i feel like there is a lot of misinfo going around about fans’ role in the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strike…
i see people telling fans on tumblr not to be scabs and not to cross picket lines and not to see media that will be coming out during the strikes… but as far as i know (and i could be wrong of course, i’m not in the industry) — you’re not considered a scab unless you’re part of the striking unions (or you want to join them in the future) and you work during the strike
and “crossing the picket line” specifically means working in the industry for one of the studios during the strike while others are striking. it doesn’t mean watching media, reblogging gifsets, or even just talking about or giving attention to media in general
i’m seeing panic and anxiety from people who are thinking they did something wrong by reblogging a gifset on tumblr dot com and are encouraging others “not to cross the picket line/don’t be a scab!” and like… this is fearmongering and anxiety producing to a lot of people for whom these terms do not apply
in reality until the writers or actors call for a boycott (which they HAVE NOT at the moment), boycotting media or giving it less attention actually is counterproductive to the strike’s goals. multiple authors/actors have said we should be continuing to engage with media in order to show studios that we value the work of writers and actors that studios are trying to eliminate
there also seems to be some confusion about engaging with media while the actors are on strike because *they* aren’t allowed to promote media (by participating in press junkets, promo work etc)… but… reblogging an actor’s likeness on tumblr is not breaking the strike if you yourself are not striking
there’s some nuance to this if you’re a current or aspiring union member but in that case you should be following official guidance from the WGA/SAG-AFTRA and not emotionally loaded posts from tumblr telling you you’re doing something wrong without realizing it