James Bond is hugely popular; the suave, slick spy with his fancy gadgets; the man with a licence to kill; who is irresistible to women as well of course! I, however, have always disliked the character and the genre of films. For one I have always wondered why James Bond introduces himself as “the name is Bond, James Bond”. If he is this hotshot spy, shouldn’t he be keeping a low profile and using an alias at the very least? But this is far from the only reason I have found James Bond to be regressive and frankly obnoxious.
The modern Bond may be a more evolved kind of guy but the old Bond – played by Sean Connery and Roger Moore is extremely regressive in his attitudes to women. The movies were fairly racist, homophobic and misogynistic in their general tone as well, if we look at them through a modern prism.
Bond wasn’t above forcing himself on a woman, touching her inappropriately and making lewd and suggestive comments. Of course the women always willingly acquiesced to his advances but this was par for the course in those nudge-nudge-wink-wink times. The old Bond was certainly a sexual predator; even a serial harasser; some think his character in movies such as Goldfinger is nothing short of a rapist.
The man is dismissive and patronising of women in general. He infantilizes them and objectifies them. I find it all hugely awkward and repulsive.
Even the names in some of the films were cringe-worthy in their suggestiveness! Pussy Galore, Holly Goodhead, Plenty O’Toole, Chu Mei, Xenia Onatopp, Honeychile Rider? Really? That is supposed to pass for humour?
This commentator thought that the point of the movies is that Bond is a “sexist, misogynistic womanizer”. Unfortunately, the character is also portrayed as cool and desirable; ergo people watching the films think it is perfectly OK to emulate not only the man but his attitudes as well. It is the normalization of the misogyny that is so obnoxious.
True, the earlier Bond was a product of his times and thankfully we do live in more enlightened times now. And through it all, some remain dedicated fans.
Perhaps subsequent generations will look upon us, current attitudes as well as content as regressive. But the fact remains that James Bond is and probably will be fairly obnoxious; whether in vintage form or in more modern garb.
The movies also insult our intelligence in other ways: the cars, the stunts, the gadgets. They may be slickly done (though Sean Connery’s gadgets appear distinctly laughable today); but had these stunts been in Indian films; all the James Bond fans would have scoffed!
For a while, Idris Elba’s name was being touted as the next James Bond. Many welcomed the idea of a non-Caucasian James Bond. And why not a female Bond, others suggested?
I’m sure the true blue fans will have divergent views, but I certainly agree with this commentator. There is really no need for James Bond films to be made. That said, I am free not to watch them; so I say, go ahead and make them; plenty of other, better films are being made. I’ll watch those instead! Meanwhile, perhaps these films can be held up as a lesson – on how not to behave?
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