James Bond Essay

The Bond franchise over the years has solidified the background and characteristics of James Bond. Since his inception, the secret agent has been depicted as a white man who has a talent for killing people, and dominating women. It’s hard to separate these defining characteristics from the Bond we’ve grown to know over the years. Recently however, there has been speculation that Bond may be undergoing major part to his identity.
There is some speculation that the next Bond may be casted as a Black actor or a female actress. This comes as a surprise to some fans of the series, as the dominant narrative of James Bond has always been that he is a white man. Some people believe the time has come to update Bond, while others refuse to see Bond other than what we’ve known for him to be. Although there is merit and an appeal to having Bond potentially step outside of the dominant identity, this drastic shift could potentially hurt the franchise.

The character James Bond is written to be an elite, experienced agent with an upper hand because of his social status. His background and social privilege allow him to be portrayed with the dominance he exhibits in the movies. The franchise relies too much on Bond’s social status that if it were to change, the franchise would be endanger of losing the legacy it’s built over the last 50 years. I don’t expect Eon Productions to jeopardize this. At this time, the world is not ready for a Black James Bond, or a woman James Bond. The change of Bond to either colored or woman is too drastic of a shift from his dominant narrative. Having Bond “be anything but Bond” erases the history that Bond has accumulated over the years. Simply put, Bond is meant to be a white, socially privileged