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It may be that the different effect on life expectancy of an Oscar
for acting versus one for screen-writing can be explained by a combination
of material factors and 'effort-reward imbalance'. The simple fact is that
screenwriters, no matter how distinguished, earn a great deal less than
actors. However, they live in the same environment and aspire to similar
standards of living and conspicuous consumption. The income of a screen
writer does not easily admit the maintenance of similarly lavish
consumption levels to their acting peers, who are generally a great deal
less well educated, and attain high income far earlier in the life course.
Garbo, for example, used the money she made as an actor in a highly
intelligent series of investments in fine art. As most people know, she
retired at 30 and never had to perform in public again, living to over 80
'healthy life years', spending her time walking in the mountains and
sailing. Many of the original 'Hollywood greats' of the 1940s led similar
lives. Such a career is seldom seen in screen-writers. This produces a mis
-match between qualifications, effort and perceived reward, which is
combined with the material problems and associated anxieties of living
above one's means.
Another consideration to be borne in mind is that the screen writers
of the generation that would contribute many of the deaths observed would
have suffered under MacCarthyism. Writers of enormous talent such as
Dalton Trumbo and Ring Lardner had to endure years working under
pseudonyms, not having any public recognition for their work at all.
Hollywood Oscars and Life Expectancy
It may be that the different effect on life expectancy of an Oscar
for acting versus one for screen-writing can be explained by a combination
of material factors and 'effort-reward imbalance'. The simple fact is that
screenwriters, no matter how distinguished, earn a great deal less than
actors. However, they live in the same environment and aspire to similar
standards of living and conspicuous consumption. The income of a screen
writer does not easily admit the maintenance of similarly lavish
consumption levels to their acting peers, who are generally a great deal
less well educated, and attain high income far earlier in the life course.
Garbo, for example, used the money she made as an actor in a highly
intelligent series of investments in fine art. As most people know, she
retired at 30 and never had to perform in public again, living to over 80
'healthy life years', spending her time walking in the mountains and
sailing. Many of the original 'Hollywood greats' of the 1940s led similar
lives. Such a career is seldom seen in screen-writers. This produces a mis
-match between qualifications, effort and perceived reward, which is
combined with the material problems and associated anxieties of living
above one's means.
Another consideration to be borne in mind is that the screen writers
of the generation that would contribute many of the deaths observed would
have suffered under MacCarthyism. Writers of enormous talent such as
Dalton Trumbo and Ring Lardner had to endure years working under
pseudonyms, not having any public recognition for their work at all.
Competing interests: No competing interests