Girl Power!

Exploring Pop Feminism and Consumerism in Film

Truly feminist-leaning films are hard to come by in all genres. The patriarchy has a firm grasp on all areas of life, and the art of film is no different, with many films even hinting at having a feminist point of view being maligned and disregarded. Feminist comedy is an even rarer event, as even producers willing to venture into the territory prefer to do so with a serious attitude and a lack of humor. So when these films achieve any amount of success, whether financial, critical, or in reappreciation, they should be held in consideration.

Being overtly feminist and overtly comical does not necessarily mean the film will be successful. There are many moving parts when creating a film, and best intentions don’t always fill the gap meant for character or story. But being almost confrontational in their feminist ideals while retaining humor is a great way of not only spreading feminist messages but opening up the idea of what a feminist idea is. If audiences only ever see dour, melodramatic portrayals of womanhood, that is what feminism will be to them. These films may not all be successful in their approaches, but they represent a broadening of horizons that everyone could use.

The 1997 film Spice World is not the most critically acclaimed film one will probably come by. Following the Spice Girls as they tour around the United Kingdom, perform songs, meet aliens, and celebrate with their friend when she gives birth, the film was lambasted upon its release for being a fairly incoherent mess. And while these claims aren’t wholly unjustified (see: aliens), the film is an important cultural touchstone when discussing pop feminist films for no other reason than the focus of 90s feminist icons the Spice Girls.

While it is doubtful that many people would call the girl group the most articulate in their feminist leanings, much like pop music, their branding was loud, broad, and able to appeal to a large group of people. The rallying cry of “Girl Power” became a pop culture staple that has stayed relevant for decades. The group themselves are one of the music successful recording artists of all time, and it’s through the success of the real-life band that we must view the success of the film.

The film plays like a 90s update on A Hard Day’s Night, exploring the wild antics of the most famous people in the world. But the feminist ideals of Spice World shift the perspective of this day. In A Hard Day’s Night, the band is pursued almost exclusively by an ever-growing abundance of screaming teenage girls. The Beatles are sexual icons or at least teenage lust icons, and this is the main driving force of the film. Yet in Spice World, there isn’t even a hint of romance or sexualization in the film. The focus is purely on the women in the film and their relationships with each other. The antics they get into are focused on how to stay together as a group, and how to retain the friendships they have with each other and with their friend from before they were famous.

If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends
Make it last forever, friendship never ends

The focus on friendship extends even to the supporting cast of the film. Richard E. Grant, while having a brief romantic encounter with Deborah (the Girls’ assistant), is only ever focused on their performances and schedule. Alan Cumming, a documentarian following the Girls, gives no indication of romantic longing, instead focusing on his job. Even the sleazy tabloid journalists do not pursue to ruin the girls in a sex scandal (something British tabloids are more than okay with exploiting). Sex and romance are not devoid in the world, they just aren’t important, and aren’t needed for the Spice Girls. Fun, friends, and fans should all come before romance. These are the bedrock values that Spice World is putting into the feminist conversation.

Josie and the Pussycats is, I’d argue, a more successful film in its approach than Spice World. The 2001 comedy film starring Rachel Leigh Cook, Rosario Dawson, and Tara Reid is a deeply satirical film that spoofs the music industry, consumerism, and the cultural obsession with fame. While it doesn’t have the same feminist branding as Spice World (Girl Power is a hard brand to beat) is still retains at its core feminist ideals of equality, togetherness, and standing for what is right in the world.

The film heavily satirizes consumerist culture and the ever-gaping maw of a world built only to buy. Almost every frame of the film is stuffed with product placement and ad-speak, much of it purposefully skewers the product it is meant to promote. The writer/directors Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan are heavy-handed in their approach to the subject, taking the product endorsements to a heightened level to emphasize the sinister nature of these ads. This also plays heavily upon the comedy of the film, using broad strokes to invoke a cartoonishness in the characters and setting as well as a hint of nostalgia that the Archie Comics characters often display.

The consumerism critique plays into the feminist themes of the film, as we are again introduced to a tight-knit group of women friends who, due to fame, fortune, and success, are faced with trials they hadn’t faced before. The tension between the group is completely manufactured by the evil promoter Wyatt Frame (Alan Cumming in his second appearance in films discussed today), who sets out to create the tension as he sees that is an easier way to control the group. This sets up the theme of control of women and of things women enjoy. The villains of the film wish to embed subliminal messages in order to influence what people buy.  But in the controlling of the women in the band, and the products they highlight in their mind control (pink clothing, pop music) the filmmakers are making a comment on the control and influencer popular culture and consumerist culture has on women and their self-image.

Conform! Free will is overrated! Jump on the bandwagon! There is no such place as Area 51!

