Currently in production
The leading ladies in Bond have also remained predictable and formulaic like the opening sequence. Bond likes women who are exceptional physically and mentally. In Goldfinger the leading lady is called Pussy Galore who is a very good pilot (so she says). Her name is smutty and comical and is characteristic of the more obvious and cruder innuendos used in the earlier Bond films. She rejects Bond at first and stays loyal to her job; it shows she is strong, confident and independent. Bond puts on the charm and is very direct towards her but she is immune to it. Eventually she falls for him and helps him to save the day.
“My name is Pussy Galore”, “I must be dreaming”. This is one of Bonds more cruder and famous innuendos, but he soon puts on the charm. There are single camera shots – talking heads in this scene. There is an abrupt sharpness in her voice: “I’m a damn good pilot, period.” Talking heads shows she is equal to Bond. In the early Bond films Bond did not show any emotional attachment to women and was rather disrespectful in his manner towards them.
However, in The World Is Not Enough Bonds attitude towards Electra King (the leading lady) is a lot more respectful. Electra is smart and intelligent. On the computer screen she appears vulnerable; there are talking head shots when Bond is looking at her on the screen that shows she is equal to Bond. Bond shows emotion towards her, he touches his mouth like he is troubled and appears to show sensitivity, which was not seen, in the earlier Bond movies. The female equivalent of Bond is Christmas Jones who is highly intelligent, like Pussy Galore. She rejects him at first, his charm doesn’t work on her, but like Pussy she falls for him.
Both the leading ladies are the female equivalent to Bond, but they are also both linked to the villains. They are exceptional in their own field and independent. However Pussy Galore does not show weakness when courting with Bond, Electra seems a lot more vulnerable, weak and emotional and Bond responds to this. It is when Bond is around women that we really see his character come out. He uses far more innuendos and puns than he normally would when not around women and the tone tends to be more humorous and light-hearted. Despite the changes in the male image over the past forty years, bond has survived without changing. The male image has become so much more complex yet the new Bond movie is currently in production and will no doubt be a huge box office success.
In conclusion I would say that the Bond movies are so successful because males dream of being Bond and females dream of being with Bond. Obviously there are other reasons for Bonds success. The films are always the cutting edge in terms of adventure films with innovative action sequences and original story lines. And the sometimes-hilarious British sense of humour that seeps through in the films helps to keep the films interesting and fun to watch, even if they are 40 years old.
He is an exceptional character who lives a dangerous and exciting life that is never boring. The world that Bond lives in seems care free and unproblematic in terms of what we have to deal with e.g. financial problems and I think that we all dream about living in it. Bond follows base instinct and he is the kind of person who wouldn’t fit in at present day but for some reason men aspire to be like him and women are attracted to him. I think it is because James Bond is exceptional; he is the perfect male who doesn’t have to worry about anything apart from staying alive – which we all have to worry about. If you are Bond or are with Bond you’re promised an action packed and care free life.
