"Waste of a Good Scotch"
Skyfall marks the anniversary of the James Bond franchise marking it as the 23rd instalment in the iconic franchise and marking 50th years of James Bond films and it couldn’t have been celebrated any better with the film winning an Oscar for best original song and it being held as one of the best James Bond films of all time. But behind all of the action, drama and fast cars lays a foundation of outright sexism that hasn’t been properly addressed in the past 50 years of this iconic franchise, ever since Dr No James Bond has hardly evolved as a character since the early 60’s and beyond. Looking at the character in-depth you see a man who only cares about himself and how he doesn’t let anyone else in even if he has slept with 55 women in the past 23 films. But due to this James Bond films following a set structure that mirror’s Propp’s film theory on character stereotypes leads to the James Bond character showing no potential to become a character that in the 21st century. But the iconic Bond girl has become an importance in every James Bond film and despite everyone acting ok with this the way James Bond treats them is beyond belittling. But the question is has James Bond shown any progression since Dr No to now in Skyfall with women.
Historical Context
Swinging 60's
Ian Fleming and his questionable character as a person and his views
The representation of Women in the 1960's
"Ian Fleming hates women and I don't buy into anything to do with that. The Bond films are generally sexist. I don't like anything that descends from a sewer of misogyny." Bidisha, writer of Venetian Masters
"Now, I don't want to be too much of an apologist here; Bond's attitude towards women isfrequently chauvinistic. But it's worth remembering that these novels – at least the ones I'm considering – were written in the early- to mid-1950s, when chauvinism wasn't exactly out of the ordinary." Nick Jones, blog, 2012
Damsel in Distress
Personal Identity
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Dr No
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They sexualised and dumbed down certain parts of the book for the film (Quarrel, Honey Ryder and the theme of the book being changed)
Built the foundation
"“As well as the girls, guns, gadgets we expect from the typical Bond storyline.” Lisa Funnell, For Her Eyes Only
Views and Ideologies of the 1960 are more male dominated in comparison to modern day
Follows Uses and Gratification (Personal Relationship) / (Personal Identity)
James Bond is based on the character of Ian Fleming (Misogynistic)
“Bond's body becomes an object to the gaze in Casino Royale the reverses an objectifying gaze that has focuses solely on women.”
Follows Propp's Theory of Character Structure
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Skyfall
Massive Success (Best James Bond film)
"Skyfall, the latest James Bond film, smashed through the $1 billion mark at the box office tonight as it continued its record-breaking showing in cinemas worldwide." Andrew Hough, Telegraph
Severine (Macguffin) (Very little scenes)
Moneypenny's Decline in rank (Shooting Bond)
Gender Stereotypes
Black Stereotypes
Every women after Skyfall is worse off (M dead, Moneypenny out of the field, Severine dead and Bond's wife abandoned beginning of the film)
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Comparison
The ideologies between the beginning of the James Bond's and the most recent is completely different
Both follow Propp's Character Theory still
"“You’re a sexist, misogynist, dinosaur.” - M, on James Bond, played by Dame Judi Dench, in her first Bond film, Goldeneye."
Moments of progress
“Bond's body becomes an object to the gaze in Casino Royale the reverses an objectifying gaze that has focuses solely on women.”
Vesper's Romance with Bond throughout Casino Royale
Moneypenny portrayed as equal in beginning of Skyfall
"The film had just introduced what had appeared to be a fresh femme fatale, and promptly thrown it all away to use her as a plot device so that Bardem's villain could be introduced. As a casual viewer, this was upsetting. As a feminist, it felt personal. While was still largely able to enjoy the remainder of Skyfall, since then, I've been more wary of the Bond franchise. It might sound naive, but I had never considered that the new Bond films (which mask their misogyny far more stealthily than the older flicks in the franchise) were still treating women like such expendable figures—and now I've become incredibly conscious of it.” - Jade Budowski of Trifecta
But the progress is fake due to longevity of the franchise and how the franchise is too big to take down
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