Privilege

Privilege is a dystopian satire bankrolled by Universal Studios and directed by Peter Watkins (Culloden, The War Game), made in that strange period when Hollywood got nervous about losing the youth market and put money into all kinds of crazy stuff....

Feat. Paul Jones; Jean Shrimpton; Mark London; William Job

Privilege is a dystopian satire bankrolled by Universal Studios and directed by Peter Watkins (Culloden, The War Game), made in that strange period when Hollywood got nervous about losing the youth market and put money into all kinds of crazy stuff. In the opening sequence pop messiah Steven Shorter (Jones, then of Manfred Mann) is paraded through his home city to Birmingham Town Hall, where he performs a prison-cell stage act with mock guards in front of a crowd of authentic screaming teenagers. From there we are plunged into the machinery behind Shorter, a shadowy conspiracy between business, government and the church designed to breed docile consumers. Simon Cowell’s favourite film (perhaps) and shot by the brilliant Peter Suschitzky - now a regular Cronenberg collaborator.

Bright Lights article on the film