertainment.
Are they thinking about how hard they work, or what boring jobs they might do just for the paycheck, and even if they’re well-paid, how they don’t get applause, they don’t get laughs?
They don’t get to be in a spotlight, and they secretly think, “Fuck you, comedian!”
I’ve played guitar and have been the lead singer in rock bands throughout my life. After one show at a local pub, the drummer’s wife who’s a school teacher, said, “No one’s ever clapped for me. Ever. Teachers don’t get applause.”
It’s true. They don’t. (They should get applause! And they should be well-paid!)
Right now, the Hollywood writers and actors are on strike and I hear people saying maybe they should get real skills like learn to code, or get a real job. As if writing and acting aren’t valuable professions.
Creatives, whether they be writers, actors, musicians, photographers, artists, really any of the performing arts, do people who don’t work in the arts dislike them for getting paid to be…creative? (Especially if the creatives are well-paid?)
I wonder if there’s a jealousy that creatives get to make a living out of something thought of as fun, even though we know the arts–TV and film productions, music performances, making photographs–they’re all hard work. To which I ask, do you go home and watch movies and television? HBO? Netflix? Prime? Do you not realize how much you use their talents on a daily basis?
Somehow people are okay with sports figures making big money. But not if you work in the artistic fields.
Larry David said he’s heard people say he shouldn’t make as much money as he does because he doesn’t look like a star. “They say, ‘Why should a schmuck like me make so much?'” Jerry Seinfeld is good-looking so they’re okay with him making money. But him, Larry David? They resent it, even though he created the Seinfeld show, and he created and stars in Curb Your Enthusiasm.
I heard a coffee shop owner in my town proudly say he doesn’t have to pay musicians that play there, that they’ll work for tips. And that there’s a line of players behind them that want to play for free, too, so he’ll never have to pay. Are the musicians lined up the problem–they’re so desperate for a venue they’ll readily give it away?
America is a place where you can choose to be anything, but that doesn’t mean you’ll succeed or get paid for it if others don’t see value in it. For the creative arts, perhaps it’s both a lack of perceived value and a bit of resentment.
For as great as we say America is–and in many ways it is great–we’re a society where many people live in fear of failing and possibly being out on the street left with nothing. We are a culture that lives in fear that tomorrow we just may not have enough. The American dream feels more like an insecure nightmare, and perhaps those at the top need that insecurity to make greater profits.
The anxiety level is at a high, and I suspect, unhealthy level.
Get a side hustle. Drive an Uber. Rent out your house on Airbnb.
Can’t we just make a living with our work?
For the writers and actors, the Hollywood studios are waiting them out to hopefully make them unable to afford rent and force them to be homeless or to leave the business. Most actors and writers work paycheck to paycheck and it’s extremely expensive to live in Los Angeles. The pressure is real.
Photographers know how people don’t want to pay for photography. We get frequent inquiries asking to work for no pay ‘for exposure’. People don’t value their skills, they say, “Everyone’s a photographer.” Ok, so go get everyone else, why are you asking the pros for freebies? Professionals work for pay which is what defines a profession. It’s a business.
Just like it is for every musician, actor, writer, and every other performer or creative.
Creatives work without a pension. Often without a retirement plan. They work because they love to create and it is a fulfilling way of life, even if it isn’t the best way to make a buck.
But is it the resentment for being entertaining, for having what looks like fun, is that what makes it so that they’re not valued, seen as worthy of being paid?
There’s a good documentary called Stutz, which is the name of the psychiatrist that the actor Jonah Hill sees and Hill found him to be so profound, he wanted to share his words with others. So, he filmed him and interviewed him for the movie.
In it, Phil Stutz says if you want to be a creative, there are three things you must accept. If you can accept them, you will be able to thrive in the arts.
- You will always have uncertainty.
- You will always be in pain.
- You will never stop working.
That sounds about right. Why would anyone expect to also make a living wage with such a desirable arrangement?
Pay the creatives, they’re the ones that make the art, the music, the movies, the plays, the photographs, the dance–everything that makes life great.
We need all types. No one is better than another. But everyone deserves to make a living even if their profession seems fun.
When the band The Police were touring in their heyday, their guitarist Andy Summers picked up a camera and photographed the cities where they were performing. People asked him why, when he’s a famous rock star and figuring he must have the greatest life, why does he bother with making photographs?
He said, “When you’re a rock musician, you’re an automaton playing the same sixteen songs every night. It’s monotonous. It gets boring.” An automaton, really?
Photography was a creative outlet he pursued to break up his day, to alleviate the boredom of being a rockstar.
No job is perfect. No job comes easy. There’s no ‘made’–the creative just keeps making. It’s why the Rolling Stones are still touring. They don’t know what else to do nor how to do anything else.
It’s not an easy life. Creatives need to be valued just like everyone working today.
And today, it often feels like they are not.
6x6 Portraits | Kenneth Wajda 
Great points! I’m pretty sure that professional athletes are not having fun as they do their thing. The stakes are so high, and the margin of error is tiny. Peak at the right moment, execute perfectly, and you’re a hero for a moment. Make a mistake, or just have an off day, and you’re the goat.
I look at “the making of” extras on DVD and I’m amazed movies get made at all, let alone ones so good they change your life. The work looks like fun, but I’m pretty sure being on set is a pressure cooker for all involved.
People should be paid for their work. Some are better at it, and it’s fair to say they should be paid more. But how much more? Look at pay for almost any profession, and you’ll find a hockey stick curve. A few people at the top of the pyramid get paid extraordinarily well. The next few layers get paid quite well, but it drops off rapidly. Those at the bottom are probably in a negative payment situation, where whatever they are paid doesn’t cover the cost of equipment, training, and whatever else goes into learning the skills.
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