How have the James Bond films reflected the changing roles of women in society Essay Example

woman is portrayed to be weak and totally reliant upon the hero it can give cause for complaint and is, nowadays, unrealistic.But romance is still very popular, especially in films and very few high concept films are without it. It is very appealing to the audience and the hero saving and getting the girl is still romantic and does not have the same effect if it is the other way around. No James Bond film is without a love interest and is now a trademark of the genre that is Bond films.

Without it the audience would be left disappointed. The trend of beautiful women was used from the very beginning in the first Bond film 'Doctor No' which was made in 1963.The sexuality of women was very much exploited and used to the film's advantage. At this time in society women were permitted to show off their sexuality and to be confident was encouraged. The first Bond Girl to be seen in a Bond film was Eunice Gayson who played Sylvia Trench who was very much an independent, confident and sexual woman.

She first met Bond in a casino. She is the only woman at a card table full of men and looks outstanding in a knee-length, red dress with no strap on one shoulder. She appears sophisticated yet seductive which is true of most Bond Girls.She is also very bold and self-assured. When Bond returns to his room he finds Trench there wearing only a white shirt which is Bond's, a pair of high-heels and a lot of red lipstick.

She is playful and confidently goes up to him and kisses him. This

shows her being in charge and not being dominated by Bond. However Bond's attitude towards women can tell a lot about their portrayal. He is not smitten by her. He merely sees her as some 'fun' before he leaves on his mission.

In the next film 'To Russia With Love' she appears again at the start with Bond.When he is called away on a mission she tries to protest by trying to take the phone. Bond slaps her hand away and tells her to behave which is quite insulting. It shows he has little respect for her and only seems to see her as something to pass the time with.

This does not give a positive reflection on women like Trench. Although she gets Bond she does not earn his respect. The film suggests that in society it is acceptable to be like Trench but a man's respect will not be earned. One of the most famous Bond Girls is Ursula Andress who played Honey Rider and had the main role in Doctor No.

She showed a contrast to Trench, as she was much more innocent. She is also in some ways portrayed as being strong. When she is first introduced she is seen coming out of the sea in a bikini with a dagger in her belt which shows that she is willing to protect herself. She has confidence in herself physically and makes it clear that she is not to be messed with. When Bond first sees her he looks her up and down as if he is admiring her as a sexual object.

But when he sees that she is unlikely to instantly

give into his charms he shows more respect towards her.He does also seem to see her as childish though as she was on the island to collect shells, which seems to appear to him as futile. He feels protective over her though and when a boat approaches he grabs her wrist and runs with her to hide. Rider's character did not receive any formal education but has knowledge of wildlife and the island. This shows that she is intelligent and capable but appears nai?? ve when it comes to danger. She doesn't always keep her head ducked and believes in the island myth of a dragon.

She is also shocked and disgusted when she sees Bond kill a man.She is shown to be very innocent and vulnerable which is intended to give Bond a need to be protective over her. He is always shown to be the cool one whereas she often looks dishevelled and wary of her surroundings. She is scared and not used to such situations. This increases Bond protectiveness over her.

He will not let her fight and holds her when she is scared. When a guard hits her he defends her, as her attempts at protecting herself are only feeble. This reflects how women were regarded as weak, incapable of defending themselves and needing a man to protect them.Her character is more likeable than Trench's, which is showing the audience what type of women will come out on top.

The sexy, bold Trench is left behind whilst Rider clearly is preferred and respected more by Bond. She appears friendlier than Trench and a genuine person. This is reflecting society's preference to

which type of character is preferred. Women like Trench were seen as too brazen to be respected. Also in the film is Zena Marshall who plays Miss Taro, a member of the enemy side who seduces Bond.

The secondary Bond Girls are all made to seem like losers, as they are more provocative.Miss Taro is very similar to Trench and Bond shows obvious disrespect to them both. Rider gets Bond in the end and her character is very different to that of Trench and Miss Taro in that she is not driven by sex. It seems that there is a hidden message in the film about the way that a woman should be.

