Do recent additions to the James Bond franchise such as 'Skyfall' reflect changing representations of women in film?
Angle
E.g.: What impact are these increasingly violent games having on their audience? Is this simply a moral panic of the 21st century or is further regulation required?
Hypothesis
With recent addition to the James Bond franchise with Skyfall, Ian Fleming's James Bond hasn't changed with the times when it comes to society and post modern views.
Linked production piece
I think I am going to do a documentary because I think that a documentary is going to highlight all the downsides that the James Bond character has and I don't think any other production will get the same effect that a documentary will provide.
MIGRAIN
Mise-en-scene
Ethics
Stereotypes
Sexual Pleasures (Mulvey)
Propps / Todorov
SHEP
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
Issues/Debates
Select at least five and say how each relates to your study, using the Media A-Z to help you think about this:
- Representation and stereotyping
- Media effects
- News Values
- Moral Panics
- Ownership and control
- Regulation and censorship
- Media technology and the digital revolution – changing technologies in the 21st century
- The effect of globalisation on the media
Theories
Select at least five and say how each relates to your study, using keywords/specific theorists' names from the Media A-Z:
- Propp's Theory (Character Roles)
Propps relates to my study due to the series argument that the James Bond stories follow a specific structure when it comes to characters. Normally with James Bond and it's characters follow a specific set of characteristics that Propp's Theory follows for example: James Bond is the generic hero, every James Bond film has the generic villain and every James Bond film has a damsel in distress.
- Todorov's Theory (Equilibrium)
The structure of a James Bond film hasn't really change from Todorov's Theory of Equilibrium. It starts with the peace and everyone is happy, then a country or a man causes trouble by having a doomsday machine or missiles or even nukes that disrupt the equilibrium and it's up to James Bond to save the day once again to create a new equilibrium.
- Uses and Gratification
Uses and Gratification is going to be a key part of my study because I believe it's a key part in how James Bond has survived for over 50 years and has caused no mainstream drama when it comes to it's films. With Uses and Gratification Personal Identification and Personal Relationships and Diversion are going to be the key parts of this argument because I believe that people love James Bond because people aspire to become him. The guy that lives life to the maximum and drives the fast cars and sleeps with anyone he pleases.
- Mulvey (Male Gaze)
Male Gaze has always been a key part in the James Bond franchise with the Bond Girl coming out of the water dripping wet while the audience is distracted by her and people don't realise that we have been objectifying women for over 50 years now and the Male Gaze is going to be a key part when I talk about Bond Girls and how we ignore the modern views of today's society when a James Bond film comes on.
- Two-Step Flow Theory
Research plan (media texts, academic texts and websites)
Media texts
Skyfall
Other media texts
Jurassic World
Avengers Age of Ultron
Everything or Nothing; The Untold Story of James Bond
TV documentaries
Everything or Nothing; The Untold Story of James Bond
Bond and Beyond by Tony Bennett and Woolacott in 1987
Licences to Thrill by James Chapman in 2007
The Politics of James Bond by Jeremy Black in 2005
Ian Fleming and James Bond: The Cultural Politics of 007 by
Internet Links
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/nov/04/carole-cadwalladr-james-bond-sexism-bbc
This article is all about how James Bond has stayed misogynistic throughout the years on the big screen
http://www.theguardian.com/film/the-womens-blog-with-jane-martinson/2012/oct/30/skyfall-less-sexist-bond-film
Skyfall is being presented as a less sexist film due to how Judi Dench is potrayed in this film as a serious accomplice to James Bond.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/may/10/james-bond-eleanor-matsuura-female-007
This article is all about how James Bond has transcended time as a character due to the old school fun he provides with old school values and ideologies.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/james-bond-is-a-very-lonely-sexist-misogynist-says-daniel-craig-10480576.html
Daniel Craig has also displayed his disgust for the famous character saying "he's very fucking lonely" and he admited that the previous incarnations of the James Bond character were very misogynistic and sexist.
http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-09-27/author-anthony-horowitz-says-the-sexism-in-his-new-bond-novel-trigger-mortis-was-edited-out-by-his-wife
Anthony Mortis is the current author of the James Bond films and his wife had the same reaction to Ian Fleming's wife 60 years later with disgust with the way the females are being portrayed
2. At least FIVE from university websites/academic papers online. Use Google Scholar as a starting point.
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-009-9644-2
http://www.asu.edu/courses/fms504/total-readings/mulvey-visualpleasure.pdf
http://www.ub.edu/web/ub/en/menu_eines/noticies/2011/Entrevistes/Celia_Romea.html
