A Queer Analysis of the James Bond Canon
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MALE BONDING: A QUEER ANALYSIS OF THE JAMES BOND CANON by Grant C. Hester A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL May 2019 Copyright 2019 by Grant C. Hester ii MALE BONDING: A QUEER ANALYSIS OF THE JAMES BOND CANON by Grant C. Hester This dissertation was prepared under the direction of the candidate's dissertation advisor, Dr. Jane Caputi, Center for Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Communication, and Multimedia and has been approved by the members of his supervisory committee. It was submitted to the faculty of the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters and was accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Khaled Sobhan, Ph.D. Interim Dean, Graduate College iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Jane Caputi for guiding me through this process. She was truly there from this paper’s incubation as it was in her Sex, Violence, and Hollywood class where the idea that James Bond could be repressing his homosexuality first revealed itself to me. She encouraged the exploration and was an unbelievable sounding board every step to fruition. Stephen Charbonneau has also been an invaluable resource. Frankly, he changed the way I look at film. His door has always been open and he has given honest feedback and good advice. Oliver Buckton possesses a knowledge of James Bond that is unparalleled. I marvel at how he retains such information. I am eternally grateful that he agreed to not only serve on my committee, but also let me sit in on classes he was teaching, and encouraged me to participate in conferences where my ideas could be heard. Additionally, I need to acknowledge the faculty and staff of the Dorothy F. Schmidt college of Arts and Letters. They have made my time there as a student sheer joy. In particular, Michael Horswell and Adam Bradford who could always be counted on for sound advice. Also, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the crew from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, TX. Dr. Ravi Srinivas always pointed me in the right direction and told me not to overthink things. Dr. James Barloon always pushed me when I needed it and then cut me slack when I needed that too. And I will forever be envious of Dr. iv Clinton Brand’s passionate ability to read Shakespeare with an accent and spark that passion in his students. Finally, Dr. Bernard Bonario simply taught me everything I know about art—and this paper proves you never know when you need to know about a Renaissance painting. v ABSTRACT Author: Grant C. Hester Title: Male Bonding: A Queer Analysis of the James Bond Canon Institution: Florida Atlantic University Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Jane Caputi Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Year: 2019 The character of James Bond which was first introduced in Ian Fleming’s first novel Casino Royale in 1953 and was then featured in 11 subsequent novels, 2 volumes of short stories, and 24 film adaptations has long been considered to be the ultimate man’s man. There is no feat he cannot conquer, villain he cannot best, or lady he cannot bed. However, in an examination of both the novels and the film, clues exist to Bond’s deeper psyche—most notably his repressed homosexuality. While much discussion has been had of Bond’s misogyny, in many ways it masks his true identity possibly even from himself. Utilizing a framework of theoretical analysis drawing upon Sigmund Freud, Jack Hallberstam, Judith Butler, Susan Sontag, Laura Mulvey, and Charles Klosterman (among many others), this dissertation will fully explore the character Fleming created. Additionally, by examining how the male gaze and camp elements have been utilized by the filmmakers in the Bond films, analysis will be conducted how those elements contribute to a “queerness” of the character’s film incarnations vi DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my late husband, Steven Weingarten who passed away rather suddenly between the submission of this dissertation to my committee and its defense. He not only put up with my years of repeating the cycle of deadline, procrastination, panic, and writing, he was completely supportive of the entire process. When I told him I wanted to change careers, his only response was simply, “Go for it.” I wish everyone to have such support in their lives. His memory will be an eternal comfort for me. Additionally, it is dedicated to my mother, Norma Hester, and my late father, Willis Hester. They always encouraged me to read what I wanted to read and watch what I wanted to watch. It sparked a curiosity which I still have. In my mind, there is no better gift that parents can give a child. MALE BONDING: A QUEER ANALYSIS OF THE JAMES BOND CANON List Of Figures ............................................................................................................... ix A Man’s Man: An Introduction to Queer Analysis of Bond ......................................... 