Privilege

A disillusioned pop star who is the country’s adored celebrity and public morale tool. He is relentlessly guided by handlers and pressured to perform, while privately haunted by real scars from the act. His longing for genuine individuality clashes with a system that treats him as a consumable symbol.

Shorter’s manager and primary architect of his public persona. He orchestrates appearances, narratives, and image shifts to keep the star in the spotlight. He shows little concern for the personal cost to Shorter, embodying calculated control.

Public relations intermediary who shapes public perception and peddles the star's image. He operates as part of a larger machine, prioritizing audience reaction and marketability over authenticity. His work exemplifies the financial and reputational pressures behind fame.

Record company executive driving the commercial viability of Shorter’s career. She choreographs publicity campaigns and partnerships, balancing profit with the star’s public face. Her decisions reveal how profit motives steer celebrity narratives.

Financial backer steering the Shorter empire. He measures success in returns and is willing to pull the plug if the numbers don’t add up. His stance anchors the economic engine behind the celebrity's rise and fall.

Artist hired to paint Shorter’s portrait, offering a rare emotional counterpoint to the machine. She becomes a confidante who glimpses the man behind the image, sharing moments of loneliness and vulnerability. Her presence introduces a humanizing thread amid the spectacle.

A firebrand preacher who channels nationalist sentiment into public worship of Shorter. He helps mold the singer into a messianic figure and frames conformity as virtue. His rhetoric anchors the religious dimension of the political project.