We are currently facing a culture of large companies using loopholes to avoid paying the national minimum wage to people starting out in career. Often they brand jobs as 'work experience', or offering bursaries rather than salaries for the sake of cheap labour and ticking boxes. The low or unpaid internship debate has exploded over the last few years, and newspapers and internet articles are constantly debating to the 'experience or exploitation'. The film industry is no exception to these issues, with the 'Black Swan' case of two unpaid interns suing Fox for their work on the 2010 film gaining global attention.
Going back to previous posts regarding privilege, it's fair to say that we cannot tackle these issues just from an education perspective, although it would be a start. The industry need to stop debating about diversity and start making choices that facilitate change, because those facing the world of the media industry imminently, even those not considered poorly off face some major financial challenges from employers.
Let's consider online jobs board MyFirstJobInFilm.com (MFJIF) as an example. The company describe themselves as a 'recruitment platform between the UK Film Industry and the individuals who wish to join the film industry as new entrants.' The opportunities on this site seem particularly exciting, with emails to members going out nearly every day about new jobs in the film and television industries. While the platform is undoubtedly a great resource, the problems with its service (and many other services like it) illustrate issues within the wider industry quite well.
In this instance, as a final year university student looking to work in the industry, I will use myself as an example. I fall under what some might term the 'squeezed middle' category. My parents earn enough that I only receive the minimum entitlement from student finance (which in reality barely covers rent costs for the year), yet they can still struggle to make ends meet in their own lives. The day-to-day implications for me being that each week at university are strictly budgeted, and I must cover much of my own living expenses with savings from previous jobs. So in reality, the monthly subscription fee to access the full jobs board of MFJIF seems to an unaffordable expense when you're struggling to scrape together enough money to pay the gas bill.
Furthermore, a large proportion of jobs advertised on the website, primarily in London, as seen below, are advertised as 'work experience'. While the company stress that applicants should under no circumstances work for more than 4 weeks unpaid, it still seems odd that the majority of experience opportunities fall under this category, making them virtually inaccessible to those who live outside the capital; not to mention those who cannot afford to move to the city to take up a permanent role they might find!
While these sort of barriers make it all the harder for someone in my position to break their way into the industry, consider the position of those in substantially worse financial positions than me. Those endeavours do not just become difficult, or involve taking a second job - they become impossible.
If the UK Film industry wants puts words into action and truly diversify, it needs to take responsibility for itself, support film education initiatives and provide fair and equal opportunities for everyone at the start of their careers, rather than just those who can afford it.
Footnotes
Image 1) Screenshot of MFJIF jobs board on 11th March 2015
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