That means the showrunner is Miranda Priestly, you dick
April 20, 2021 3:00 PM Subscribe
The time for Hollywood’s "White Male Genius" is over. "Well, ma’am, I wanted to say, he’s a grown-ass man in his 40s who puts more salad on the floor than in his mouth. And me, a woman half his age, getting paid less hourly than what she made as an intern out of college, shouldn’t have to be living proof of how society silently bends around white men with no protest."
It's a little sad you can't just accept her point of view and that you feel the need to judge her experiences by your own yardstick rather than by her own standards as an industry professional. She's writing to a specific audience and she's trying to be cagey enough to not destroy her own career. She gave enough details of things that are obviously outside a showrunner's assistant's job description (cleaning up the producer's salad) and being cut out and ignored and insulted for asking questions. The network itself admitted the showrunner was known to act unprofessionally. And still you want to hedge as if maybe she wasn't treated that bad?!
posted by rikschell at 3:46 PM on April 20 [13 favorites]
posted by rikschell at 3:46 PM on April 20 [13 favorites]
If your job role is explained to you by referencing anything in The Devil Wears Prada, that is a huge red flag. It seems from this person's narrative that this is the gatekeeping one must get through in order to make Hollywood entertainment. So any woman or person of color who gets through needs to have pleased (and/or not threatened) the "White Male Genius". Ugh.
I REALLY want to know what show this was.
posted by rogerroger at 3:47 PM on April 20 [3 favorites]
I REALLY want to know what show this was.
posted by rogerroger at 3:47 PM on April 20 [3 favorites]
Then, very candidly, she said I wasn’t the first person to have issues with this showrunner. He’s a specific type of personality, she said, and a lot of people don’t mesh with it.
Fuck this. I am so fucking tired of hearing that sentence. Just replace "showrunner" with your Important Male Genius role of choice. Why do these dicks always always get all the credit? They are never the sole reason a project is successful -- if anything they're usually a hindrance that must be managed out of the way. If they didn't have a steady stream of people to exploit, abuse and steal from they wouldn't have gotten anywhere at all.
posted by Stoof at 3:56 PM on April 20 [12 favorites]
Fuck this. I am so fucking tired of hearing that sentence. Just replace "showrunner" with your Important Male Genius role of choice. Why do these dicks always always get all the credit? They are never the sole reason a project is successful -- if anything they're usually a hindrance that must be managed out of the way. If they didn't have a steady stream of people to exploit, abuse and steal from they wouldn't have gotten anywhere at all.
posted by Stoof at 3:56 PM on April 20 [12 favorites]
FTA: "Once, the showrunner’s wife instructed me to clean up the mess Kyle left after he had inhaled two salads for lunch. There I was, the only person of color in the house, cleaning up chopped pieces of lettuce and dressing on my hands and knees."
I guarantee-damn-tee that this is not in the job description of "showrunner's assistant", that it's not in the job description of anybody but "janitorial and maintenance staff", and that's all I need to know about how fucking horribly she was treated.
posted by soundguy99 at 4:03 PM on April 20 [10 favorites]
I guarantee-damn-tee that this is not in the job description of "showrunner's assistant", that it's not in the job description of anybody but "janitorial and maintenance staff", and that's all I need to know about how fucking horribly she was treated.
posted by soundguy99 at 4:03 PM on April 20 [10 favorites]
I REALLY want to know what show this was.
We know it’s a multi-season network drama. And it’s run by a white man. And he’s a privileged asshole.
What do you mean, that doesn’t narrow it down?
posted by Monochrome at 4:04 PM on April 20 [7 favorites]
We know it’s a multi-season network drama. And it’s run by a white man. And he’s a privileged asshole.
What do you mean, that doesn’t narrow it down?
posted by Monochrome at 4:04 PM on April 20 [7 favorites]
I was really hoping to come here and find a lot more speculation about which show it might be. For her protection she can't name names, but damn, I really wanna direct my hate at the specific bastard, I guess?
posted by wellifyouinsist at 4:05 PM on April 20 [1 favorite]
posted by wellifyouinsist at 4:05 PM on April 20 [1 favorite]
I guarantee-damn-tee that this is not in the job description of "showrunner's assistant", that it's not in the job description of anybody but "janitorial and maintenance staff", and that's all I need to know about how fucking horribly she was treated.
