Why People Might Like Jimmy

            In my original structure, I said this about my Fiction Reading, Writing, and Thinking posts:

When I have the time, I will combine all of the above labels in a post that analyzes a piece of text discussing its construction, audience, and biblical merits.

            I’m broadening these posts slightly. In addition to analyzing fiction text, I’ll also analyze movies, or possibly make an attempt at writing what is known in academia as creative writing. That is, flash fiction, a short story, or (possibly) a blog novel. As always, feel free to drop a comment with a suggestion of how I’m doing.

            For my first Fiction Reading Writing, and Thinking piece, I’d like to do a character analysis on a person almost everyone in America is familiar with, or at least has heard about.

Some Thoughts About James Bond

Source: Google Images

        If you are a part of one quarter of the contemporary world's population, you've probably either seen or heard of some James Bond movie. Particularly in the United States, the combined box office returns for all the Bond films amounted to around five billion dollars, making it slightly less successful than the Harry Potter series. The James Bond franchise will be enjoying its fiftieth anniversary this year with its sixth James Bond (Daniel Craig). For those interested, the other Bond actors were Sean Connory, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan.

        I, having a fairly imaginative childhood, was no exception to the espionage craze. I wanted to be a secret agent when I was eight, I played spy when I was ten, and I saw Goldfinger when I was twelve years old (for those who may not know, Goldfinger has been described as actor Sean Connory's most popular Bond portrayal). I enjoyed the movie (though I was scared that Oddjob would pop out of my closet at any time), though I don't recall ever asking myself what it was about Bond that I found so appealing.

        When my older brother let me watch Daniel Craig in Casino Royale (covering up the less than flattering scenes, of course), at the age of fifteen, I finally began wondering what it is about Bond that I liked so much. At the time, I thought my fascination came from the excitement and action that ran rampant around Montenegro.

         Now that I'm in college and have taken some classes on how to spend your evenings rereading and making strange connections with novels and poems (also known as Literary Analysis), I took another look at the ever popular British spy in an attempt to find out what it was about him that so many people found appealing. After all, when you get down to it, much of Bond's work involves his use of his "license to kill," and modern audiences seem to have a growing displeasure watching death on the screen.

        So what makes Bond different than your average government killer? I've identified five possible traits that would connect him with modern audiences.

His Dedication to Duty

        Due to Bond's shadier side, I have tried to limit my knowledge of the spy. However, one trait I noticed in the movies I saw was that if his collar bone was broken, he was removed from the mission, or reassigned, he'd still do what he could to finish the mission. To Bond, the mission is his job, and nothing will stop him from getting it done.

His Self-Preservation

       In Goldfinger, there is this scene where an assassin sneaks up on James from behind with a knife poised to kill. Bond only survives because he sees the killer's reflection in the eyes of the girl he is kissing and is able to take him out. Even though Bond places the priority on the mission, he makes sure that his safety is in close pursuit. Whether keeping himself alive and well for the next mission means kicking the doctor off a cliff or hiding behind a moving rack of explosives, Bond knows precisely what to do to avoid extermination.

        As a side note, since watching Casino Royale, I'm beginning to think this trait is changing. There is a scene where the evil terrorist banker poisons Bond, who stumbles dying into his car to admit the medicine needed to save himself. He collapses before he can administer it, but the treasury representative revives him with it, and James does not seem to mind that a girl saved him. This could possibly reflect the cultural shift away from the classical hero saves the girl theme, but as long as Bond dies another day, everything is okay.

His Amazing Control of the Situation

        Granted, in many films Bond is captured or betrayed. However, one of the things I noticed about Bond is that you can always depend on him to get through a situation without losing his head. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he had the whole situation under his grip. For example, even after Goldfinger had Bond in prison, his calculating mind was at work formulating an escape. As is usually the case, it worked brilliantly. 

       Another trait that follows this well is Bond's amazing ability to get the situation back into his hands after losing it. In the Casino Royale construction yard chase scene, he demonstrates this by coming up with sixteen different ways of chasing the athletic bomb-maker who has the obvious head start.

His Quick Decisions

       Although Bond kills remorselessly, I think it's enviable how once he decides to act, he'll act without hesitating. Do you remember a time when you said or did something, only to regret doing it later? Bond never seems to have this issue, because he knows that whatever it was he did, it was either the right choice, or something that he should and can fix. In the poker scene in Casino Royale, despite losing and possibly financing terrorism, Bond quickly decides to take action. Granted, it was a better decision to help the CIA agent, but he still rose to the occasion to meet the banker for a second round. Espionage fans all around the US admire the man who meets his failures instead of moping about them.

His Wit

        James Bond is known for his confidence, his way with women, and his talent for turning a phrase. In particular, Bond is known for the somewhat coincidental one-liners he give upon killing an assassin. For example, in Dr. No, upon knocking a car full of killers off the side of a cliff, Bond remarks to a passerby; "I think they were on their way to a funeral." Like the hard-boiled detectives, no one alive will ever catch Bond speechless, nor will Bond ever find himself at a loss for conversation topics. At some point or another, most of us normal people will find ourselves in that social situation where an awkward pause hovers over the conversation and everyone involved will wonder who's going to talk next. I don't believe Bond will ever have this problem.


       In closing, Bond has all the makings of a top-notch secret agent, yet a particular human side as well. He has motivations (completing the mission), fears (his life), and desires to be recognized for what he knows (probably why such a cold man would be so witty). Perhaps these things make him so identifiable with our contemporary audiences.




      If not, then this is why . . .

   

       Even if you've no idea who James Bond is, you've probably heard this line before.






*Inspiration and some source work from this article. Parental approval may be required.