A Female Touch in the Characterization of James Bond

007 shaken ánd stirred: A female touch in the characterization of James Bond. Lisa de Gelder – 10419640 Supervisor: dhr. dr. F.A.M. (Erik) Laeven Second reader: mw. dr. M.C. (Maryn) Wilkinson Master Film studies Faculty of Humanities University of Amsterdam Abstract James Bond is a well-known character in Hollywood cinema. His character symbolizes a hero to look up to and in this way Bond functions as an example of a ‘perfect’ man. An important aspect of the James Bond films is the character of the ‘Bond girl’. Although the Bond girl is mostly seen as an object of desire and a toy for Bond, this research shows the importance of this character. This research investigates how the female characters in the Bond films influence the characterization of James Bond. Four types of female characters playing a role in the Bond films are analyzed with respect to their interaction with James Bond. These characters are M, Moneypenny, the Bond girl and the Villain girl. Each role is analyzed individually through film analysis. It will become clear which role these women play in the constellation of Bond’s character. This research investigates how the character of Bond has changed through the relationship with different female characters. This research also investigates how these relationships changed over time and what impact time has on the development of the different characters. This research demonstrates the connection between the female characters in the film and how together they contribute to the characterization of James Bond. It becomes clear that these female characters are not just objects of desire or toys for Bond to play with, but that these female characters actually are essential characters in the Bond films. This research proves that actually Bond can only become a hero due to his interaction with the female characters in the James Bond films. Table of content Page Preface 2 Introduction 3-5 Theoretical framework 6-12 Chapter 1: M 13-19 Chapter 2: Moneypenny 20-26 Chapter 3: Bond Girl 27-35 Chapter 4: Villain Girl 36-44 Chapter 5: James Bond 45-50 Conclusion 51-53 Bibliography 54-55 Filmography 56 1 Preface Throughout my bachelor Media and Culture and my master Film studies at the University of Amsterdam I was always interested in the difference between male and female character representation in cinema. Men are mostly seen as the hero, while women are just there to be looked at. I thought about to what kind of films this applies and the James Bond films were the first that crossed my mind. The way Bond is always the hero of the story and the Bond girl is mostly an object of desire was something that interested me. I wanted to research more about how these women were represented next to James Bond and what their characters meant for the story. That is why the initial plan was to focus on Bond films from different decades and to analyze how the Bond girls were represented in those films. At the end I was hoping to see the Bond girl developing from a woman that is shown ‘just to be desired’ to a more independent and ‘real’ woman. While working on this topic I came across another thesis on the Bond girl written at the University of Amsterdam. This research showed three different stages of the Bond girl developing her from a repressive woman into a powerful woman who can make her own decisions. While the focus of my research was already covered, I had to think about how I could elaborate from here. I still wanted to do research on women in the James Bond films, but I changed the focus to the character of James Bond himself. I placed Bond in the middle of my research and start to analyze how the women interact with him and how this interaction contributes to the characterization of James Bond. This turned out to be the main focus of my master thesis. 2 Introduction It can be said that the character of James Bond has been ‘shaken ánd stirred’ over the past seven decades. The Bond franchise has never been so popular and there are speculations going on about who is going to be ‘the new’ James Bond. Over the years the character of Bond has developed into a hero who is loved by the public and recognized by his manners. But the Bond franchise has not remained the same. James Bond has been shaken and stirred into different characters played by different actors and trying to fit into the different zeitgeist of each decade. Although the stories remained practically the same, the character of Bond adapted into something that fits the time and causes the ongoing success of the franchise. In 1953 Ian Fleming introduced the Bond character. In the beginning Fleming wanted Bond to be an “extremely dull, uninteresting man to whom things happened” (Caplen 21). Fleming never intended Bond to become so big and successful. He created a character that looked a lot like himself and he never intended to make Bond so big and successful. People described Fleming as: “the sort of man to feel that a too- restricted life was not worth living” (29). This can also be said about the life of James Bond, which is also never ordinary. The way Fleming interacted with women is also comparable to James Bond; “One particular facet of Fleming’s lifestyle was a notorious reputation for playboy tendencies and an accompanying attitude toward women that allegedly verged upon abuse” (28). Women were a big part of Fleming’s life and the same applies to James Bond. When Fleming died in 1964, thirty million copies of his books had been sold and two years later this doubled to 60 million (Jenkins 309). Fleming wrote twelve novels about the Bond character and in 1962 the first film Dr. No was released and this was also a big success. The Bond films have been the longest running successful franchise in Hollywood. In 50 years 26 films were made about the adventures of Bond. Over the years six different actors played the character of Bond and although these different actors play Bond, his character will always be the same and he is someone that the viewer will recognize immediately, regardless of his appearance. Bond has something that makes him Bond. Not only does he have a ‘License to kill’ but he can also get every woman he wants. Among men, Bond can be seen as a hero because he has everything, a gun, a car and a pretty lady. Among women, Bond can be seen as an attractive man who will take care of his lady. In both these cases Bond is a character that every viewer can love and that is probably what makes the Bond films so popular. 3 While watching these films you notice that the viewer is watching a Bond film. Bond has his typical ways of dealing with M, defeating the enemy and of course rescuing the girl. Umberto Eco wrote a chapter about the narrative structure of Fleming’s novels and stated: “The reader’s pleasure consists of finding himself immersed in a game of which he knows the pieces and the rules – and perhaps the outcome – drawing pleasure simply from the minimal variations by which the victor realizes his objective” (Eco quoted by Chapman 5). He noticed that the Bond stories always have the same ‘prearranged scheme’, which he defines as follows (Eco 161): A M moves and gives a task to Bond. B Villain moves and appears to Bond. C Bond moves and gives a first check to Villain or Villain gives first check to Bond. D Woman moves and shows herself to Bond. E Bond takes Woman. F Villain captures Bond. G Villain tortures Bond. H Bond beats Villain. I Bond, convalescing, enjoys Woman, whom he then loses. In this scheme it can be noticed that an important part of the James Bond stories is his interaction with different women. Bond’s character is known as the ‘womanizer’, and this is something that makes him recognizable for his audience. Tony Garland describes this as follows: “By enabling Bond’s mission, the seduction of women performs a narrative function that not only drives the plot but also reinforces the expected conventions of a Bond film and asserts Bond’s role as an action hero” (Garland 180). The question arises in which extent women play a role in Bond’s life and what this means for the development of his character. The fact that, according to Eco’s scheme, women are so important for the James Bond stories shows that it is not only Bond who makes the story. The way Bond interacts with women can tell a lot about the way Bond’s character is built. This thesis will show how Bond’s character is built around his interaction with different women throughout the films. That is why four different women will be introduced and analyzed according to the relationship they have with James Bond. These four women are M, Moneypenny, the Bond girl and the Villain girl. All these women have 4 a different relationship with Bond. As a consequence they all contribute to a different piece of Bond’s character. Bond is the center point of this research. This research will show how the four women contribute to the characterization of Bond. They are all in a way connected to different pieces of Bond’s character through their way of interacting with him. Analyzing these different relationships will give a clear insight in Bond’s character and also in the way this character has developed throughout the years.

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