I'm skeptical that these jobs have job descriptions, which is a hallmark of abusive employers who don't want you to get any idea of your value.
"Duties as assigned..."
posted by rhizome at 4:07 PM on April 20 [3 favorites]
I'm skeptical that these jobs have job descriptions, which is a hallmark of abusive employers who don't want you to get any idea of your value.
"Duties as assigned..."
posted by rhizome at 4:07 PM on April 20 [3 favorites]
After re-reading the piece, my takeaway is that she got offered a position as a production assistant, and took it without understanding what that meant, and got a front row seat to the sausage factory. The reality is that PAs are the lowest rung on the Hollywood cursus honorum, doing the low level work needed to keep the production moving. And while it is a routinely abused job as well - many directors/producers/showrunners treat PAs as disposable because there's always a fresh young face to take that spot, her comments on some of the tasks she was given don't reflect well on her - for example, she talked about being asked to catalog all the locations in every scene, something that's important because locations cost money to shoot at, and thus need to be collected and reviewed to keep in budget - and it's the PA who does the compilation. It seemed like she thought she'd be brought into the writers' room right away, which...that's not how the industry works.
Again, PAs do get a lot of abuse and mistreatment - the salad incident is inexcusable - but at the same time, PAs are by definition meant to handle the tedious work of production, and thinking that you're above that work is going to hurt your career.
posted by NoxAeternum at 4:36 PM on April 20 [4 favorites]
Again, PAs do get a lot of abuse and mistreatment - the salad incident is inexcusable - but at the same time, PAs are by definition meant to handle the tedious work of production, and thinking that you're above that work is going to hurt your career.
posted by NoxAeternum at 4:36 PM on April 20 [4 favorites]
If you're an employee, remember that HR is on the company's side. They're only on the employee's side if something is also the company's side.
posted by rmd1023 at 4:43 PM on April 20 [1 favorite]
posted by rmd1023 at 4:43 PM on April 20 [1 favorite]
Not that I know much about Hollywood production, but if Nancy got a promotion to staff writer and Anon was the new PA, was Nancy thrown back down the ladder when she says "Nancy was back—and in charge of everything I’d been doing. Here I was thinking I was the new Nancy, when Nancy never stopped being Nancy. " Also, why the hell did they even ask Anon's opinion at all, much less for a few weeks?
"We know it’s a multi-season network drama. And it’s run by a white man. And he’s a privileged asshole.
What do you mean, that doesn’t narrow it down?"
I think THIS narrows it down, though:
"One of the lead characters on this show is a woman of color. Something the showrunner never acknowledged to me, or discussed with me, or integrated into the show’s plot. My clown ass thought he would actually say, “Hey, as a Black woman, what was your experience with so and so?” And include it into the scripts. Nope. They know it looks horrible. Imagine that headline: “Show about Black girl fires only Black girl.”
So what show is this?
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:46 PM on April 20 [1 favorite]
"We know it’s a multi-season network drama. And it’s run by a white man. And he’s a privileged asshole.
What do you mean, that doesn’t narrow it down?"
I think THIS narrows it down, though:
"One of the lead characters on this show is a woman of color. Something the showrunner never acknowledged to me, or discussed with me, or integrated into the show’s plot. My clown ass thought he would actually say, “Hey, as a Black woman, what was your experience with so and so?” And include it into the scripts. Nope. They know it looks horrible. Imagine that headline: “Show about Black girl fires only Black girl.”
So what show is this?
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:46 PM on April 20 [1 favorite]
Any take that boils down to “maybe the author deserved what happened to them” is punching gown and a bad take, IMO.
posted by FallibleHuman at 4:48 PM on April 20 [7 favorites]
posted by FallibleHuman at 4:48 PM on April 20 [7 favorites]
Specifically, because if you hire someone that’s enthusiastic and in a role for the first time, it’s your job as a manager to coach them and provide them with direction.
