|
by SKYLAIRE ALFVEGREN
|
MORE SPICY REVIEWS
- Sugar and Spice: Emma Taylor thinks life as a Spice Girl is a bit of alright.
- Expert Witness: We sent our favorite ten-year-old correspondent to review Spice World.
A SPICY DEBATE
Women's Zone Conference: Did you see Spice World? What did you think? Does this mean doom and gloom for feminism, or just a few more bucks for the savvy Spice Girls? Join in the conversation.
|
|
CHECK THESE OUT
|
|
Girl Power: New feminism, or baby-T slogan?
D.I.Y. Sex:
The fine art of self-service.
The Wonderbra: Lingerie gives feminism a boost.
|
|
RELATED PODS
|
Women's Issues
|
Fashion & Beauty
|
|
While their white girl soul and techno/hip hop concoctions are incessantly catchy, and they're more outrageous (and fashionable) than your average British pop stars, the Spice Girls leave much to be desired. Spice World, the movie, was made to cash in on their huge, suffocating (and probably fleeting) popularity. Their faces have adorned potato chip bags, Pepsi cans, and instant cameras; gangs of girls attend the movie dressed like the fab five.
Based on an idea by the Spice Girls ("Oi, let's make a movie"), Spice World is a sort of '90s version of A Hard Day's Night crossed with Valley of the Dolls. It has been praised as a snappy, lighthearted costume frolic by menopausal film critics who are seemingly unaware of the impact the Girls' superficiality might have on under-aged psyches.
While their press release claims the film captures the Girls' spirit of self-parody, it has little to do with the mantra of "Girl Power" they constantly invoke. While no one would mistake the Girls for feminists, their influence on young girls is undeniable.
In real life they're millionaire pop stars, brought together by an audition and scheming svengalis. Likewise, their Spice World selves are pawns in someone else's master plan. When their road manager Clifford tells Scary, "You don't have a life, you have a schedule. You're part of a well-oiled machine," the Girls don't argue.
When asked if she has time for boys, Sporty Spice says, "Boys? Doesn't ring a bell." While the Girls rely on each other instead of men for moral support ("Romance may come and go," says their bio, "But your mates will always be there"), they are under the thumbs of numerous male characters in the film. The slimy tabloid editor Ken McMaxford (played by Barry Humphries, aka Dame Edna Everage) is bent on "taking down girl power"; Clifford, the harried Spice wrangler, is constantly humiliated by both the Girls and the mastermind behind the Spice phenomena, "Chief" (a miraculously flaccid but slightly campy Roger Moore). The Spice Girls' career and activities are at his whim; their only stab at liberating themselves from this oppressor occurs when they spend the evening before their debut gig night clubbing, only to succumb to the labor pains of an old friend, Nicola.
One of the most disturbing aspects of this film is the subplot involving soon-to-be single mother, Nicola. Lots of time is spent cooing over her unborn rug rat, and the film's emotional "climax" occurs when the Girls spend the night in the hospital to attend the birth. As they tell Clifford from the hospital, "The world can wait — this is about friendship and commitment." While friendship and loyalty should be encouraged, so should the image of strong women who are the masters of their own destinies. Holding the baby up, Ginger exclaims, "Now that is Girl Power!" Excuse me? Is raising a baby alone empowering? Because the ability to be impregnated certainly isn't.
The Spice Girls have distilled feminine stereotypes into five flashy packages; "People are really shallow — they only judge you on what you look like,"
complains Ginger (who is never seen in anything less revealing than hot pants and a crop top). Ginger is also most likely to spout off about Girl Power. When the girls swap personas during a photo shoot, Scary Spice parodies Ginger with: "Blah, blah blah, girl power, feminism, know what I mean?" By invoking buzzwords while lacking even a vaguely coherent message, these women shortcircuit any positive effect they could have on their young audience by appearing to say feminism and empowerment are a joke.
Spice World's anti-feminist slant may seem subtle until you realize that those least likely to separate pop star fantasy land from harsh reality are the ones that the movie, and the Spice Girls themselves, are market-researched to appeal to — pre-teen girls who lack the discerning eye of middle-aged music critics (who have decried the Girls' hollow invocation of Girl Power from the start).
As of now, Spicemania will not revolutionize feminism and it will not encourage equality of the sexes — even if Ginger does get to pinch Prince Charles on the hiney. And while they do make fun of their images in Spice World, they always triumph by playing up to them. While Emma "Baby Spice" Bunton is reprimanded by Victoria for playing along with her image, her pigtails and dimpled smile ultimately get the Girls out of trouble with the police.
If they revolutionize anything, it will be fashion, because that is what seems to be the basis of their power. In effect, they say that hot clothes, determination, and a tight bum will rocket you to stardom. ("We know how we got this far," they sound off at a mock training camp, "Strength and courage and a Wonderbra!")
Even before the Spice Girls, Girl Power was a movement with scant ideology to back it up, and in a perfect world, they would be appreciated as style icons rather than role models. But due to their massive success and media saturation, and the fact that no other celebrities are clamoring to promote Girl Power, the latter is inevitable.
It wouldn't be difficult to capitalize on their international popularity by promoting awareness of important issues, but that wouldn't be "fun" would it? Perhaps the heady concepts of feminism and equality do not hit eleven-year-olds directly; perhaps the Spice Girls' behavior will have a less tangible effect than I think it will. But few pre-teens have well-developed identities — and public figures like the Spice Girls sure don't help.
Really, why should their movie be more thought provoking than their lyrics? The chorus of "Wannabe" sums it up: "I really really really wanna zigga-zig ah." Do the Girls have an agenda? No. My point is: You're role models. Dump the feminist posing if you're not going to back up what's behind it.
More Spicy Reviews:
Sugar and Spice: Emma Taylor thinks life as a Spice Girl sounds like a bit of alright.
Expert Witness: We sent our favorite ten-year-old correspondent to review Spice World.
A Spicy Debate:
Women's Zone Conference: Did you see Spice World? What did you think? Does this mean doom and gloom for feminism, or just a few more bucks for the savvy Spice Girls? Join in the conversation.
Skylaire Alfvegren lives in Venice, CA. She writes for L.A. Weekly, Ben is Dead, and Bunnyhop.
|
