The Monitor is a weekly column devoted to everything happening in the WIRED world of culture, from movies to memes, TV to Twitter. Earlier this week, on the red (technically striped) carpet of the Met Gala, The Dropout star Amanda Seyfried answered a tough question: What did she think about the then-impending Writers Guild of America strike? Wearing an elegant Oscar de La Renta dress made with 80,000 gold and platinum bugle beads, she told a Variety reporter that everything she'd heard from writer friends indicated they would picket if they couldn't reach an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Poised, draped in priceless garments and jewels, she remained firm. "I don't get what the problem is," she said.

More than 11,000 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are on strike, throwing Hollywood into turmoil as the entertainment business grapples with seismic changes triggered by the global streaming TV boom. The writers argue streaming has negatively affected them, saying they are working more for less money. They are seeking better compensation for their work on film, television and streaming shows and residual payments that reward writers when a show becomes a hit. The WGA called its first work stoppage in 15 years after failing to reach an agreement for higher pay from studios such as Walt Disney and Netflix. It represents roughly 11,500 writers in New York, Los Angeles and elsewhere.