Ignite presentations - Learner Response

Significance - 3
Structure - 3
Simplicity - 3
Rehearsal  - 3

12 / 20

WWW

Good Opening Question
Keywords: Franchise, Aspires links to other franchises
Narrative
Humour - Blank Slide
Propp's - Damsel in Distress
Wider Context
Good Pace

EBI

Genre Details
Mulvey
Stereotypes
Analyse the Bond Girls Independently
Make the images link better to the question (Kishan's Point)

With my Presentation I wanted to provide a wide context of what the James Bond film are really about and how people have ignored the sexism that the franchise has had for years. With my Critical Investigation I want to link this back to the question I had at the end of the presentation which is "If the James Bond Franchise was made in the 21st Century would it be a success and would people support it as much as well"

Representation of Women in the James Bond Franchise

James Bond in a multi-million pound franchise with 23 James Bond films with another one coming up soon with Spectre. The James Bond franchise is the third most successful movie franchise of all time only behind the entire marvel cinematic universe and the Harry Potter franchise and due to film not being as popular in the 1960's / 1970's where James Bond found his early success they could have made a lot more money in comparison to Harry Potter which was made in 2001 [1].This franchise have been made over the 50 years and is a British Institute in Today's Culture even in the 2012 Olympics they got Daniel Craig to play James Bond in the opening ceremony which showcases how popular and successful the character has become.

But why does the world love James Bond? Due to the fact of James Bond never losing and always being the man on top with countless missions he has done and has always ended on top with the villain punished or killed and with James Bond with a random Bond Girl it what makes James Bond films so good they are consistently great films with the same story but it's a story that is universally loved by the public and also with the film Skyfall it introduced a different type of film with James Bond on the back foot on the majority of the film but still ending the film on top. Also James Bond was a famous book character created by Ian Fleming in 1953 so the franchise already had a strong foundation to build on when they decided to turn the books into films as well.

However should we be admiring a character like James Bond who treats women as inferiors to him?

James Bond was created in 1953 back then the stereotypes of men and women where very standard (certain) with the man being the breadwinner who bring in the money and makes the important decisions around the house however the role of the women back then was to cook and clean and to do all of the house work and to basically wait for the man hand and work and to do whatever he wants her to do. Back then this was acceptable for people in that era because women didn't have the power back then in comparison to the amount of power they have now. So when the books came out they picture women as the inferior slave to James Bond's charm and desire and the films also captured accurately what the book try to showcase with extra hint with the male gaze having women using suggestive objects like this for example



As a result a formula was set in making these James Bond films from now on with James Bond doing what he wants and when he wants and there is nothing that can stop this formula as well because between 1960 - 1964 they released 4 James Bond film which established the James Bond franchise as a franchise that is going to be around for years to come and because all of the James Bond films where always good no one ever demanded a change in the formula because they didn't want to potentially ruin something amazing as the James Bond franchise by changing the formula.

 And the most harmful thing about this franchise is that it's bringing the views of the 1960's with it as well. This movies haven't changed the biggest progression that women have had in the James Bond franchise is M (played by Judi Dench) who is James Bond's boss and is the head of MI6 but now she is dead in the latest film Skyfall so now we are back to square one with a male dominated society with women always behind the far superior men.

With the recent films have showcased the most evidence of the 1960's views of society in today's society for example in Skyfall in the opening action scene we see Moneypenny shot James Bond and M giving the go ahead for Moneypenny to take the shot as well which showcases how women have made the situation worse by interfering [3]. 

Also this scene in Casino Royale where James Bond with no emotion coldly insults his girlfriend in the film by saying "The Bitch is Dead" [4]. 

Also when we find out that James Bond had a partner before this mission once again he shows no emotion once again with his statements [5]. 

