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Special Report
A Birthday for Mister Bond
James Bond would not be a happy man today.
“Happy Birthday, Mister Bond.”
Those words, if spoken by the adoring grandees of Hollywood, would convey distinct admiration and nostalgia for fifty years of “Bond, James Bond” since the release of Dr. No in October 1962. Spoken instead with a heavy Central European accent, they could be menacing and signal the presence of archfiend Ernst Stavro Blofeld, leader of the Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion known by the acronym SPECTRE, sometimes seen caressing a white cat, while giving orders and questioning the clandestine operations of his deputies.
As Bond in cinema celebrates his 50th, it is appropriate to ask if a vibrant western democracy should measure itself against Bond, or should it measure Bond against itself? Put another way, should we assess changes in society against the values of Bond, or should we evaluate Bond in the context of contemporary tastes and mores? Each approach yields a profound but radically different conclusion.
Although played by various accomplished actors with unique personas — Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig — the case may be made that Bond is fundamentally a constant, a universal role model for men who aspire to Epicureanism and all things machismo. For decades, Bond has shown us a resplendent tapestry of Savile Row, gaming tables from the Bahamas to Montenegro, Aston Martins, vodka martinis “shaken not stirred,” foie gras, high tech novelties, and the Walther PPK chambered in 7.65 millimeter.
Bond the super spy is cut from the cloth of the command and control system, facing off against a determined SPECTRE that seeks world dominion, and other disturbed and fanatical men such as Auric Goldfinger and Hugo Drax who seek to cause financial Armageddon or wage biological warfare against the Earth. There is no room for self-doubt in Bond’s world of intrigue and paranoia. There are only orders to follow, issued by M, chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service known as MI6. It is a grand, purposeful, and heroic existence, and Bond is the instrument that assures the continuation of Western civilization, with a waning but surviving tradition of the British Empire, at times partnering with the Central Intelligence Agency. And danger is his business. Alas, what could be more noble?
In our current times, however, Bond could be adjudged an unmitigated disaster. His directness of purpose is at odds with a pluralistic and highly matrixed society, where indiscipline, fissiparousness, and nuance can define national character. Today Bond would be Gulliverized by intrusive federal and local regulations that impede both covert and overt operations. There would be few convenient places to smoke a Morland blend of Balkan and Turkish tobacco; Bond might need to excuse himself for a cigarette break a stipulated distance from the ominous MI6 headquarters on the banks of the Thames River. Further, protective lobbies could make it hard to find foie gras, and environmentalists and the need for governments to economize would force Bond to drive a Prius hybrid. Bond’s signature irreverence would provoke inquisitive Human Resources staff members, and he would find himself on the next RIF or reduction in force list, a process used by major corporations to eliminate staff.
The Bond of today would have much less latitude. He would be expected to multitask while festooned with electronic devices, update his Facebook page, tweet stakeholders, and receive robust 360 degree feedback from superiors, colleagues, and subordinates. He would be required to accept criticism and attend off-sites to assess vision and mission statements and to formulate institutional strategy. He would be asked to submit his annual training objectives for self-improvement. He would also be expected to have tofu and herbal tea for lunch, while conversing in a collegial fashion. In an era of global grunge, fastidious sartorial kit from Savile Row could be a career stopper for the modern Bond.
In a sensitive society, where listening skills, PowerPoint charts, and cuddly matrixes are valued more than excellence in implementation, Bond would be deemed a pathological misfit.
About the Author
Frank Schell is a business consultant and former international banking executive. He serves on the Dean’s International Council of the Harris School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago, where he is a lecturer, and on the editorial board of the Chicago-based National Strategy Forum, which focuses on national security issues.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (24) | Leave a comment
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Albert Constantine Jr.| 10.17.12 @ 8:26AM
Ian Fleming’s James Bond actually began the process you describe the day Albert Cubby Broccoli decided to feature the enemy as eccentric individual villains instead of our real Cold War adversary.
Alan Obama Fan Brooks | 10.17.12 @ 4:49PM
"Don't forget the endless 'sensitivity training and orientation' seminars"
Remember the tarantula Bond killed in Dr. No? PETA would sue.
Gr0w1er601| 10.17.12 @ 8:44AM
Don't forget the endless 'sensitivity training and orientation' seminars he'd be required to attend. Ha!
Tailhook '91 was just the beginning...
PolishKnight| 10.17.12 @ 9:29AM
This has already been "done" with the Austin Powers film series although it inaccurately portrayed Bond as a silly hipster. Even though leftists wrote it, Mad Men does a pretty good job of illustrating the contrasts between today's culture and the past. Sure, men were cruder in the workplace in the past but they were MEN and women liked them that way. They held women's doors and dressed formally for the office. The women dressed and acted feminine while simultaneously being less oversensitive than today at the slightest offense.