Not freeze them out like a goddamn coward and then fire them months later when they show more spine than you ever have.
posted by FallibleHuman at 4:51 PM on April 20 [3 favorites]
Not freeze them out like a goddamn coward and then fire them months later when they show more spine than you ever have.
posted by FallibleHuman at 4:51 PM on April 20 [3 favorites]
It speaks to my cynicism that I would immediately assume that if you're working in a desirable industry like entertainment (or fashion, for that matter) then anything with "assistant" in the title is going to include things like picking up chopped lettuce strewn about by manbabies and other tasks that have nothing to do with the creative work, because the movers and shakers in that industry think you should feel lucky to have the chance to pick up their lettuce, gods that they are. I would bet anything that this writer was also aware of this trope, was wary of it, and only joined because she was assured this would be different. And then it wasn't. So they basically lied to her to bring her in expressly for the purpose of shitting all over her. It is fucking sadistic.
posted by schroedinger at 4:53 PM on April 20 [1 favorite]
posted by schroedinger at 4:53 PM on April 20 [1 favorite]
As I explained to my female client, "Your husband is a privileged white old male dude. Your opinions don't matter. He thinks that he's a clever dick, and that he can't be clever without being a dick. Condolences."
posted by Barbara Spitzer at 4:59 PM on April 20
posted by Barbara Spitzer at 4:59 PM on April 20
anything with "assistant" in the title is going to include things like picking up chopped lettuce strewn about by manbabies and other tasks that have nothing to do with the creative work
I agree with the latter, but the former is referring to people who have at least one housekeeper at home and who know that the profession of janitor exists (not to mention the craft services/catering company). This is a culture that is being perpetuated, not a natural way to adapt to the vagaries of a movie/TV production schedule.
posted by rhizome at 5:01 PM on April 20 [1 favorite]
I agree with the latter, but the former is referring to people who have at least one housekeeper at home and who know that the profession of janitor exists (not to mention the craft services/catering company). This is a culture that is being perpetuated, not a natural way to adapt to the vagaries of a movie/TV production schedule.
posted by rhizome at 5:01 PM on April 20 [1 favorite]
You make the only woman of colour on a production team clean up food from the floor and make her sit silent in meetings when one of the characters is a woman of colour? And you lie to her about her position and give her meaningless tasks that you make sure she knows are meaningless?
And somehow the person experiencing this is at fault for reasons?
posted by lesbiassparrow at 5:02 PM on April 20 [3 favorites]
And somehow the person experiencing this is at fault for reasons?
posted by lesbiassparrow at 5:02 PM on April 20 [3 favorites]
This article is angry and sad, but I think it suffers from an incomplete setup - like I'm supposed to know the legitimate responsibilities of 'showrunner' versus 'showrunner's assistant' so I can judge and agree her responsibilities were terrible.
She told you what happened. She told you how she was treated. She told you what she witnessed. She told you she was on her hands and knees picking up salad. If you need more than that to "judge," that's on you.
posted by tzikeh at 5:04 PM on April 20 [2 favorites]
She told you what happened. She told you how she was treated. She told you what she witnessed. She told you she was on her hands and knees picking up salad. If you need more than that to "judge," that's on you.
posted by tzikeh at 5:04 PM on April 20 [2 favorites]
The Nancy thing is a bit strange - I think probably because the author is fudging things in order to maintain their anonymity.
The way TV works is that there will be a Writer’s Assistant and a Showrunner’s assistant. The former will always work in the writer’s room, taking detailed notes of every idea that is being pitched and helping build the structure of the season. The Writer’s Assistant is the most prestigious non-writing job, and good showrunners will often welcome the Writer’s Asst to pitch ideas, jokes, etc. You can think of the Writer’s Assistant as the assistant to the writers room as a whole. The Showrunner’s assistant is the hands-on assistant to the showrunner. This is a less prestigious job than Writer Assistant, more prestigious than Writer’s PA. This job can entail more or less whatever the showrunner wants it to entail (reading a book and writing coverage, setting meetings, taking calls), but personal duties like picking up dry cleaning (or, uh, cleaning the boss’s house) are NOT part of their duties.
It is very odd to me that Nancy was apparently promoted to staff writer and then demoted to writer’s assistant... I think it’s more likely she was promoted from Showrunner’s asst to writer’s assistant and then demoted again once production began.
