As much of the world is aware, there is a new James Bond movie due out at the end of next month. In addition to having a discussion-inducing name, this new Bonds episode gives me an excuse to try and figure out why these Anglos love that 007 oh so much.
James Bond is essentially a super hero. Like Batman or Superman. They all, you know, fight against bad people and look cool while doing it, often with some sort of internal struggle (thanks, Mr Welty, for making that so clear). Struggle aside, the general role of the superhero is to embody the unattainable desires of the average joe. So how does Bond differ from his leather and latex clad American cousins? And what do these differences tell us about your average Anglo? Hmm. Let's delve.
1. James Bond has a gun.
Hand guns are illegal in Britain! Like, nobody has them! But apparently they might look cooler if they did...
2. James Bond is good looking.
Interesting, this implies that English men want to be good looking. That's find, I suppose.
3. James Bond goes to black tie parties attended by lots of beautiful women
English men tend to go to the pub, most likely wearing whatever was required for their prior activity, likely either work or sitting around and watching tv. Although I'm pretty sure they don't aspire to attend such parties on a regular basis, so I'm not so sure about this one...
4. James Bond drinks martinis.
Everyone else drinks beer. But it just looks classier when you down a martini in two sips. The ladies in general aren't impressed by men downing a pint in two sips. Things could get messy.
5. James Bond has an Aston Martin.
Even if they make fun of the drivers of such cars, I think it's safe to say that if they just happened to come across one, they would drive it around. Perhaps once or twice at an unsafe speed. But maybe not while wearing the tux...
6. James Bond is named James
As previously established, this allows the 8,000,000 James in England to relate to the guy. Perhaps it was ingrained in the minds of their fathers that James is a name for cool, dapper guys who can still kick some booty.
So what does that tell us about English types that is different from American types? Well, unlike American superheroes, James Bond is from a book and not a comic strip. Implying that his fans are slightly more sophisticated. He's an ordinary person, instead of essentially some mutant. And he doesn't fly.
There you have it. Americans want to be mutants with the ability to fly. Englishmen want to drive around in an Aston while packing heat. Make of that what you will...
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4 comments:
the new book is great!
I think it's the women who are lusting after the superheroes, whether spandex- or tux-clad. Perhaps the spandex-clad for casual week nights and the tux-clad for the weekend. The men just lust after the women in the superhero movies. I think there are more beautiful women in the Bond movies than in Batman and Spidey movies. Those clever movie makers...
Not very Bond-ish, but I did want to point out that today is Talk Like a Pirate day.
See, I think the being lusted after by women is another thing that men admire about their superheroes!
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