Women were still expected to be chaste and innocent. This particular film is set before the Women's Liberation Movement of the 1960s got into full swing. This message does not, however, stretch to Miss Moneypenny. She is a character who appears in all the films as M's secretary.She and Bond flirt with each other but he only teases her and will never concede to her wishes to go out with him.

He merely encourages her because he enjoys the flattery. Moneypenny is not a sexy character and appears more motherly. She dresses sensibly, in high neck blouses in light pastel colours, and has her hair in a similar style. She is also older than the other Bond Girls are. No other Bond Girls are like her and she does not seem to be Bond's type.

It is showing that you have to be sexy and beautiful to appeal to James Bond and Moneypenny would not really have a chance.It reflects how in

society women who were mothers were rarely regarded as sexy. They were not supposed to act sexily; they were supposed to be practical and take care of the house and home. It is unlikely that Miss Moneypenny was a mother as she would not have had that job and she wasn't married as her name is Miss but that was look she had and so will have been seen the same way. In the early films all the women are portrayed as weak physically and emotionally with the exception of Pussy Galore played by Honor Blackman in Goldfinger which was released a year later in 1964.Her character is a man hater who takes a lot of effort on Bond's part to be seduced.

She is very strong and independent and capable of flying a plane. This created a stir at the time as she was one of the first strong women in a film. It shows how the film recognised the changes that were going on in society. Women's societal role had changed by 1983, which was when 'Octopussy' was released. Far more had important jobs and were seen as much stronger.

The Sex Discrimination Act had been passed in 1975 and the Equal Opportunities Commission had been set up in the same year. Another Sex Discrimination came a two years later in 1986.Sex before marriage was far more acceptable and women's freedom more accepted. It was during a craze of 'power women' who had successful jobs and wore shoulder pads to make themselves look less fragile.

This is partly reflected in this film and there is a change between the women featured in earlier

films and those in 'Octopussy'. They are portrayed as much more sexual figures who put up no fight in being seduced by Bond. The first seen is Magda played by Kritina Wayborn. She is the usual Bond Girl in that she is very sophisticated and beautiful. She wears smart attractive clothes that are sexy without being revealing.A typical trend in Bond Girls is that they all talk slowly, softly and seductively which is also true in her case.

She does seem very much as if she is on the villain's arm as she mostly just stands at his side. She also comes across though as confident and is forward when she is at a table in a restaurant and arranges for a waiter to tell Bond that a table has been reserved for him. She initiates the relationship with Bond and little effort on his behalf is required. However she does have a hidden agenda, to steal a valuable ornamental egg, for the people she is working for.

This shows her cunning, by using her sexuality to succeed. She is also being trusted by the person she is working for which shows that she is seen as being capable. Except she is still not able to outwit Bond as he has switched it for a fake. She makes a very provocative yet classy move when she leaves Bond's apartment, through the window. She ties the end of her shawl, which is wrapped around her body, to the balcony and falls backwards letting herself unravel slowly to the ground.

She then climbs into the car waiting for her at the bottom. This makes her seem in control

and is designed to impress Bond.It is a move that is unlikely to have been pulled in earlier films. The character Octopussy comes across as a very powerful role.

She is introduced seen feeding fish in a tank and saying how she is unhappy about Bond getting in her way. She has a harsher sounding voice but still sounds seductive. Her face is not shown in that scene, only her back and hand, showing that her character's role is more important than her looks. In her interaction with Bond he appears to hold more respect for her, possible because she is a powerful, successful woman.She is clearly interested in him without ulterior motives, which makes her seem more genuine. She is very forward in asking him to stay and very confident in herself.