Even when they tried to make women equal to men in Die Another Day with Halle Berry playing Jinx who is also a fellow agent in the film who works for the NSA (National Security Agency) so this should mean that she should be just as good as James Bond due to her training to get to this position. Despite this she still had to be saved by James Bond saved her THREE times by James Bond in that film once when she was trapped in the laser machine [6] then she got trapped in the Ice Palace and almost drowned in the Ice Palace and if it wasn't for James Bond's fight with Gustav Graves played by Toby Stephens saved her from being beheaded.[7]

Also something that doesn't get mentioned is that much is the ideology of Bond Girls.

The definition of a Bond Girl is "A girl is a character (or the actress portraying a character) who is a love interest and/or female sidekick of James Bond in a novel, film, or video game. Bond girls occasionally have names that are double entendres or puns, such as Pussy Galore, Plenty O'Toole, Xenia Onatopp, or Holly Goodhead, and are considered "ubiquitous symbol of glamour and sophistication.

There is no set rule on what kind of person a Bond girl will be or what role she will play. She may be an ally or an enemy of Bond, pivotal to the mission or simply eye candy. There are female characters such as Judi Dench's M and Camille Montes, who are not romantic interests of Bond, and hence not strictly Bond girls. However, it has been argued that M's pivotal role in the plot of Skyfall qualifies her as a Bond girl or Bond woman" [8]

This franchise has been around for over 50 years and James Bond has slept with over 50 women during the 50+ years the James Bond Franchise has been around and I believe that also none of the Bond Girls have done anything important to the overall story besides sleeping with James Bond and basically being the Damsel for James Bond the Knight in shining armour to save them.

Also the overall title as well, Bond Girl, translation you are the women that James Bond has decided to sleep with during the movie nothing more nothing less. Which should bring up the question, why do we even have Bond Girls in the first place? It links back to when I mentioned a set formula in making a James Bond film.

James Bond films always has a Bond Girl because in the 1960's women where always the Damsel in Distress always needing a powerful handsome man to save them from whatever they got captured from which links to two powerful stereotypes, women always gets themselves into trouble when they are without a man to guide them and women can't save themselves without a man's assistance. And the James Bond films are no different there are multiple films in the James Bond franchise that have a James Bond captured are do nothing because of the stereotypes of women in the first place.

And what makes it worst when Bond Girls do anything it's normally for the enemy because there is a history of Bond Girls cheating on James Bond to side with the enemy instead leaving James heartbroken until the next Bond Girl to show up to do nothing, which means that Bond Girl either do nothing accept look pretty or are backstabber or make key mistakes like in Skyfall when Moneypenny shot Bond and everyone assumed he was dead. Also there have been over 32 different Bond Girls to consider as well and the majority do a grand total of nothing.

This comes with even more of a surprise when you consider that the films have been produced by a female producer for 28 years and counting with her first film being The Living Daylight in 1987 with a 76% fresh rating on Rotten Tomato and the rest of the James Bond films having a high rating on average with the lowest rating being 51% [9] with The World Is Not Enough and even that film made at least $226,832,400 in profit and this is only from the Box Office sales as well this isn't including the sales from the Cinema and other revenue streams. 

In a Guardian interview with a previous James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan was very forward when it came to gay rights in recent years especially in his home country in Ireland and he was very open to the idea of James Bond being gay but he also mentioned that it would never happen until Barbara Broccoli was still producing the films which makes it even more unusual considering in modern day society more and more people are becoming more open to the idea of Gay Marriage and for Pierce to shut down the idea so quickly as a surprise for most people. [10]

In another Guardian website they where able to get an interview with Daniel Craig about multiple topics relating to James Bond and one of the most interesting things that come up in the interview was his views of the character in the past believing that the character in the past was very sexist and also believes that the character as become more relevant to today's society due to the progressive views on today. [11]

The reason why the James Bond films have so much success is because men are jealous of the life that James Bond lives in and is what a majority of men aspire to achieve, think about it how many boys, teenagers, and men watched a James Bond film and thought I want to be just like him, the James Bond franchise highlights all the women James Bond gets to sleep with, all the fantasy cars he gets to drive, all the amazing locations he gets to go to and the main benefit, being able to live life without consequence nothing in the countless James Bond films he has done has had a ever lasting effect on James Bond mentality he is the same James Bond from the very first film to now.

