Having twin degrees in Nineties Studies and Communist Theory, I often find myself analyzing the pop culture trends of the nineteen nineties through the social lens of Marxist theory. Most recently, my analysis has been focused on the largely ignored cultural artifact of the Spice Girls, an ensemble pop band that attempted to mimic the marketing strategies utilized by boy bands, to largely mixed results. In todays analysis, I'll be focusing on their hit single, "Wannabe."
The most interesting part of the video is the opening sequence, in which The Spice Girls, an upper class clique of rich, famous, beautiful, and predominantly white, women run down a largely empty London Street. While running towards the camera, they notice a group of poor, homeless people. They then proceed to lock hands, and jump up and down in front of the homeless, quite literally flaunting their wealth and privilege in front of the most needs people in the country.
Not content with mockery, the spice girls then proceed to steal what few clothes they have, before then calling them "wannabe's." It is not unusual for a music video to drop the title at the beginning, but it is rare for them to tie it into a larger theme. In this case, the foolishness of the lower classes for "wanting to be" like their more privileged social superiors. On the surface this may seem like a bold statement, but the viewers must remember who this was aimed at: wealthy white suburbanites who view lower class people as strange, foreign, and dangerous.
The spice girls then proceed to zero in on a new target: young children.
As the clearly horrified children get out of the car, and attempt to escape the group of young child predators flocking down upon them, the spice girls tell them that, if they (the children) want to become their lovers, they have to "get with their friends." I.E., the spice girls are a polyamorous sex cult, and if the children want to have sex with one of them, they must have sex with all of them. The parents attempt to guard their children and shuffle them away. The spice girls initially continue their pursuit, but the distant bang of a car door signals that Chris Hansen is on his way. Worried for their safety, the spice girls are forced to flee the scene, but not before screeching "Ahhh" at the children in disgust and disappointment.
It goes without saying that this is a disgusting display of behavior. However, like Gone with the Wind, it is an interesting time capsule about where out culture was at this time. In this case, we see that the spice girls are harassing a group of upper class people. However, they are not harassing them because of their class. After all, the spice girls themselves are upper class. What we're instead seeing is at attempt by the new rich to literally devour the young of the old, in an attempt to replace them. They are signaling, in one scene, their disgust of the poor, and of their own wealthy rivals.
Having been forced to flee their last target, the roving band of harpies decide to swarm down upon a new victim: and elderly, middle class working man. Eye's brimming in terror, he throws his hands up fear, while the spice girls proceed to shove him towards his podium, destroy his work station, and throw his papers wildly into the air.
The most interesting part of the video is the opening sequence, in which The Spice Girls, an upper class clique of rich, famous, beautiful, and predominantly white, women run down a largely empty London Street. While running towards the camera, they notice a group of poor, homeless people. They then proceed to lock hands, and jump up and down in front of the homeless, quite literally flaunting their wealth and privilege in front of the most needs people in the country.
Not content with mockery, the spice girls then proceed to steal what few clothes they have, before then calling them "wannabe's." It is not unusual for a music video to drop the title at the beginning, but it is rare for them to tie it into a larger theme. In this case, the foolishness of the lower classes for "wanting to be" like their more privileged social superiors. On the surface this may seem like a bold statement, but the viewers must remember who this was aimed at: wealthy white suburbanites who view lower class people as strange, foreign, and dangerous.
The spice girls then proceed to zero in on a new target: young children.
As the clearly horrified children get out of the car, and attempt to escape the group of young child predators flocking down upon them, the spice girls tell them that, if they (the children) want to become their lovers, they have to "get with their friends." I.E., the spice girls are a polyamorous sex cult, and if the children want to have sex with one of them, they must have sex with all of them. The parents attempt to guard their children and shuffle them away. The spice girls initially continue their pursuit, but the distant bang of a car door signals that Chris Hansen is on his way. Worried for their safety, the spice girls are forced to flee the scene, but not before screeching "Ahhh" at the children in disgust and disappointment.
It goes without saying that this is a disgusting display of behavior. However, like Gone with the Wind, it is an interesting time capsule about where out culture was at this time. In this case, we see that the spice girls are harassing a group of upper class people. However, they are not harassing them because of their class. After all, the spice girls themselves are upper class. What we're instead seeing is at attempt by the new rich to literally devour the young of the old, in an attempt to replace them. They are signaling, in one scene, their disgust of the poor, and of their own wealthy rivals.
Having been forced to flee their last target, the roving band of harpies decide to swarm down upon a new victim: and elderly, middle class working man. Eye's brimming in terror, he throws his hands up fear, while the spice girls proceed to shove him towards his podium, destroy his work station, and throw his papers wildly into the air.