1 Performing Bond: How Hypermasculinity Masks Repressed Homosexuality in the James Bond Canon ............................................................................................ 20 Camp Bonding: An Analysis of Camp Elements in the James Bond Film Series....... 56 Gazing at James Bond: The Subversion of Mulvey’s Male Gaze ............................... 80 The Enemy Within: An Examination of James Bond and How His Adversaries Reflect His Own Psyche ......................................................................................... 99 The Bond Among Men: Misogyny, Desire, and Death ............................................. 118 References ................................................................................................................... 130 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Daniel Craig’s Bond being tortured by Le Chiffre in Casino Royale ............... 49 Figure 2 Halle Berry as “Jinx Johnson” in Die Another Day .......................................... 64 Figure 3 The militaristic Famke Janssen as Xenia Onatopp. ........................................... 65 Figure 4 Xenia Onatopp killing the Admiral with her thighs during intercourse. ........... 65 Figure 5 May Day (Grace Jones) in the obligatory Bond seduction scene. ..................... 67 Figure 6 “The Bondola” in front the Doge’s Palace in Venice. ....................................... 77 Figure 7 Side by Side comparisons of Daniel Craig and Ursula Andress emerging from the sea. ................................................................................................................ 87 Figure 8 Sean Connery’s Bond in the infamous laser scene. ........................................... 93 ix A MAN’S MAN: AN INTRODUCTION TO QUEER ANALYSIS OF BOND “This is my big beef with, for example, James Bond. You have a license to kill. You have the fastest car in the world. Every girl wants to go to bed with you. How about a smile? How about a little smile once in a while? What's all the internal strife?” --Jerry Seinfeld1 In the 2012 film Skyfall, James Bond, the ever-resurrected British superspy first created in Ian Fleming’s 1953 novel Casino Royale, casually alludes while held captive by erstwhile spy turned villain Raoul Silva that the possibility exists Bond has been with another man intimately. While much chatter and discussion has been generated about the scene by critics, little research beyond mentioning the exchange has been completed. Yes, Bond mentions he might have been with another man.2 However, was it simply to throw Silva off his game? Was it a confession? Was it merely homoerotic overtones in an effort to pull in more, perhaps gay, viewers during a time of increased pressure to draw viewers to a film with a budget inching towards $200 million? The answer does not seem simple or apparent. As a cynic, I tend to believe the first and third options; yet, as a gay critic the confessional aspect of the exchange certainly seems worthy of further exploration. Said exploration, though, proves complicated. The character of James Bond is one that has now spanned almost 70 years. First serialized by Ian Fleming in the novels, 1 Bond has outlived that iteration and has thus outlived Fleming in the film franchise for over 50 years. Simply, there are many interpretations of the original character as depicted in the novel. Screenwriters have taken liberty with Fleming’s novels and in many ways changed the character— for example, his famous contraptions used to conquer his adversaries in the earlier films now seem tame compared to today’s ubiquitous smartphone where practically anyone can be located merely by its GPS tracking system. Judith Roof explains that Bond has never been a singular or linear character, but instead has “always and ever increasingly been a moving collection of projections, defenses, and compensations coexisting through time, portrayed through a same-yet-always-different version of the solitary, inventive hero who is licensed to break the law in order to enforce a higher law and greater good.”3 Fleming’s version of the character in the novels themselves, though, must remain central to any serious analysis. As a result, the question presents itself: did Fleming create a character in James Bond who appears on the queer spectrum?4 While certain issues pertaining to acceptable social norms exist in applying today’s standards to works written six decades ago5, I would argue that Fleming did create such a character—a character who has been continually interpreted as queer in the Bond film series. As such, a literary review of Bond in general proves difficult. It is certainly easier to compare the novels (written and published over a span of 14 years from 1952-66) to novels of contemporary writers as well as writers prior and after. However, as will be demonstrated later, from a queer perspective, the field certainly narrows to the relatively few “queer” novels that have achieved any type of commercial success or notoriety from the era. On the other hand, the films literally span the last 65 years of cinema making 2 their placement in any sort of canon practically impossible.