New Spice Girls remake takes girl power to a more empowering and social level

Earlier this month, Project Everyone, a charity founded by filmmaker Richard Curtis (“Love Actually”), released a remake of a Spice Girls’ hit, “Wannabe.”

With over a million and a half views (and climbing) on YouTube, the remake, which was filmed 20 years after the Spice Girls released the original “Wannabe” music video, has gained national and international attention from media outlets.  

The video was produced by MJ Delaney for Project Everyone‘s #WhatIReallyReallyWant campaign, which supports the efforts of the United Nation’s Global Goals for sustainable development. The ambitious initiative aims to fight inequality and injustice, end extreme poverty, and make progress on fixing climate change for everyone by 2030.

“#WhatIReallyReallyWant” features female artists from Nigeria, India, Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom dancing and lip-syncing to the iconic 90’s pop song. Rhetorically, the video employs the pathos of nostalgia, which offers a connection for grown-up Spice Girls fans who were raised on the group’s message of girl power.

Yet, the remake is not a song about friends talking about guys, it instead brings girl power up to a more social and meaningful level. The video promotes gender equity by sharing specific ways to empower women and girls around the world: the global cast sings for equal pay, equal access to quality education, and ending child marriages and violence against women.

In an interview about the song’s makeover, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham expressed her support for the initiative: “How fabulous it is that after 20 years the legacy of the Spice Girls’ girl power is being used to encourage and empower a whole new generation?,” Beckham told the Guardian.

The initiative welcomes people to become a part of the conversation on Twitter and Instagram by posting photos and messages with #WhatIReallyReallyWant.

https://twitter.com/accidentalrh/status/750502640815968256

According to UN Women, in the countries with available data, “less than 40 percent of the women who experience violence seek help of any sort.” And, “around 120 million girls worldwide have experienced forced intercourse or other forced sexual acts at some point in their lives.” The data reinforces the need for initiatives like #WhatIReallyReallyWant, a campaign that acts as a new anthem of empowerment for women and girls worldwide. 

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