“So Long, Dental Plan!” Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle…As Seen On TV
And now for something…not entirely, completely different. I’ve signed a contract with SUNY Press to deliver a collection of essays next year for publication in 2026.
Call for Proposals
“So Long, Dental Plan!” Unions, Labor Relations and Class Struggle…As Seen On TV
Edited by Shaun Richman
Subject Fields
Labor Studies, Film and Film History, American Studies, Humanities, Political Science, Popular Culture Studies, Social Sciences
Synopsis
Stories about unions and class struggle are notoriously under-represented in corporate media. Sometimes, though, storylines make it out of Hollywood writers’ rooms and onto your television screen. The purpose of this collection is to explore how labor unions, union organizing, and strikes and job actions have been portrayed in mainstream, scripted episodic television shows. How do such episodes reflect their times, and how do they shape them?
We have a contract with SUNY Press, and aim to publish in 2026. We’re looking for 10-15 articles, drawing on a number of academic disciplines, to focus on less obvious episodes and programs to critique and, most importantly, to have some fun with the project.
Ideas for chapters/topics (for brainstorming purposes; not required or limited to)
- The A-Team farmworkers union episode as an anachronism in the Reagan era.
- Contrasting presentation of top-down vs. bottom up expressions of worker power in 1990’s sci-fi (specifically Star Trek: DS9 and Babylon 5).
- What the strike episode of Battlestar Galactica (reboot) has to say about GW Bush-era liberals and class struggle vs. class mobility. [Note: This topic has been claimed by a contributor.]
- Succession on digital newsroom organizing; Are billionaires “serious people?”
- What NBC’s Superstore had to say about union organizing and retail work in the Obama era.
- Classic (i.e. 1990’s) Simpsons as an artifact of Clinton-era liberal ambivalence about unions. [Note: This topic has been claimed by a contributor.]
- The changing attitude of 35 years of The Simpsons towards unions and what it says about public opinion.
- Tony Soprano, union business manager.
The Deadline for proposals is January 15, 2025. Submissions for accepted proposals will be due July 1, 2025.
Visit solongdentalplan.com for more info.
Why Should You Need to Read Book Everyday
It’s no secret that the digital industry is booming. From exciting startups to global brands, companies are reaching out to digital agencies, responding to the new possibilities available. However, the industry is fast becoming overcrowded, heaving with agencies offering similar services — on the surface, at least.
Producing creative, fresh projects is the key to standing out. Unique side projects are the best place to innovate, but balancing commercially and creatively lucrative work is tricky. So, this article looks at how to make side projects work and why they’re worthwhile, drawing on lessons learned from our development of the ux ompanion app.
People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all.
Producing creative, fresh projects is the key to standing out. Unique side projects are the best place to innovate, but balancing commercially and creatively lucrative work is tricky. So, this article looks at how to make side projects work and why they’re worthwhile, drawing on lessons learned from our development of the ux ompanion app.
Why Integrate Side Projects?
Being creative within the constraints of client briefs, budgets and timelines is the norm for most agencies. However, investing in research and development as a true, creative outlet is a powerful addition. In these side projects alone, your team members can pool their expertise to create and shape their own vision — a powerful way to develop motivation, interdisciplinary skills and close relationships.
Building into the identity and culture of an agency can also lead to new client work. These projects act as a road map, showing clients exciting new technologies and ideas that will differentiate you from competitors. One of our earliest projects turned our website into a brochure, optimized for the first iPad’s touch interactions. By demonstrating the final product, we went on to win a project to create a similar product for a new client.
A significant shift in mindset is required to support either type of side project — weighing the longer-term, incremental benefits against committing what would otherwise be immediately billable time. Many agencies do this with a time-bound model of 80% client time versus 20% time, inspired by Google’s successes with Gmail and Google Reader which they have since (tellingly) phased out. I’d instead recommend the following guidelines.