She also shows further power and ability when they are attacked. Although she puts little effort into fighting she does stay out of Bond's way and stays relatively calm although she is clearly alarmed by the attack. She manages to smash a vase on an attacker's head and shoots one in the neck. She also attempts to save Bond by shooting the man he is fighting but is unable to get a clear shot.

This shows how in society women were now expected to put some effort into defending themselves and it was more acceptable to fight. Clear evidence of her power and capability is shown when she enlists the help of the performers of the circus she runs to assist Bond in getting into the property of a villain. This is done very cleverly by methods such as making a human triangle.

The women also distract the attention of the guards by acting seductive then beating them up. The women have the same strength as the guards and are very capable in taking care of themselves.

This is not something that would have occurred in earlier films as it was not thought that women could be strong and capable enough to fight a man. It was also not a feminine thing to do. However Octopussy still has her life saved by Bond at the end. The changing role of women is identified particularly in this film by a comment made by Bond. In reference to an island exclusively for women Bond comments casually that it is sexual discrimination which shows that it is an issue which is identified, even if Bond does look down upon it. Such a comment is unlikely to have been made in earlier films as discrimination was acceptable then.

Between the films 'Licence to Kill' and 'Goldeneye' there is a gap of about ten years in which a lot of changes were made to the characters. Particularly around that time there had been a lot of controversy about the portrayal of women in the Bond films. People, particularly women, did not like that women seemed weak 'sex objects' who had to rely on men to be saved. The 'Bond Girls' had become a sexist term.

One of the most important changes made was the fact that 'M' was played now by a woman. But not by a Bond Girl, by a very respectable, smart, intelligent, mature woman who studied at Oxford.She is very level-headed and capable of making decisions, as much as a man. We

do see more emotion than from the 'M' in previous films but that seems more to do with modernisation in general than with the fact that she is a woman. She does, for example, have at least one child.

Emotion was now seen as more acceptable as opposed to the 'stiff upper lip' view that was held when the earlier films were made. It is also a strong factor which brings in audiences and is classically high concept. The idea of high concept is also a recent one. Miss Moneypenny changed also.

She became less motherly and more like a businesswoman.She wears a sharp suit with a similar short haircut. Still not a sexy character although her flirtation with Bond has remained. This makes her more up-to-date. She could still be a mother as mothers can now be businesswomen as well and do not have to be married. This shows how society has changed.

Women are now able to be strong and have a good career and to dress more as men would. In the 1960s and 1970s only men wore suits but in the 1980s a fashion trend of women wearing suits began. This was adapted in the 1990s to make the suits more feminine and modern which would be more appealing.The Bond Girls used in the latest film, although they have very much developed, are fundamentally the same as the other films.

They have become much stronger women both emotionally and physically but are still beautiful women who cannot resist Bond's charms. The first girl seen in 'The World Is Not Enough', made in 1999, is a villain. She is, however, very capable

and can drive a speedboat and use a gun as well as Bond can. She is beautiful wearing much less sophisticated clothes, a fitted, red leather outfit, which are more practical for what she is doing.She does even get away from Bond, which would never have happened in earlier films.

This further shows how women were now seen as strong and capable as men are. Previously it was unlikely that a woman would drive a speedboat and even if she did Bond would have caught her in no time. A very typical Bond Girl type is the female doctor in The World is Not Enough. She is completely smitten by Bond despite the fact that she and him have a past and he didn't call her.

She agrees to give him a clean bill of health in return for his sleeping with her. She is, though, an intelligent woman.This shows that the typical Bond girl, which the filmmakers can get away with as it is only a small role, has modernised. Such Bond Girls are now able to have important jobs and be intelligent women as well as sexual beings.

The two main Bond Girls in the film are Elektra King played by Sophie Marceau and Christmas Jones played by Denise Richards. King is a very smart, sophisticated, beautiful woman who has inherited her father's oil business. She is given a sense of innocence by the fact that she was kidnapped by terrorists and admits to being scared by it.But she also appears very strong as she stresses the importance of not letting it ruin her life. She had escaped from her kidnappers by using

both her sexuality and physical capabilities. She can speak foreign languages and has an accent herself, which shows her first language is not English.

