NO MORE UNIQUE SPICE?

As Sporty Spice has now definitely changed to... well..."Something Else" 
Spice, it's time to reflect on her reasons for the change. It's also time 
for someone to look at the negative aspects of it. 

Firstly, the change isn't as "shocking" as we my think. Though we can 
compare first pictures - and see a *big* difference to what she is now - 
I have reason to believe that "Sporty Spice" wasn't as sporty as she was 
made out to be.  Sporty, Posh and Baby appear to be vast exaggerations 
of a character that their manager saw in them.  Just look at the early 
picture of them when Mel has that rather diabolical checkered dress on.  
Sporty? No. Into sports as a minor hobby? Yes, it looks like that.  
Let's face it, there aren't that many 20 somethings' that permanently 
wear sports gear (unless there's a *massive* cultural difference between 
Australia and Britain, and I'm completely incorrect).  But just combine 
"possible endearing image for teenage girls" and "into sport in 
relatively small way", and bingo! There's a market. As I said, the same 
can be said for Baby and Posh, but we're concerned with Melanie here.  

So, it was now up to Mel to wear - on a full time basis - the 
only-at-home-or-at-the-gym tracksuit pants, tops and hairstyles. There 
are sportier people than her, undoubtedly. What made the manager choose 
Mel? She's got a great voice - yeah - but we've all heard the rumours 
that none of the Spice voices were quite up to scratch back then.  And 
the appearance... well, to look at her in the early days of her life and 
the Spice life, she did - come on, admit it people - slightly pale in 
comparison to the others. But - and this is what I believe made the 
manager's mind up - there was something about her. I wouldn't quite call 
it charisma...yet. But for me, and all the other genuine "I liked her 
from the *very* start!!" fans, there was something that I found 
instantly attractive.  Perhaps the fact that she was - come on, admit 
it people - "plain". To have a band *that* popular, with one of the 
members relatively... "plain", very down to earth,  not into make up, 
average looking, and unglamorous - is the most appealing part. Us 
"common folk" could identify with her. Unlike the tremendously exquisite 
Victoria, the cute Emma, the in-your-face Mel B, or the erm.. rather 
ample and sexy Geri, there was something about Melanie that came across 
as so natural.  She was so... average.  She could be your friend. She 
could be your neighbour.  And her style of clothing was affordable - 
very unconventional, and a big no-no in the business - unlike the other 
Girls, and every other celebrity. 

But as Sporty developed, and I believe that started with the WDYTYA 
filmclip, we witnessed an *extremely* glamourous Melanie.  Now her make 
up bag is huge, needless to say. And, needless to say, she is absolutely 
drop dead gorgeous.  But are we? The common folk, the ones who can sit 
here and say "Good on her for getting up there and not trying to be one 
of those boring, stereotypical, glamourous celebrities" - are we 
gorgeous? No, we're not. She is close to losing the one ability that won 
her the initial fans; the loyal ones who have been with her from the 
beginning. Not the ones who see the "new" Melanie, and think "Hmm that 
Sporty; my she's beautiful now. I'll switch from Ginger to her now."  
The ability? That we can identify with her. As common, middle to lower 
class citizens. When people can *identify* and *empathise* with a 
celebrity, that brings about a different kind of fan population than 
those who just admire from afar. The difference is, standing right 
beside her, or standing a mile away. Sure, the upper class folk might 
like this "Posh Spice #2" (to quote Annalisa Vert from your guestbook). 
Maybe they can identify with the clothing etc. How do we explain the 
hair (blue/red streaks), the tattoos, and the gold tooth? She's a 
popstar, she can get away with it. But I don't think those changes are 
as severe as this latest one; there's something about them that's 
acceptable, and not alienating.  

It's a basic prerequisite for a celebrity to maintain their 
pre-celebrity days. "Don't end up becoming a fan of yourself. And make 
sure you keep your feet firmly on the ground."  Hmm.. I think it's 
sufficient to say that 99.9% of celebrities do not manage this. It's 
hard not to when so many people tell you how brilliant you are. Even the 
bad press gets you coveted attention. But Melanie was part of that 0.1% 
who do *genuinely* keep themselves grounded. Upon saying that, I believe 
that down to earth Melanie is now hovering about a centimetre from the 
ground. Not much, but enough to make a difference...

For example, in the VOX magazine interview, she said she wanted to 
become "more famous". She's not happy with the present fame. (Does that 
indicate a definite solo career in the future? Yes, but that's another 
story). And on their visit to Australia earlier this year, there were 
numerous reports - both in the media and to me through contacts (eg. 
bodyguards) that they were "suitably stuck up and pretentious". Now this 
is "they" and not necessarily Mel, but we can assume that fame *surely* 
has had *some* effect on their egos, even though they try to remain the 
"girls next door". I don't think it's part of the human condition to be 
able to maintain genuine modesty after fame, especially the Spice Girls' 
type of fame. But that's another issue. The point is, Melanie is able to 
display true modesty to the public.

