The 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards are just around the corner, streaming live on Netflix for the second year in a row Feb. 23. The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) are the largest labor unions for actors, announcers, dancers, DJs, stunt performers and many other media professionals. It was formed in the 1930s to fight for protections for media artists and has continued to preserve and expand these protections into the 21st century.
The SAG Awards is an awards show specifically recognizing performers who are a part of SAG-AFTRA. The awards show sets itself apart from others, as all the awards are voted on by fellow SAG-AFTRA members, rather than the Academy at the Oscars or BAFTA members at the British Academy Film Awards, for example. So, the real point of the SAG Awards is for actors to celebrate other actors.
SAG put on the first SAG Awards in 1995 (before it had merged with AFTRA). Despite challenges with counting votes, the event taking place on a soundstage and struggling to fill seats, SAG was determined to put on an awards show in order to recognize its talented and deserving members. People ended up attending, awards were given out and it was a success. And the SAG Awards have only grown since then.
The SAG Awards have continually added more award categories over the years to fully represent all media performers that make up the union. Since the awards are focused only on performers, they have several categories that set them apart from other awards shows like Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama and Comedy Series and Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture and Television Series.
It was the first awards show outside of the Taurus World Stunt Awards to recognize stunt performers alongside actors. This is an award that stunt performers have been trying to get into the Academy Awards and British Academy Film Awards for a long time, as stunt performance is an incredibly difficult and dangerous job that is essential to filmmaking. I think that this is a testament to SAG-AFTRA's commitment to all types of performers as it made sure to recognize even the actors we may not see on screen. The fact that the SAG Awards have been recognizing this work since 2008 is a big deal, and has arguably influenced more awards shows to recognize this line of work, as the Emmys added two categories for stunt performance in 2021.
I believe the Outstanding Performance by a Cast and Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble awards are also very important, as they allow the entire cast of a production to be recognized, not only a couple of the major actors within it. This is something we may not think about often, but all members of a cast, not only the leads, deserve recognition for the work they put into a production. These awards are also important because they celebrate the chemistry of a cast and how integral it is to make an engaging movie or show.
I hope these awards inspire other shows to add new award categories to better recognize often undervalued people in the film industry, as this is a change that has been long overdue.
Additionally, a big part of the SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023 was fighting against the use of artificial intelligence in films, especially the digital reproduction of actors. This means extras could be paid for only one day of work when they’re actually on set, and then be digitally recreated using AI to be used in the film as often as needed. So, part of the strike was dedicated to creating more protections for actors against the use of AI.
This brings up the question of how the use of AI in the SAG Award nominated films “The Brutalist” and “Emilia Pérez” may affect their chances of winning, since this seems to go against SAG-AFTRA’s values. So far, nothing has been said by SAG-AFTRA about AI affecting the movies’ chances of winning, so it will come down to how SAG-AFTRA members’ vote.
Personally, I would hope the SAG Awards would hold these films accountable for their use of AI, as it would help set a precedent for the consequences of using AI as a short-cut in movies and could inspire other awards shows to do the same.
Overall, SAG-AFTRA is making big strides for awards shows and will hopefully continue to be a pioneer in awarding often undervalued roles in the film industry.