And due to it's overpowering popularity as a result there isn't enough hate on the internet to even generate a spark of negative publicity I struggled to even find one negative report on the character let alone his mistreatment of women because James Bond fans will always say it's just a movie nothing more nothing less because James Bond is at the absolute top for escapism there is no other movie franchise that has effected more people than the James Bond franchise and that's the truth because if that was a lie this franchise would be cancelled a long time a go.

This leads me to believe to conclude this research I have to say that the James Bond franchise is a sexist male dominated franchise that shouldn't be around in today's progressive society but due to the fact that they have been making James Bond film for over 50 years and the books for an even longer period of time this franchise is never going to stop it's always going to keep on making films until every director and every actor says no to the role and considering we are having Idris Elba being considered for the role in the future a top end movie star the James Bond films are only going to get bigger and better.

Book Titles



Bond and Beyond



Lisence to Thrill



The Politics of James Bond

Media Representations 

• Who is being represented? In what way? By whom?

They are representing the hero to be the stereotypical white male who can't do anything wrong and is perfect in every way in comparison to other races that are represented as evil or inferior. 

• Why is the subject being represented in this way? 

This is because the James Bond films follow the same Propps Structure for every film with the stereotypical hero and the stereotypical Villian hehdhdjdj

• Is the representation fair and accurate?

Not really is scary how the entire nation has accepted a character that is completely sexist and acts superior to everyone else in his films. 

• What opportunities exist for self-representation by the subject?

Media Languages and Forms 

• What are the denotative and connotative levels of meaning?

The denotation is the is very simple with James Bond being this larger than life character with no problems in his life.

• What is the significance of the text’s connotations?

Recently with Skyfall the James Bond character they are interpreting the character as very lonely, I believe that they are starting to show how James Bond is starting to change due to the longevity of the character.

• What are the non-verbal structures of meaning in the text (e.g. gesture, facial expression, positional communication, clothing, props etc)?

The directors are starting the highlight the fact that James Bond is getting older in these film especially in Skyfall with multiple scenes mentioning how James Bond is getting old and even with the Bond Girls they are including are getting older as well.

• What is the significance of mise-en-scene/sets/settings (CLAMPS)?

Mise-en-scene is very important when it comes to a James Bond film because it key to create that James Bond atmosphere that that the franchise is famous for which makes people forget about the questionable morals that the franchise has for example James Bond will wear or a fancy car to create that famous atmosphere. 

• What work is being done by the sound track/commentary/language of the text?

The music they will add will always compliment the scene however most of the time they will not have any music to the scene because of the fact that the James Bond franchise is a action film but at the same time they will have a lot of scenes that are just convocations and that's when they will have no music as well they will have music when there is an action scene only.

• What are the dominant images and iconography, and what is their relevance to the major themes of the text?

• What sound and visual techniques are used to convey meaning (e.g. camera positioning, editing; the ways that images and sounds are combined to convey meaning)?

The James Bond films are all action films and all action films try to keep the action in the centre of the screen in the action scenes for example when watching the chase scene in the opening of Quantum of Solace you can see all of the action takes place in the middle of the screen for the audience to see everything more clearly. [12] 

Narrative 

• How is the narrative organised and structured?

It follow the Todorov's theory of equilibrium in the majority of James Bond films with everything being perfectly fine then some random villain has an evil plan and James saves the world again it never changes Barbara likes to talk about how the James Bond films have changed with the time but the only thing that has changes is the actors and the technology. [13]

• How is the audience positioned in relation to the narrative?

The audience is positioned where they already know what exactly is going to happen in a James Bond movie with James Bond always saving the day against today's random bad guy from a different country.

• How are characters delineated? What is their narrative function? How are heroes and villains created?

The problem with the James Bond characters is that the characters have become stereotypical villains with the classic tendency to overact everything, they are overly confident or overly dark and menacing. It's become the cast that these James Bond villains don't stand out anymore.