Now, I need to reiterate that I am a *huge* fan of Mel; I thought I was 
her biggest fan till I found this site, and there are thousands of 
others like me. So this isn't blatant criticism, and she hasn't lost an 
iota of respect in my eyes. But the fundamentally important point I'm 
trying to make - if rather longwindedly :) - is that Melanie seems to be 
changing from person popstar to celebrity popstar. She's losing those 
empathetic, endearing qualities that make her so appealing in that 
exceptional way. She's unreachable; too far away. Yet more stunningly 
beautiful than ever. Is there a happy medium? She doesn't have to revert 
back to tracksuit panted Sporty Spice - as mentioned, I think "Sporty" 
is a bit too exaggerated for her real character. And we all know that 
"Sporty" is distinct from "Melanie". But she definitely was "Unique 
Spice" before the Spice Girls. Should she sacrifice this uniqueness for 
cliched popularity? 

Mel's change affects her female fans more so than the males, I believe. 
This is because the females respect her, while the males (okay, I'm 
generalising here to make a point) fancy her, then respect her. Not many 
males will object to her new alluring look, and may be coming one step 
closer to wearing the sort of skimpy outfits that the others do. I think 
that's what it ultimately comes down to! But she does appear to be 
gaining more male fans now than before; and I challenge anyone saying 
that this is purely due to her voice, talent and personality Sorry 
guys!  The appeal of Melanie lies in her looks more so now than it used 
to. Instead of winning fans through her personality, she initially wins 
them through her appearance.

Of course, another fundamental thing is that Melanie has to be happy 
with herself. If she doesn't want to maintain her original character, 
then that's entirely up to her. Which makes my arguments rather invalid 
- I shouldn't be pushing my opinion on someone else's life. But I - and 
I'd be interested to know if any others feel the same - feel that 
Melanie had something special. Far more special than any other 
celebrity. She was a person in the spotlight, yet we could stand right 
beside her, and not feel starstruck. Not feel that this woman is above 
us in any way. She was on our level. But as more and more people begin 
to like her - she's undoubtedly becoming the most popular SG - it is not 
for this reason. First impressions last. Her first impressions, in the 
beginning, were based on those average looks, her voice, and that down 
to earth personality. Now, the first impressions are based on flawless 
beauty, a brilliant voice and that "hovering above ground" personality. 
I, personally, prefer the former. 

We all have our sense of personal consciousness - the person we *want* 
to be and think we are; and our sense of personal identity - the person 
we actually *are*. Has Melanie molded to two together? As we progress, 
we shape ourselves around idols, inspirations, and our own sense of 
self. We have to shape *ourselves*, not let someone else do it for us. 
Melanie appears to be shaping herself into the person she wants to 
become. Is there any idol or inspiration, or is she totally molding 
herself? She has to realise how influential she is, and that *her* 
change will shape *others*.  I mean, she affects the *lives* of 
thousands of people and that is a huge responsibility to have on her 
shoulders - whether she likes it or not.  Is Mel's change for herself, 
or is it for the fans - and in particular, the males?  I think she could 
be doing it to gain more fans, in which case - if we want to be *very* 
harsh and skeptical - we could say it was an ego thing :( ... but let's 
not dwell along that line of thinking.  I think that the more popular 
she becomes, the more she'll change. Maybe she feels that she has to 
give her fans something new. But many of us (and I'd be interested to 
know just how many), feel that she doesn't need to do this.

Change is inevitable, but change is never permanent. Let's hope she 
realises that what she's happy with now - the identity that she's got - 
she won't be happy with tomorrow. She needs to understand her potential, 
influence, and power, and make sure there is absolutely no mental change 
in her values or principles concerning the fans. We still want to feel 
like we're standing right beside her. How did you feel, Chris, when you 
were 25 metres from her? Did you feel in the front row, or at the back 
of the stadium? Compare this to seeing her (pretending that you did) 
when the Spice Girls first started out....

I want to think about just *what* Melanie's consciousness is 
transforming into. Will she keep up the Sporty facade? Become "usual, 
same as every other Spice Girl" Spice? Posh Spice #2? Is this what Mel 
*really* wants? Or, will she stay with her charming "Unique Spice"?  It 
takes a long time to shape yourself into the person that you are 
entirely happy with. And Melanie must make sure she does it for herself, 
not to win more fans. Face it, would any celebrity maintain their 
"public character" if they didn't have a wide audience? But if Melanie 
does believe that Posh #2 - or some other routine character - is for 
her, I think she's making a big, big mistake. The fans are in danger of 
losing the insight we have into Melanie that we just don't feel with any 
of the others.

In conclusion (yes, let's all breath a sigh of relief :) ), it's not 
only the image change I'm worried about, it's the personality change 
that arguably will come with it. Will Mel step into the same category as 
those 99.9% celebrities?.  She will have to make the most of this while 
it lasts, but let's hope she doesn't abandon her integrity for more 
money and fame. I'm not afraid of change; I'm not as reactionary as I 
may come across. But change has to be for the better, and is Melanie's 
progression really any better, after all I've said?

Aaaaah, now that's off my chest, back to my homework.