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The Cultural Commodity of James Bond Blog
In our final lecture we studied and discussed James Bond as a cultural commodity. James Bond was a huge international phenomenon of the 1950’s and 60’s. Prior to becoming a series of hit films, James Bond was introduced as the main protagonist in a fictional novel written by Ian Fleming in 1953. Fleming achieved great success with his bond series by creating a character that provided Britain with a sense of pride and possibilities through the notion of fantasy and escapism for the masses. James Bond encapsulated the era in which it was produced by embracing British society and conforming to its ideals in the form of fashion, music and technology.
Fleming also encouraged a patriotic attitude by creating Bond to be a British icon that society could be proud of at a time of political and social unrest during the cold war and when there was a general awareness that Britain was rapidly losing its title of greatness. The union Jack is a predominant feature in Bond films and a product of popular culture almost as a way of shining humour on the awareness that Britain is not so ‘Great’ anymore. James Bond is also a fantasy in which Britain prevails over America and Russia, the two super powers of the world. Spies were a common occurrence at this time thus Bond’s character proved fitting and provided the ability to relate to society. Bond’s character related to society in various ways particularly by exploring the notion of consumerism, this is demonstrated by Bond’s expensive taste and choice to be accustomed to the finer things in life and is evident in his automobiles, alcoholic beverages, locations and even his female companions. This extravagance attracted the audience who did not have the ability to experience these things for themselves.
The role of women is James bond has been heavily criticised since its creation. Feminists argued that females were degraded as sex symbols and continuously portrayed as the stereotypical damsel in distress branding the series, both novel and film as misogynistic. However this is a questionable perspective as the character of ‘M’ was later introduced to the Bond films in 1995 and gender became one of the central focuses of the film. Other critics of the cult Bond series have argued that Fleming’s character encourages the corruption of consumerism, materialistic attitude and promiscuity into society deeming it unacceptable.
Ultimately James bond can be considered as a window into a certain period of current events in Britain and even the world. It possessed the ability to become a huge cultural phenomenon because it was made available to the working class in terms of the novel itself and its ideologies. All classes, races and genders could relate to his character whether it be through the trials and tribulations of society or through sharing a culture. It is apparent that there has been a role reversal where films are keeping the books alive opposed to how it used to be. This indicates a reflection on society and it is evident from this that we ourselves make cultural production.
By Keisha Miller
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