• What techniques of identification and alienation are employed?

Mise-en-scene is a key part of identification because they will dress villains the same as the heroes with the classic suit and jewellery because they are presenting a lifestyle when they are making a James Bond film.

• What is the role of such features as sound, music, iconography, genre, mise-en-scene, editing etc within the narrative?

• What are the major themes of the narrative? What values/ideologies does it embody? 

The narrative links back to uses and gratification because a lot of people aspire to be James Bond which links to Personal Identity because people of all ages look up to his example which has consequences as well because people will grow up with the wrong set of morals when it comes to the real world.

Genre 

• To which genre does the text belong?

Action

• What are the major generic conventions within the text?

• What are the major iconographic features of the text?

• What are the major generic themes?

• To what extent are the characters generically determined?

• To what extent are the audience’s generic expectations of the text fulfilled or cheated by the text? Does the text conform to the characteristics of the genre, or does it treat them playfully or ironically?

These films have fulfilled the expectation that the audience sets everytime. Becuase these films are interpretations of books as a result it leads to many of the audiences already knowing what is going to happen in the story. Also I don't believe that many people have ultra high expectations of the James Bond franchise at this point because many people know what they are going to get in a James Bond film.

• Does the text feature a star, a director, a writer etc who is strongly associated with the genre? What meanings and associations do they have?

Well at the time Daniel Craig wasn't really doing much acting at the time he might have done a film a year but it would but they wouldn't be anything close to the James Bond franchise. James Bond has made him the star he is today.

Media Institutions 

• What is the institutional source of the text?

Eon Productions

• In what ways has the text been influenced or shaped by the institution which produced it?

It's the opposite to be honest the James Bond films have been produced by the same company for over 50 years now so I believe that institutions hasn't had a massive effect on the films itself.

• Is the source a public service or commercial institution? What difference does this make to the text?

Well the source material was from Ian Fleming's famous James Bond book series and in the present day you see the marvel franchise and how their comics are being turned into movies and how successful they have become and James Bond set the trend for that 50 years in the past.

• Who owns and controls the institution concerned and does this matter?

It's has a small factor with Eon Productions being owns by Albert Broccoli who is the father of the producer of the James Bond franchise Barbara Broccoli but she has been producing the James Bond franchise for over 20 years and kinda saved the franchise because the film quality went down and the sales were in decline as well but overall the influence has been positive.

• How has the text been distributed?

Main stream cinema

Media Values and Ideology 

• What are the major values, ideologies and assumptions underpinning the text or naturalised within it?

The ideology of this film taps into males minds when it comes to being number 1, the women, the cars, the lifestyle the ability to do whatever you want without consequence.

Media Audiences 

• What assumptions about the audience’s characteristics are implicit within the text?

Casual everyday males who are fans of action films or the James Bond franchise in general

• What assumptions about the audience are implicit in the text’s scheduling or positioning?

These films would come out every 3 to 4 years and they are normally shown in the winter months as well.

• In what conditions is the audience likely to receive the text? Does this impact upon the formal characteristics of the text?

Nothing changes. The franchise has brain washed people into thinking everything in this film is perfect even if what they are watching is a load of sexist action scenes.

• What do you know or can you assume about the likely size and constituency of the audience?

Billions

• What are the probable and possible audience readings of the text? G

People from all ages and genders would be interested in watching this film because it's a massive franchise that billions of people around the world are aware of.

• What are the audience pleasures, uses or gratifications?  (Refer to theory).

Propps
Todorov
Personal Identity
Diversion
Mulvey

• How do you, as an audience member, read and evaluate the text? To what extent is your reading and evaluation influenced by your age, gender, background etc?

Before I did a ton of research on the James Bond franchise I believe that the franchise was a bit of harmless fun sure it might be very unrealistic but it was harmless however other researching this franchise I believe that as long as people don't care about how sexist the James Bond character is the franchise will stay strong but I have lost respect for Ian Fleming and the franchise as a hole.