The phrase "a new kind of Bond girl"
11-11-08, 09:39 PM
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The phrase "a new kind of Bond girl"
Anyone notice that ever since 'GoldenEye' and definitely with 'Tomorrow Never Dies,' that every new "good" Bond girl is touted as "a new kind of Bond girl" who isn't a damsel in distress for Bond to screw, that she can hold her own with Bond, blah blah blah. Yet the track record says otherwise. Is this pandering to be politically correct for PC's sake, or is it to try and entice women to see a film marketed toward men?
Last edited by hitmanjules; 11-11-08 at 10:44 PM. Reason: to correct it
11-11-08, 10:34 PM
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Oh, watch a featurette on the Casino Royale DVD where the chick from The Living Daylights interviews most of the living Bond girls, and every. single. one says they are a "new kind of Bond girl." It was tragically hilarious.
11-11-08, 10:45 PM
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The only Bond girl to really be a new kind of Bond girl is Michelle Yeoh. She's the only one that could've literally kicked ass and didn't have to be sexually heightened, she just was a kickass agent.
11-11-08, 11:53 PM
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Lets be honest, over the years "Bond Girls" have varied from absolutely stunning to "why did they pick her?"
And I'd like to continue my Grace Jone hate by saying she is in the latter category.
Michelle Yeoh was cute when she was younger (mid-1980's) but I've never been overly attracted to her. Her big plus is that she *CAN* kick ass and was/is willing to do Jackie Chan caliber stunts like its nothing.
And I'd like to continue my Grace Jone hate by saying she is in the latter category.
Michelle Yeoh was cute when she was younger (mid-1980's) but I've never been overly attracted to her. Her big plus is that she *CAN* kick ass and was/is willing to do Jackie Chan caliber stunts like its nothing.
11-11-08, 11:54 PM
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11-12-08, 06:07 AM
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I still hate Halle Barry for that whole OMG, A BOND GIRL LEFT BOND! type of shit. Yeah, way to get your girl power...
11-12-08, 10:10 AM
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Eeh, they always come back. Even Berry couldn't quit Bond. It's not really all that different from other films where Bond had to chase women, like say On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
11-12-08, 10:28 AM
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11-12-08, 03:10 PM
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11-12-08, 04:10 PM
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This proclamation lost all credibility with me when Tanya Roberts actually said this about her character for A View to a Kill. A better question would be which Bond girl was ever promoted as being "some bimbo that always gets captured." Whoever that was, we apparently have her to thank for all subsequent women billed as "a new kind of Bond girl."
Last edited by rennervision; 11-12-08 at 05:26 PM.
11-12-08, 04:25 PM
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Don't all Bond Girls fall into one of three general categories?
1.Basic damsel in distress/love interest (Tanya Roberts in A View to a Kill)
2. Girl who is his "equal", i.e. she can fight, she's also a spy, etc. (Michelle Yeoh's Wai Lin, Halle Berry's Jinx)
3. Girl who switches sides... either she starts off as a villain and turns good, or she seems to be on Bond's side but betrays him at some point (Pussy Galore, May Day)
I guess you can count a fourth type in the girls who are destined to be victims (Jill Masterson, Teri Hatcher's character in Tomorrow Never Dies).
1.Basic damsel in distress/love interest (Tanya Roberts in A View to a Kill)
2. Girl who is his "equal", i.e. she can fight, she's also a spy, etc. (Michelle Yeoh's Wai Lin, Halle Berry's Jinx)
3. Girl who switches sides... either she starts off as a villain and turns good, or she seems to be on Bond's side but betrays him at some point (Pussy Galore, May Day)
I guess you can count a fourth type in the girls who are destined to be victims (Jill Masterson, Teri Hatcher's character in Tomorrow Never Dies).
Last edited by DRG; 11-12-08 at 04:33 PM.
11-12-08, 11:23 PM
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11-13-08, 03:55 AM
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Rosa Klebb's looks are not the reason why why its so popular.
and wm lopez has clearly (fortunately) erased all memories of "A View to a Kill" because I'm pretty sure Grace Jones is at the top of the unattractive list.
and wm lopez has clearly (fortunately) erased all memories of "A View to a Kill" because I'm pretty sure Grace Jones is at the top of the unattractive list.
11-13-08, 03:31 PM
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Bond women shake and stir debate 46 years on
Thursday November 13 11:14 AM ET
Another Bond film, another debate about the role of women in the long-running franchise.
In "Quantum of Solace," released in the United States on Friday, Olga Kurylenko's character Camille has been held up as a model female foil for today's 007 -- tough, independent, modern.
She shares the movie poster with James Bond, is on a dangerous mission of her own and, unlike most other leading ladies, does not end up in bed with the fictional secret agent.
Not everyone is impressed, however, with several critics calling for more sex, not less, and fan sites arguing that the majority of Bond women, Camille included, are of little consequence to the plot or popularity of the movies.
Rolling Stone magazine, in its review, called Camille "perhaps the dullest Bond girl ever."
The portrayal of Bond women has been argued over since the 22-film franchise kicked off with "Dr. No" 46 years ago, and descriptions of the characters have ranged from under-dressed fodder for a misogynist masterspy to feminist icons.
When Bond producer Barbara Broccoli recently described as "progressive" some of the early female leads, who had careers and were sexual predators in their own right, Fay Weldon, a writer associated with feminism, was quoted as saying:
"These films were attempts by men to keep women in their place and to ensure they still ironed their shirts."
