Privilege

Concurrent with the Summer of Love and the utopian promise of the Monterey Pop Festival, Peter Watkins released his radically dystopian Privilege. Set in “Britain in the near future,” the film depicts the collusion of state and corporate forces to exploit the cathartic power of popular music. In this brave new world, fandom becomes a tool first to distract teens from political engagement and ultimately to encourage conformity and obedience. Presented in the form of a documentary, the film charts the decline of pop star Steve Shorter (former Manfred Mann vocalist Paul Jones) as he becomes more and more isolated by his fame.