'Spice Girls' are one of the biggest music phenomenon's of the nineties, and are also the best-selling girl group of all time; selling over 80 million records worldwide. "Scary, Baby, Ginger, Posh and Sporty" convey messages of "Girl Power" and "Cool Britannia" through many of their successful songs; nine of which have gone to number one in the UK charts, in the space of four years. The themes were hugely influential upon the general identity of The Spice Girls, and ignited the 'Spice Mania' phase in which the whole world were succumbed by.
The video that I will be analysing is their second UK number 1 "Say You'll Be There", from their first album "Spice". This video received recognition by winning awards such as Best Pop Video at the 1996 Smash Hits, Best Video at the 1997 BRIT Awards and was nominated for the viewer's choice at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards.
The genre of this song is dance-pop, however there is an R&B element that contrasts against their first notorious single 'Wannabe', which was simply labelled as dance-pop. A group shot portrays all of the girls outfits within the video. Their outfits sexualise them all, but also fit the pop genre as the notable leopard prints and leather clothing the girls are wearing were hugely popular at the time, and can be considered as playful and experimental. The disco and pop styles also correspond with the themes of romance and seduction, which could be the reasoning for why they are styled in a sexually appealing manner. R&B music is notorious for its sexual themes, which can be identified through the lyrics of the song. Together the girls sing: "I'm giving you everything, all that joy can bring", emphasising a sexual message that R&B songs are stereotypically known for. Nevertheless, the up-tempo beats and the style in which the girls harmonize together, portrays the line innocently and relates back to the dance-pop genre, which makes it suitable for younger children to listen to. This was important because most of the Spice Girls fans were young girls, from the accomplishment of 'Wannabe'.
The narrative to this video was inspired by films such as Pulp Fiction and Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! These films specially focus upon provocative gender roles, violence and sexuality. The influence from the two films led the girls to adopt fictional identities. At the beginning of the video, the editing displays a montage of cuts introducing the girls as their alter-egos, similar to opening credits of a movie. Showing that they have took further assistance from the particular films. "Girl Power" is a consistent theme throughout the video. In one particular scene there is an aerial wide shot exploiting a male tied to a car, to illustrate a symbolic message of male disempowerment. This emphasises the communication of "Girl Power", along with previous low-angle clips depicting their power and fighting abilities in regards to martial arts and high-tech ninja weapons to capture the male.
The video was set in the Mojave Desert, located in California. Geographically there was a lot of space to film the music video, but it could also be used significantly to display the girls capability of handling the most dangerous of locations. Deserts have a representation of containing dangerous aspects that make it hard for a human to survive. The producers may have intentionally wanted to use the desert as a setting, because throughout the video the girls are exhibited as euphoric, mentally and physically strong people who are capable of handling the difficult capabilities of a desert. One main feature that is used as a prop and is identified in the wide shot when the girls sing together, is the glittery backdrop. In my opinion, I feel that the backdrop glamourises the setting and is used symbolically to remind the audience of The Spice Girls' rise to fame, and how important they were in regards to social media. Another judgement of the backdrop is it could be used as a barrier between The Spice Girls that secludes them from everyone else in the world, marking their importance within social/media terms.
This video in my opinion introduces and markets a type of audience that was not targeted within their first single 'Wannabe'; the audience being hetrosexual males. The lighthearted flirtatious messages are expressed through the different types of media, but can be looked at differently in regards to the different types of audiences. For example, a stereotypical view upon the majority of males would be how they are intrigued by the way the girls are dressed. This demonstrates the males perspective upon the video and also relates to Laura Mulvey's theory of the "male gaze". Despite the thesis of "Girl Power", the "Male Gaze" is also also a dominent feature within the video. This is expressed through theway they are dressed, in addition to the panning shots that focus on the girls bodies and powerful attitudes. The song is still aimed for children, as the tongue-in-cheek movie-type narrative they have is creative and compelling to watch. Children are also known to idolise superheroes due to their abilities beyond imagination. And the fact that the main fanbase is younger girls makes it a wise decision to construct each Spice Girl as superheroes. This ultimately causes the younger female audiences to enthrall upon the Spice Girls' necessary message of "Girl Power".
In conclusion I believe that the fundemental ideology of this video enforces the Spice Girls' cultural era of "Girl Power" and objectifies against men, although the girls have still been sexualised for male pleasure. The reasoning for why this was done could have been to lure the male audience into their seductive yet michevious manner, but then sequentially remind them that they cannot be dominated by the male sex. This is most likely the explanantion to why the ending included a male bounded to a car, and why the girls have identities such as "Katrina Highkick" that portray them in a authoritative conduct.
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