Privilege

Steven Shorter's stage show features him appearing in a jail cell, handcuffed, while police beat him to the shock and sympathy of the audience. The scene is presented as a manufactured spectacle that cements his image as a tormented, vulnerable icon. The act establishes the public’s fascination with his suffering as entertainment.

Two main political parties form a coalition to placate the public and divert political life from active engagement. Shorter's enormous popularity is exploited by the state and corporate interests, while his image is carefully managed to maintain mass support. He becomes a tool of national cohesion rather than a free artist.

Shorter's career is tightly managed by a team of handlers: manager Martin Crossley, PR rep Alvin Kirsch, record executive Julie Jordan, and financial backer Andrew Butler. They schedule appearances, shape his image, and shield him from anything that might threaten the facade. The arrangement ensures he remains the country’s most adored celebrity.

Shorter's name and image saturate businesses from nightclubs to product brands and media outlets. His presence becomes a marketing engine that underwrites consumer culture and the political project to keep people content. The public’s attachment to his persona extends beyond music into everyday life.

An artist, Vanessa Ritchie, is hired to paint Shorter's portrait, and he finds himself drawn to her amid loneliness and isolation. The portrait becomes a private counterpoint to the public persona. He seeks quiet connection away from manufactured adoration.

Shorter films a persuasive commercial urging citizens to eat a surprisingly large amount of apples to reduce a surplus. The campaign exemplifies how his image is weaponized for any national need. The advert contributes to his image as a wholesome, unthreatening national symbol.

England's churches strike a deal with the government and the Shorter empire to position him as a messianic figure who will boost church attendance. His influence is cast as a spiritual unifier rather than a pop star. The move deepens the manipulation of faith and culture for political ends.

An image change is announced before a huge stadium concert: Shorter will publicly repent, abandon handcuffs, and embrace religious themes in his music. The shift signals a more overt manipulation of his art for national unity. The crowd is primed for a symbolically redemptive performance.

At a picnic featuring lobster, Shorter absurdly orders hot chocolate, and others imitate him to demonstrate his control over the public. The moment underscores how his image governs everyday behavior. It foreshadows the fragility of his autonomy within the system.

The stadium rally draws record attendance and features militarised nationalist groups performing on stage. Reverend Jeremy Tate leads the crowd in conformity slogans, and attendees echo the words as instructed. Shorter's band wears costumes evoking Nazi imagery, while disabled citizens are given preferential seating.

Watching footage of the rally on television, Shorter is disgusted by the display. He destroys furniture in a burst of anger and reveals that his old show was not merely an act, but a real experience of beating and coercion. The moment marks a critical turning point from complicity to crisis.

The record company holds an achievement awards event praising Shorter and his public love. He breaks down, expressing disgust at a public that can't see him as an individual. The aftermath shows stunned silence followed by public anger and a sharp drop in his popularity.

Andrew Butler announces his resignation from the Shorter organization as investors withdraw their support. The ruling powers decide to limit the star's influence to placate the masses and preserve the surviving enterprises. Shorter’s music is banned from airplay and he is forbidden to speak or perform publicly.

The narrator muses that little remains of Shorter's career, using archival footage to suggest a future England will find happiness without him. The closing vision contrasts his broken stardom with a declared national optimism. It leaves a melancholic but ironically hopeful note about the country’s direction.