Cannes | Battle of the badges
Today, journos collecting their Cannes registration got their badge news. The color-coded system draws much angst and ire, except from whites.
This hierarchical color-coding turns Cannes into a seething cauldron of class resentment and status anxiety.
From memory, a white badge bestowed aristocratic privilege and hoisted you out of lengthy queues to screenings and pressers.
Wearers of the lowly Yellow are forced to line up in the face of ongoing traffic, and thus cause no problem.
indieWIRE's Brian BrooksThe Yellows are not allowed to sit on the ground level, even if seats are available. The bottom was probably only about 40% full at best, but no matter. Empty air is preferable in filling ground-level seats to any of us nasty-ass Yellows. And ushers were placed at all ground level entries throughout the entire screening just in case any of us rebellious Yellows got any fancy ideas.
Really, the only way to get anywhere in Cannes is to have the right badge. Sellers only really want to interact with buyers and vice versa and a quick look at my badge rules me out as neither.
I don't even know anyone with a white badge, it's so rare and powerful.
There's also the technician's badge, which Robert Bingham says gets you in everywhere, but only to fix the computer.
Michael Jones is the film festival editor at Variety.com. 
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