Pedro Almodóvar, Joan Crawford and Ursula The Sea Witch: The Camp As Tits Inspirations of Women Wearing Shoulder Pads
Words: Anastasia Vartanian
Adult Swim’s new Spanish-language stop-motion series just might be one of the best things I’ve watched this year.
Dramatic revelations, feuding divas, scorned lovers and ‘80s fashion. No, I’m not talking about Dynasty: this is Women Wearing Shoulder Pads. The first Spanish-language series from Adult Swim is deliciously camp, with surprisingly profound themes including the complicated relationship between mother and daughter, as well as imperialism, capitalism and our exploitation of nature.
Based in Ecuador, the series follows the ruthless Spanish businesswoman Marioneta Negocios. Her name quite literally translates to Business Puppet. That’s because the show is almost entirely animated in stop motion by the Mexican studio Cinema Fantasma. “I knew that it had to be physical and it had to be small, because [the show has] these big, over-the-top emotions, and the comedy lay in the gap between our ambition and what we could actually accomplish [with these puppets],” explains Gonzalo Cordova, TV writer and the show’s creator, over Zoom call from LA. “Initially I wanted to do marionettes to give it even more limitation, but Adult Swim, very wisely, convinced me not to do it.” Stop motion characters would suit the show better, striking a balance between cartoonish but still expressive enough to hit emotional notes. I actually teared up at one moment towards the end of the series, which was completely unexpected.
“I think intentional camp needs to be done in a way where you turn off parts of your brain. Then, you start to blur the lines between what you take sincerely and what you think is over-the-top.”
Marioneta campaigns for the rights of guinea pigs, but only so she can sell them as pets for her own profit. This catches the attention of Doña Quispe, a butcher-turned-CEO whose speciality is guinea pigs. The rivalry between them is the driving force of the show, though there are many other sources of intrigue and drama. Seriously, they fit so many plot twists into eight 11-minute episodes, it could give you whiplash. Other characters include Marioneta’s devoted assistant Coquita, Doña Quispe’s vegetarian activist daughter Nina, and a butch lesbian matador called Espada Muleta.
Confused? Let me explain: in Ecuador, guinea pigs, called “cuyes”, are a common dish. (The show’s creator has Ecuadorian heritage.) In this universe, this is taken to a surreal extent: there’s a sport like bullfighting, except with huge guinea pigs. It’s part of a larger narrative criticising the way humans abuse animals and nature. It’s not exactly subtle, with one character saying: “I have looked upon the caged cuy through the prison of capitalist enterprise, through the hubristic iron bars of a homocentric world view.”
Despite - or maybe because of - these deeper themes, the show is hilarious, employing excellent writing, absurd plot points, and a theatricality to rival any telenovela. For instance, there is a scene where one character tries to use a “Trojan Cuy” to ambush another. At other times, earthquakes arrive at moments which serve the plot, then disappear. And, let’s not forget, sex scenes where beads of sweat roll down the puppets.
“I think intentional camp needs to be done in a way where you turn off parts of your brain. Then, you start to blur the lines between what you take sincerely and what you think is over-the-top,” Cordova tells me. He has dark, straight hair just past his ears and is wearing a button-down shirt: unflashy compared to the larger-than-life divas he has created.
There needs to be an element of seriousness for camp to work. Many of the scenes which audiences find serious or emotional, were actually the scenes that were the funniest to write in the writer’s room, he explains: “In the room, we really worked hard to blur that line as much as possible.”
“Women are the drivers in melodrama. That’s very, very common with all the classics. From the Douglas Sirk movies, to Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, and the Barbara Stanwyck movies… I don’t remember any of the male characters.”
Women Wearing Shoulder Pads strikes a perfect balance between satirical and silly. Just one example is a moment where animal rights revolutionaries are doing a tarot reading. The card is Augusto Pinochet, Chilean dictator. “You got the Pinochet reversed… Right-side up means Marxist-Leninists are plotting to assassinate you over your many murders and embezzlements. But yours is reversed! That means you’ll have a fun, flirty fling!”
Other disarmingly funny quotes include: “That woman has the cunning ruthlessness of the nouveau riche. She has transformed herself from a lowly butcher to a CEO. Just as I have transformed myself from a rich girl to a rich woman.”
And:
“The crying was an incredibly effective rhetorical move. You should do that more.”
“I cry every day.”
“Fuck! Fantastic!”
One particularly vital element of this show is the costume design. Whereas, in many cartoons, characters wear the same outfit throughout, this was clearly created by someone with an appreciation for fashion. One episode even contains a 30-second montage with about five outfit changes, all chicly ‘60s Mod-inspired. The costumes were conceived by Rachel Kinnard, a designer and educator, and partner of the show’s creator. Naturally, this also made her an important person for Cordova to workshop ideas with, especially since this show was dreamed up during the pandemic. They are both on the Zoom call with me, in the same house, but in different rooms. “We just wanted, you know, we wanted it to be very professional, but we're married,” Cordova admits with a smile.
Although the various costume changes were a big effort for production to undertake, both the show’s creator and the animation studio agreed that it was absolutely necessary to the story. “I think we were both perfectionists with the show,” admits Kinnard. Her wavy hair is cut into a mullet, which is how I know she’s a fashion girl. “Because I do think, watching things as someone who loves fashion, if things are slightly off, it can kind of ruin it for you.” It paid off, because the fashion is undeniably one of the most charming parts of the show. It makes sense that a high-powered, headstrong businesswoman like Marioneta would take pride in her appearance, with her ever-present red lipstick and red-rimmed glasses.
As the name suggests, there are women wearing shoulder pads. The title was actually the first thing that Cordova came up with, inspired by Pedro Almodóvar’s 1988 film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. “It made you laugh for so long,” says Kinnard. “I think that's how you knew that was the title.” Almodóvar’s films were an important reference in general: from their irreverent, over-the-top tone to their vibrant visuals. Marioneta’s red ‘80s skirt suit, for instance, takes notes from Women on the Verge…
Another source of inspiration for Marioneta’s wardrobe were the re-discovered fashion sketches of Cordova’s mother — she had studied fashion as a young woman in Panama. Marioneta’s Old Hollywood-esque, silver fish dress (a shockingly elaborate, fabulous dress for a puppet) was one of his mother’s designs. Doña Quispe’s costume design, on the other hand, was very “Elizabeth Taylor meets Ursula,” Kinnard told me. It makes total sense in the canon of camp, since Ursula’s character design was inspired by drag queen Divine, the brainchild of John Waters.
This series doesn’t just pass the Bechdel Test, it obliterates it. The principal cast is entirely made up of women, including the love interests. Why? “Women are the drivers in melodrama,” says Cordova. “That’s very, very common with all the classics. From the Douglas Sirk movies, to Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, and the Barbara Stanwyck movies… I don’t remember any of the male characters.” He also credits Tuca & Bertie, an adult animation series he was previously a writer on, for inspiring him to create the principally female cast.
What next? Cordova is already thinking about a next season (not yet confirmed), which might be more of an erotic thriller. “I am incredibly excited about the sliver of possibility to keep living in this world. Some of the characters will return, and some of them may not. I'm still workshopping it.” One thing’s for sure, I’ll be watching. If you want a girly, silly, yet very clever show to watch in perfectly-digestible short episodes, this is for you!
Women Wearing Shoulder Pads premiered Aug. 17 on Adult Swim in the US. New episodes are dropping weekly on Mondays on Channel 4 in the UK & Ireland and on HBO Max across Europe. Check the link for where to watch [adult swim] in your country. Please note this is sponsored content.
