What does the song (Wannabe by Spice Girls) say about British society?
Before starting answer the question, let us figure out who they are. The Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The members consist of Victoria Beckham (née Adams), Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They are signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30 countries and helped establish the group as a global phenomenon.
The music video and lyrics of the song 'wannabe' have said that it is time to move and change to break the past in British society. In the lyrics there are a lot of repetition, "I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want, so tell me what you want, what you really really want." There is also these lyrics, "If you want my future forget my past, If you wanna get with me better make it fast, Now don't go wasting my precious time.", "Slam your body down and wind it all around." Before this song released, conservative mood was prevailing in Britain. In fact, in 1997, coming out of a period of 18 years of Conservative government, Tony Blair and New Labour were seen as young, cool and very appealing, a main driving force in making Britain look fashionable again. The arrival of the Spice Girls added to the new image and re-branding of Britain, and underlined the growing world popularity of British. Because Spice Girls were different from previous girl singers who was traditional women like be pure, submissive and feminine. In contrast, Spice Girls looked like tough and tomboyish. One member of Spice Girls kissed a man before man did in the music video, it showed the change. Traditionally, men kiss women first not women kiss men first but the girl did and it showed transition to 'girl power.' Moreover, there were public figures of Britain and Spice Girls disturbed the luxury hotel and organized banquet and they departed from there by a bus finally in the music video. It is believed that it also showed transition from past to future.
Spice Girls represent all women. They have various characters and it is found from origin of their nicknames Ginger, Posy, Baby, Sporty and Scary. The girls spoke out 'forget the past, make it fast, slam your body down.' Its message of empowerment appealed to young girls, adolescents and adult women, and it emphasized the importance of strong and loyal friendship among females. The phrase 'girl power' became a cultural phenomenon, adopted as the mantra for millions of girls and even making it into the Oxford English Dictionary. In summation of the concept, author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable." British society was transit period when the song released and one of the big changes was 'girl power' as you can see above. This song showed it firmly.
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