At any rate, the central points of this essay are very clear and all too common — personal disrespect, making black women do menial tasks white men wouldn’t be asked to do, white guys creating a show about black woman but not including the only black woman present in the creative conversation, etc. Showrunners are functionally CEOs of the shows they run, and that often goes to their head. And the mix of creative people having the job of running a multimillion business (a TV show) based on their qualification being unrelated to their ability to run a business (that qualification, of course, is the act of having sold a show), leads to an ugly mix.
posted by lewedswiver at 5:06 PM on April 20 [1 favorite]
The way TV works is that there will be a Writer’s Assistant and a Showrunner’s assistant. The former will always work in the writer’s room, taking detailed notes of every idea that is being pitched and helping build the structure of the season. The Writer’s Assistant is the most prestigious non-writing job, and good showrunners will often welcome the Writer’s Asst to pitch ideas, jokes, etc. You can think of the Writer’s Assistant as the assistant to the writers room as a whole. The Showrunner’s assistant is the hands-on assistant to the showrunner. This is a less prestigious job than Writer Assistant, more prestigious than Writer’s PA. This job can entail more or less whatever the showrunner wants it to entail (reading a book and writing coverage, setting meetings, taking calls), but personal duties like picking up dry cleaning (or, uh, cleaning the boss’s house) are NOT part of their duties.
It is very odd to me that Nancy was apparently promoted to staff writer and then demoted to writer’s assistant... I think it’s more likely she was promoted from Showrunner’s asst to writer’s assistant and then demoted again once production began.
At any rate, the central points of this essay are very clear and all too common — personal disrespect, making black women do menial tasks white men wouldn’t be asked to do, white guys creating a show about black woman but not including the only black woman present in the creative conversation, etc. Showrunners are functionally CEOs of the shows they run, and that often goes to their head. And the mix of creative people having the job of running a multimillion business (a TV show) based on their qualification being unrelated to their ability to run a business (that qualification, of course, is the act of having sold a show), leads to an ugly mix.
posted by lewedswiver at 5:06 PM on April 20 [1 favorite]
Multi-season drama, "one of the lead characters on this show is a woman of color," and it was the author's "favorite show of the year" when she'd first gotten the call about the job. (Her opinion was solicited re: storyline direction and character development, which also makes me think the show had been on the air for one season.) And: I was told to go through every single script and count every location for every scene—a daunting, unnecessary task that took forever to complete. I was then made to organize the timelines of all the scripts, which jump around like crazy. Of course, I completed both tasks in record time, only to learn Peter had rewritten the majority of the scripts.
If we're speculating: Fox's Sleepy Hollow unraveled fairly fast, as I recall, and Mark Goffman left after Season 2.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:06 PM on April 20 [1 favorite]
If we're speculating: Fox's Sleepy Hollow unraveled fairly fast, as I recall, and Mark Goffman left after Season 2.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:06 PM on April 20 [1 favorite]
If this had happened where I live she would have a decent case for constructive dismissal. i've seen it for far less than this.
posted by bonehead at 5:07 PM on April 20
posted by bonehead at 5:07 PM on April 20
Hey, as a Black woman, what was your experience with so and so?
Every diversity sensitivity training I've ever sat through has told me never to do this.
posted by Hatashran at 5:08 PM on April 20 [1 favorite]
Every diversity sensitivity training I've ever sat through has told me never to do this.
posted by Hatashran at 5:08 PM on April 20 [1 favorite]
This article was written aimed at an audience familiar with TV writing rooms. If you're not in her audience, it doesn't mean her argument is incomplete. It just means not everyone is talking to you specifically.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 5:09 PM on April 20
posted by DirtyOldTown at 5:09 PM on April 20
Every diversity sensitivity training I've ever sat through has told me never to do this.
Do you work in a job where you are a white man and you have to write words for a Black woman to say? Because if not, your experience does not apply in this instance.
posted by tzikeh at 5:22 PM on April 20 [1 favorite]
Do you work in a job where you are a white man and you have to write words for a Black woman to say? Because if not, your experience does not apply in this instance.
posted by tzikeh at 5:22 PM on April 20 [1 favorite]
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I don't disagree with the premise, I just have no knowledge of the insider workings of a Hollywood tv production to even judge how outlandishly she was treated.
posted by The_Vegetables at 3:33 PM on April 20 [3 favorites]