What does the song "Wannabe" say about the British society?
How do the Spice girls "Wannabe" capture the 'Zeitgeist'?
Back in the 1990, the music market was occupied by boy bands which were put together by managers who recognized that young teenage girls' dreams have to be captured in the image of young teenage boys/artist. This concept worked very well starting with "New Kids on the Block" as the forerunner followed by other doppelgangers like the "Backstreet Boys" and "Take That". This should be subject to change when the Spice Girls appeared on the stage of the music market. Put together by Simon Fuller the manager/ inventor of TV shows like "Britain's got talent" or "American Idol", the Spice Girls could win the hearts of young girls with their song "Wannabe" and their motto of "Girl Power". Their appearance did not only mark the sudden changes in the music market but as well in the British society. The British society was conservative and governed by a conservative government under John Brown for 18 years. New elections were about to come up and pave the way for change.
Their first song "Wannabe", a well written up-tempo song and its lyrics, indicated the social, political and economical changes. The accompanying music video portrayed the "Spice Girls" breaking the rules and putting up a new social order.
The first scene shows the "Spice girls" dressed in tank-tops wearing no bras, which was already an affront to social standards. The bra stands as a symbol of restriction by the society. Women are socially forced to wear them. The Spice girls ignored the social rule and moreover showed that the protest against social standards can be a funny enterprise. All girls were dressed in a fashion which resembles their characters or the type of "Girl" image they have to fill in and moreover young girls look for to identify with. "Sporty" Mel C. wears sportive training paints and "Baby" Emma is totally dressed in a white short dress indicating the sense of purity but still being sexy because of the length of her dress.
In the video, the girls are jumping and behaving happily like children. They run to the entrance of a luxurious hotel where beggars are sitting at the wall. The girls come to the beggars and treat them kindly. This can be seen as a signal to show mercy to the poor because the poor are at the bottom of the society and most of the time ignored by the society. Importantly to notice here is the juxtaposition of the different classes, the poor beggars next to a luxurious hotel, the haves and have-nots and in between the "Spice Girls", bridging the gap between the classes. Not only that the girls treat the beggars kindly, they also greet the members of the upper class fairly by opening the door. Significantly the upper class has problems to accept the contact to lower classes because their shocked faces and their resistance are clearly shown.
In the next scene the spice girls mess up the guest list by throwing the list into the air. The concierge tries to stop them but unsuccessfully. This step shows that breaking the rules moreover the remodeling of class and its members is taking place. The borders are blending in each other, so there won't be any clear distinction possible by anyone. The Spice Girls also continue to break the rules by endlessly dancing around and disturbing the upper class guests. The upper class guests are portrayed as old ladies with young gigolos or old man sitting statically at the table. Clear is that there is also a lot of irony and sarcasm portraying rich people like that. Rich people are caught in their own luxurious prison with accepted inborne rules observing each other carefully and waiting to see each other fail in the total ignorance of the lower classes because the lower classes are absent or only seen as servants working for the rich. So therefore the girls approach the guests and even start playing ironically with them, sitting on the lap of a priest pulling his hat down and kissing a young man first. This indicates the change of the gender roles, women being sexually free and not depending anymore on the men. They are making the first steps like men used to do it for a long time. The lyrics are giving the general idea of being free and able to do whatever one likes to do: "I will tell you what I want, what I really want so tell me what you want". These words have an impact on young people who are now allowed to express their mind and opinions. Still the idea of overcoming the gap between the lower and upper classes is conveyed in the lyrics: "If you wanna be my lover you gotta get with my friends"," If you wanna be my lover you have got to give". Both sides have to make steps towards each other, one-sided action is not favored. The line " If you want my future forget my past" indicated that people should look forward into the future and leave the past. Wisely sang, in the foresight of the upcoming political change and a new leader Tony Blair in Britain.
.The Spice Girls captured with their song "Wannabe" incredibly 'zeitgeist' by singing about the social, political and economical change and by presenting themselves as new strong, female role models in contrast to existing boy bands. Their motto "Girl Power" shaped the feeling of a young generation of female teenagers for a long time
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