She is portrayed to be very intelligent. She initiates a relationship with Bond by asking him to stay with her and they sleep together early on in the film. She is revealed to being a part of the enemy but her role in their plot is different to what would be expected should the film have been made twenty years ago.She is an equal member of the plot together with her kidnapper who she fell in love with.

She is not just a spy or working for the terrorist. This shows how society now see women as being capable of forming such plots and their IQ being at an equal level of a man's and being acceptable to suggest it being so. She also has personal reasons for being part of it, which shows that she has feelings. She is very powerfully seductive and sexually confident.

When Bond is bound to a chair she seductively sits on him and kisses him showing the power she has over him which would not have been acceptable in earlier films.She also ends up being shot by him, which is very different to earlier films. Before Bond would never have hurt a women as they would never have posed such a threat. It shows how women can now be a threat to men and that men can hurt women if they are under threat.

Despite this, though, the fact that he had to kill her hurts him and is a poignant moment in the film.

A change seen here though is the fact that Bond had slept with her. This kept being mentioned throughout the film and was used to put him down. Normally this would not have been a factor in the film, it would have just been further showing him as the hero.But here it addresses the fact that he had poor judgement and that it is not acceptable to sleep with just anybody.

She is seen as being important and she has an effect on the plot of the film. She is not just some girl who Bond picked up on the way and is therefore just someone who Bond has slept with. With modern day relationships and given the idea of 'free love' of the 1970s has passed, sex has become more valued. Just as a girl can be criticised for who she sleeps with a man can be too. There is a sharp contrast between King and the other main Bond Girl Christmas Jones.

Jones is not smart or sophisticated or 'girlie'. She is a scientist who is extremely intelligent and expert in her field. She is introduced as a doctor and is wearing black hotpants and a cropped green vest - practical clothing and not smart. She is also a man hater and is extremely sarcastic with Bond in the beginning.

She is not softly spoken and is tough. She is still, however a beautiful girl. She, unlike King, appears to be more of a sidekick of Bond's than someone he has to take care of or just a love interest.She is very capable and when trapped in an underground room with a bomb she

doesn't just sit there but manages to open the electric doors using her knowledge.

She is able to dismantle a nuclear bomb so she is a very competent doctor. This shows how, as well as being intelligent, women are also accepted as having scientific and electrical knowledge, which are fields which have long been regarded as men's. She is able to use her powers of seduction also and to distract a villain she dresses sexily so Bond can take him by surprise.She is even given the opportunity to ensure that Bond's life remains intact and without he wouldn't have been able to defeat the villain. Here she appears to be more of a sidekick, helping him rather than hindering him.

At the end they get out together without him saving her life. Which is different to the earlier films. It shows how women are not always regarded as needing saving and can take care of themselves. She is not, though, completely portrayed as tough.

Despite appearing to be really strong she never actually jumps in and fights and Bond is still courteous around her.He lets her go first when climbing ladders and takes her arm to help her onto things. She also seems to change into a typical Bond girl by the end of the film. She is wearing a sexy dress by choice and has succumbed to Bond's charms. This seems to suggest that although it is acceptable to be tough, men still prefer a woman to be feminine and sexy. So in many ways all the Bond girls are similar.

They are all beautiful, classy women who never have children. This seems to

show that even today women who have children are not stereotypically seen as sexy by society.The Bond Girls are always smart, sophisticated and independent and women who have children are not usually able to be like that as they are tied down. However, this is particularly non-representative of women today as many are single mothers who have successful jobs.

The women also all fall for James. Few can fight although this becomes less true in recent films such as the character Wai Lin in 'Tomorrow Never Dies' who is a competent fighter. However they have become more important in their roles in the films rather than just being a love interest they can actually assist Bond and be (nearly) his equal.