I’ll be working on a set tomorrow and in the detailed documentation I received late this afternoon, there is a “guideline” that has got me thinking. It reads:
I understand there is need to preserve on-set safety and security by not revealing shooting locations. I appreciate the need to ensure plot and screenplay uniqueness, as well as protect viable commercial interests, by safeguarding details of scenes and the storyline. And I grasp the desire to prevent untoward or undesired media coverage of the production, the production company and its employees in advance of the presentation of a final project. But this “guideline” strikes an antithetical chord in me. Should such “guidelines” hinder personal freedoms?
If I enjoy myself while working, may I not say so? If I learn a new technique, should I keep my newfound knowledge to myself? Are employees endeared to a production company and it’s final product through the muzzling of forms of self-expression?
So I ask you, reader: At what point do guidelines such as these infringe upon one’s First Amendment rights? Or do they? As a reminder, the language of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution states:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Should a company be free to selectively restrict the freedoms of its employees?
I will tweet tomorrow, but only twice: once to say I’m going to work and again to say I’ve left.
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