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Journalism of Courage
Upon hearing the word “spy”, there is a good chance that you will visualise a slick, suited man, suave with women and deadly against his foes, with a few gadgets up his sleeve, and the keys to a jacked-up Aston Martin. That James Bond is the archetypal espionage agent despite having little resemblance to most real-life spies, shows just how influential the character has been.
Sixty-two years after the premiere of Dr. No, the film which introduced Agent 007 to the world, here is a look at the enduring legacy of James Bond.
The character of James Bond was created by English writer Ian Fleming. Bond was inspired by a number of individuals Fleming met during his time in the Naval Intelligence Division, and the 30 Assault Unit, an elite British commando unit, during World War II. “Bond was a compound of all the secret agents and commando types I met during the War,” Fleming had once remarked.
Fleming wrote a total of 12 spy novels and two short stories with Bond as a protagonist, with Casino Royale (1953) being the first. Over time, he also incorporated many of his own personality traits and idiosyncrasies — his preference for a particular brand of toiletries, for instance — into Bond. After Fleming’s death in 1964, the likes of Kingsley Amis, Christopher Wood, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks and Jeffery Deaver continued to churn out more Bond stories.
Fleming’s pulpy books were popular in Britain and the US, and American President John F Kennedy once famously said that he was a fan. But it was the movies that made Bond the immortal character he is today.
Sir Sean Connery was the first to play James Bond on the silver screen, in the 1962 film Dr. No. The film established several of the signature tropes that today define Bond films. From Maurice Binder’s mesmerising title sequence and John Barry’s iconic theme music, to exotic locations (much of the action is set in Jamaica), attractive “Bond girls” (Ursula Andress’ bikini sequence literally shot her to global fame), and of course, the megalomaniac supervillain Dr Julius No who wants to ruin the American space programme.
Connery would go on to play Bond for a total of six films. He was followed by George Lazenby (one film), Roger Moore (seven films), Timothy Dalton (two films), Pierce Brosnan (four films), and Daniel Craig (five films). The most recent Bond movie No Time to Die, Craig’s last outing as 007, was released in 2021. A new film is currently in the works, but not much is publicly known about it yet.
And while every Bond film is not good — some are outright unwatchable — the franchise continues to chug on, more than six decades after the first film was released.
Bond was as much a product of Fleming’s experience during WWII as he was of the Cold War, when the shadowy world of espionage became a main arena of battle. Dr No was released merely days before the Cuban Missile Crisis threatened nuclear armageddon. All early Bond films were deeply rooted in Cold War politics, with Bond embodying the genius (although sometimes rogue) individualism of the West, singlehandedly saving the world from the evil of Communism. This was central to the films’ early popularity.
Bond was particularly important for the British. Even as the Sun set over the Empire, here was a (make-believe) MI6 agent who was still saving the world in the name of the Queen and country. For a nation whose glory days (sic) were well behind it, Bond becoming a global hero allowed some to grasp at straws for a little while longer.
At the centre of Bond’s personal appeal was his machismo. Men wanted to be him, while women wanted to be with a man like him. Many Bond films have not aged well in this regard. From the blatant sexualisation of women (including using highly suggestive names for the “Bond girls” such as Pussy Galore and Honey Ryder) to Bond’s promiscuity, these films do not fit well with modern sensibilities. Yet, Bond’s controversial masculinity remains very much a part of his appeal today, especially among those who think films have become too “woke” or “politically correct”.
Another defining feature of Bond films is their setting. In a world before Instagram influencers literally covered the planet, Bond films took audiences to exotic locations around the world, from the islands of the Caribbean to India (Roger Moore-starring Octopussy, 1983). Although these portrayals too can be criticised today, they were nonetheless windows into worlds unknown.
Post the Cold War, Bond films struggled to cope in a world very different from the one in which they were born. Moreover, grittier spy films such as the Matt Damon-starring Bourne Identity (2002) influenced spy films to head down a darker, more reflexive path.
Bond needed a reinvention, and with Daniel Craig, it got one. Long gone were the days of naked British triumphalism, and black-and-white, often cartoonish characters. Craig embodied a Bond who was more relatable than aspirational, whose moral compass inhabited shades of grey. Villains seemingly had a point, and the “good guys” were deeply flawed.
Crucially, these films were reflexive to the extent that they could be seen as meta-commentaries of both the Bond universe, and the world at large. As M, Bond’s boss played by Dame Judi Dench, says in a long monologue in Skyfall (2012): “Today I’ve repeatedly heard how irrelevant my department has become. Why do we need agents? The Double-O section? Isn’t it all rather quaint? … Our enemies are no longer known to us. They do not exist on a map. They’re not nations. They’re individuals… Our world is not more transparent now. It is more opaque.”
Of course, there are still many nostalgic references to the past, exotic locations, and beautiful women (who are undoubtedly better written than their predecessors). But the Daniel Craig movies are fundamentally different both tonally, and in terms of the kind of stories they tell. With Craig now gone, only time will tell if and how Bond films will further evolve.