Samantha Weinberg, author of stories about the life of Bond character Miss Moneypenny, jumped to Broccoli's defense.
"Seduction is a two-way street, and as frequently as not, the Bond women were the hunters and 007 their prey," she wrote in the Daily Mail. "Good on them."
WOMEN OF THEIR TIME?
Ukraine-born Kurylenko believes Camille differs from most earlier Bond women.
"Now the Bond girl has become very different, and mine is very different," said the actress, who turns 29 this week.
"This one had a lot more things involved, much more than the others did," Kurylenko told Reuters in a recent interview. "She's very strong, almost an equal to Bond, very feisty, has her own mission, independent. She's just a strong woman."
Bond aficionados argue that while there has been no steady progression from submissive "eye candy" to assertive, independent characters, Bond women tend to reflect the times in which they appear.
"As times change, so does the approach to how Bond's foils are developed," said Tom Buxton of Bond fan site www.mi6.co.uk.
"Political sensitivities have to be considered whilst pushing boundaries at the same time.
"It wasn't until 1973 that Bond was seen in his first inter-racial relationship. During the 1980s ... when the AIDS epidemic was high on the global agenda, there was a conscious design to tone down Bond's rate of conquests. It took 35 years before the lead Bond girl was Asian."
But for Graham Rye, editor of 007 Magazine and author of "The James Bond Girls," Vesper Lynd, played by Eva Green in Craig's first outing as Bond two years ago, eclipsed Camille's "paper thin" character.
"I think the story of Casino Royale, where Bond falls in love with her (Lynd) and she with him, will appeal to women more than a film where he just has sex three or four times."
He added that for all the talk of Camille's strength and independence, the other leading lady in Quantum of Solace, agent Fields, ends up in bed with Bond with almost unseemly haste.
Thursday November 13 11:14 AM ET
Another Bond film, another debate about the role of women in the long-running franchise.
In "Quantum of Solace," released in the United States on Friday, Olga Kurylenko's character Camille has been held up as a model female foil for today's 007 -- tough, independent, modern.
She shares the movie poster with James Bond, is on a dangerous mission of her own and, unlike most other leading ladies, does not end up in bed with the fictional secret agent.
Not everyone is impressed, however, with several critics calling for more sex, not less, and fan sites arguing that the majority of Bond women, Camille included, are of little consequence to the plot or popularity of the movies.
Rolling Stone magazine, in its review, called Camille "perhaps the dullest Bond girl ever."
The portrayal of Bond women has been argued over since the 22-film franchise kicked off with "Dr. No" 46 years ago, and descriptions of the characters have ranged from under-dressed fodder for a misogynist masterspy to feminist icons.
When Bond producer Barbara Broccoli recently described as "progressive" some of the early female leads, who had careers and were sexual predators in their own right, Fay Weldon, a writer associated with feminism, was quoted as saying:
"These films were attempts by men to keep women in their place and to ensure they still ironed their shirts."
Samantha Weinberg, author of stories about the life of Bond character Miss Moneypenny, jumped to Broccoli's defense.
"Seduction is a two-way street, and as frequently as not, the Bond women were the hunters and 007 their prey," she wrote in the Daily Mail. "Good on them."
WOMEN OF THEIR TIME?
Ukraine-born Kurylenko believes Camille differs from most earlier Bond women.
"Now the Bond girl has become very different, and mine is very different," said the actress, who turns 29 this week.
"This one had a lot more things involved, much more than the others did," Kurylenko told Reuters in a recent interview. "She's very strong, almost an equal to Bond, very feisty, has her own mission, independent. She's just a strong woman."
Bond aficionados argue that while there has been no steady progression from submissive "eye candy" to assertive, independent characters, Bond women tend to reflect the times in which they appear.
"As times change, so does the approach to how Bond's foils are developed," said Tom Buxton of Bond fan site www.mi6.co.uk.
"Political sensitivities have to be considered whilst pushing boundaries at the same time.
"It wasn't until 1973 that Bond was seen in his first inter-racial relationship. During the 1980s ... when the AIDS epidemic was high on the global agenda, there was a conscious design to tone down Bond's rate of conquests. It took 35 years before the lead Bond girl was Asian."
But for Graham Rye, editor of 007 Magazine and author of "The James Bond Girls," Vesper Lynd, played by Eva Green in Craig's first outing as Bond two years ago, eclipsed Camille's "paper thin" character.
"I think the story of Casino Royale, where Bond falls in love with her (Lynd) and she with him, will appeal to women more than a film where he just has sex three or four times."
He added that for all the talk of Camille's strength and independence, the other leading lady in Quantum of Solace, agent Fields, ends up in bed with Bond with almost unseemly haste.
11-13-08, 03:55 PM
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Ok...let's get it straight. Michelle Yeoh could beat the fuck out of any and all of the Bond girls. Plus she's a pretty lady. Halle Berry's Jinx could never fight believably, and she had crappy lines to boot. Out of all the Bond girls, while she may not be the best of them character wise...she's the only one that realistically topped Bond in almost every aspect if not all. She's the most different solely based on that. She didn't have to show off like any of the "independent" or the ones that could "handle" themselves in danger. She just was that good.
Last edited by Solid Snake; 11-13-08 at 04:01 PM.