Regarding twitter and mobile phones: Back then, kids had secret decoder rings and CB's (ok, in the 50's and 70's respectively). The obsession with communication is not new.
C. Vernon Crisler | 10.17.12 @ 9:45AM
Clarence Peterson once said that a Bond film was like sex. Even when it's bad, it's still pretty good. That may be true of the older versions, but the new Bond flicks are ridiculous, more I suppose like same sex couplings: even when it's good, it's still pretty bad.
Seek| 10.17.12 @ 12:37PM
Oh, behave. I'd rank "Goldeneye" (1995), "Die Another Day" (2002) and "Casino Royale" (2006) as among the best Bond ever.
Occam's Tool| 10.17.12 @ 12:38PM
Best Bond theme: no contest---"Live and Let Die."
RCV| 10.17.12 @ 5:30PM
Agreed. McCartney at his best.
PolishKnight| 10.17.12 @ 2:43PM
From Russia with Love felt the most like a genuine "spy" thriller for me.
The best spy films that felt like REAL spy films to me were the "Harry Palmer" series with their realism and portrayal of spies as mere bureaucrats. Caine's character as a geek with glasses was later mocked in the Austin Power series.
percynjpn| 10.17.12 @ 11:15PM
Then you couldn't have ever seen any bond film made before 1975.
CLD| 10.17.12 @ 11:36PM
Ah. Just what this thread was missing: A superflous dig at homosexuals from a good Christian.
Well done, Vern.
Quartermaster| 10.17.12 @ 10:01AM
I watched "Quantum of Solace" with my son awhile back and it turned me off completely to the new version of Bond. CVC has the right of it, they aren't worth watching.
AhiaBoy| 10.17.12 @ 11:15AM
Craig is a good action-adventure actor, but---
he's no Bond.
percynjpn| 10.17.12 @ 11:16PM
Yes, that sums it up nicely.
SimonAb| 10.17.12 @ 10:03AM
I used to like The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Occam's Tool| 10.17.12 @ 12:38PM
The Fleming books are very good, but I like the Quiller novels better. Somehow, referring to one's body as "the organism" (as in, "the organism experienced fear") as one did acts of daring do was incredibly cool.
But the real life Sidney Reilly was even cooler. It's important to realize that James Bond was actually patterned after a nice Jewish Boy. "Trust No One...."
RCV| 10.17.12 @ 6:57PM
Reilly supposedly once attended a German General Staff Meeting during WWI in a German uniform.
Derek Leaberry| 10.17.12 @ 2:27PM
I saw Craig's "Casino Royale" for the first time this summer. Just seeing Judy Dench as M was enough to turn me off of the Bond franchise. If you like the Bond persona, read the books and limit your viewing to the Connery movies along with the sole Lazenby film. Andrew Lycett's biography of Ian Fleming is useful in understanding the imagination behind Bond.
AhiaBoy| 10.18.12 @ 8:16AM
But you have to admit Dench is an accurate reflection of the problems Great Britain, and Bond, are facing today.
Skippy| 10.17.12 @ 3:04PM
From Russia With Love was the second film and the only one prior to Daniel Craig to show Bond as the ruthless cutthroat Fleming imagined.
I tolerated the in-between Bonds, but Craig and the new writers have recreated Bond as the ruthless, brutal killer I came to love when I read the books(all of them, in order).
Skippy| 10.17.12 @ 3:48PM
And no, I don't know what happened to Ruth.
SoulHonky | 10.17.12 @ 6:44PM
I'm assuming the author was discussing society more than the actual movies themselves because Bond has become a blunt force object in the new movies and far more of a killing machine than in the past. (On top of that, the #1 movie in America is another relentless killing machine with a sole purpose in "Taken 2" and Tom Cruise's new franchise "Jack Reacher" is about a fairly ruthless fella. And need I mention "The Expendables"?) In terms of film, I believe we're seeing a reaction to exactly what the author was writing and we're seeing a return to men (and sometimes women) ignoring society and just getting the job done by any means necessary.
Bob K| 10.17.12 @ 7:43PM
Well, Mr. Schell!
Judging from the information given about you in "About The Author" above; it looks like you have mastered all that "multi-tasking" needed for success and you are probably "festooned" with electronic devices I would bet!
You should be more than qualified to identify pathological misfits. It shouldn't be hard to do. Under that criteria laid out in your last 2 paragraphs there should be Billions of them in the world. Don'tcha think?
Prester John| 10.17.12 @ 7:50PM
One of the greatest quotes in movie history from Goldfinger. Strapped to a table 007 is about to be sliced in two by a laser beam:
007, "Do you expect me to talk?"
Goldfinger, "No Mr. Bond. I expect you to die!"
And of course there is Blofeld in You Only Live Twice who, after he dumps the henchwoman who failed to assassinate Bond into the pool full of piranhas, tells Mr. Osato, "Kill Bond....NOW!"