While consumerism affects all equally, the pressure put on women to exist within certain parameters is nearly unbearable. Within the film even the villains aren’t able to fit into these ideas of “perfection”, with Fiona (Parker Posey) having a lisp and Wyatt being albino. The film shows photoshoots in which the Pussycats are put in uncomfortable situations and positions, all to get the “perfect” shot. They are given lavish makeovers and have their sound altered to fit what is considered consumable. In the end, the girls win out by remaining themselves, and being accepted by an audience for not giving into the unachievable standards set out by consumerist propaganda.

“Consumerist propaganda” may have been the fated dismissal of the film Barbie if not for the wonderful writing and directing work at play. The film follows Barbie (Margot Robbie) as she travels to the real world in order to discover why she has suddenly become depressed and aware of the mortal coil. Through her journey to the real world she discovers her impact as a feminist icon (both the positive and negative), the negative role she plays in Barbieland, and eventually how to become not an icon but an individual.

The film presents its feminist agenda upfront and brashly. With many jokes drawing attention to both the traditional role that Barbie as a product has played in reinforcing certain stereotypes in gender roles, and even the film reinforcing those stereotypes to a degree with the casting of Robbie. The film also features a blistering monologue by America Ferrera about the various double standards women face in the world, drawing attention to the cognitive dissonance that women are constantly faced with when both trying to appease men and live a healthy, fulfilling existence. And while these and other jokes play very well into the feminist voice of the film, the best message that it presents is discovering of oneself within a faulty system.

It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful and so smart, and it kills me that you don't think you're good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong. You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can't ask for money because that's crass.

One of the film’s most powerful moments is also one of its quietest. During Barbie’s adventure in the real world, while waiting at a bus stop, Barbie and an elderly woman wordlessly exchange smiles. In Barbieland, nobody grows old, nobody gains wrinkles or laugh lines or anything that reminds the passing of time. In this moment we see Barbie realize the beauty of age, of the knowledge that can come with growing up. This is a major step in Barbie reclaiming her identity not just from the negative aspects of the patriarchy of the real world, but from the negative, impossible standards that even Barbieland is held to. Perfection is incompatible with reality and must be dismissed when discovering oneself.

This discovering of oneself within a feminist context is also a key aspect of the character arc of Ken (Ryan Gosling). One of the more remarkable aspects of Barbie is the centering of men within the feminist conversation. While controversial to some, Gerwig shows how the oppression that feminism seeks to alleviate affects not only women but men. As we see with Ken, he is completely unable to see himself as an individual. He states that he does not exist outside of the existence of Barbie. Upon discovering the patriarchy in the real world, he realizes that he and the other Kens do exist outside of the gaze of the Barbies, but is still unable to grasp an identity, instead filling what was previously a sole longing for Barbie with meaningless junk (and this is coming from me, a man who loves both horses and “Push” by Matchbox 20).

It is not until the end, when his attempts to install a patriarchal system in Barbieland fails and he is again rebuffed by Barbie that he starts to truly look inward for an identity. Within a system of oppression, Ken is unable to truly express himself, as a love of horses and kung fu aren’t meaningful, yet are seen by men as all they need. Once these artifices are scraped away, we are finally free to find truth within ourselves. Not beholden to the opinions of other men, not beholden to the aspirations of any women, what then are we? We can even see the eventual end result of Ken’s self-exploration in the character of Allen (Michael Cera), a man who while some would see as forgotten, as actually free from the pressures of others, and thus pursues only what he feels is right. Allen is the ideal man under a feminist gaze, heartfelt and unburdened, yet willing to stand up for what he knows to be right.

While the arc of Ken is the most obvious inclusion of men within the feminist gaze in the films discussed today, both Spice World also shows an interesting aspect of men within the feminist context. In Spice World, as previously discussed, while none of the men are presented within a romantic light, they all still rely completely on the women in their life. Everything revolves around The Girls, from their manager to their chauffeur to even the men behind the tabloids. While this could be seen as somewhat self-centered as the film was made by the biggest band in the world at the time, the playful way they mock their self images throughout the film shows that this film wasn’t made solely as an ego trip. And by viewing at as more than that, we can see it implying that, while the patriarchy does still hold over the world, it would fall apart completely without the existence of women.

As we can see, these films that have often been dismissed by mainstream critics have much more to provide when taken seriously. The films are light, fluffy, and comedic, but that does not warrant taking them lightly. That itself can be seen as a microcosm of feminism within a male dominated male-dominated films are the cognitive dissonance many women feel themselves forth presenting as approachable and humorous while containing levels of intrigue, only to be dismissed broadly when attempted to be taken seriously. It is not the faults of the films if we are the ones who refuse to answer the questions they put forth, and it is not their job to appeal to those sensibilities. We must meet the film, not the other way around, much like we must be the ones who pursue change in this world, not the world to change on its own.