The representation of women in the Bond films and how Bond Girl has changed over the years.
Woman’s representation has changed in the society and this change is reflected in Bond movies as women take more protagonistic roles. They have always been in the centre of controversy, always seen as beautiful women (often with sexuall names) who need Bond and without whom Bond can not complete his mission without them. They always seem to have perfection in everything they do.However, this portrayal of women can be somewhat unrealistic. www. imdb.
com‘Bond girls are forever’ by Maryam d’Abo, John Cork) This essay will discuss, how the ‘Bond Girls’ have evolved and changed over decades from being “dumb blonde girls” Honey Ryder in Dr. No(1962) to being “intelligent able women” like Wei Lynn in the ‘Tomorrow never dies (1997). James Bond series was created to show Britain as a powerful country with their own hero with fast cars, gadgets and beautiful girls. However, there are also conventions which are expected in each Bond film.Bond’s Vodka Martini is “shaken, not stirred”, Q’s gadgets are expected and anticipated by the audience and Bond’s theme tune, used regularly to enhance the dramatic moments is instantly recognised wherever heard. The first Bond film was made in 1962 which is called Dr.
No. The world during that period, was at a time where after the second world war, there was conflict between Russia and Britain and the United States of America, the period of the “Cold War. The Bond girl in Dr. No 1962 (Honey Ryder).
Honey Ryder would not be an acceptable Bond girl in the 21st century because Bond girls have changed to be almost as equal to Bond and she is able to fight and with skills which are quite masculine, Honey Ryder is not like this. Analyzing two scenes from two Bond Films. "Dr No" (1969) and "Tomorrow never Dies" (1997) featuring two Bond girls, Honey Ryder and Wei-Lyn. Honey Ryder played by Ursula Andress, the blonde in a white bikini. It was in a sunny tropical beach in Crab Quay (Jamaica), the perfect setting for romance as it is secluded, romantic and exotic.
She wore a white bikini, which emphasized her purity and innocence while at the same time emphasizing her curvaceous body. She was singing ’Underneath the mango tree' which highlighted her childlike qualities. The appearance of Bond in the scene introduces an element of romance although she was shocked at the sight of him. She was scared but curious as to why he was there.
She grabs for her knife and waves it about which stresses the fact that she is very nstinctual and if she has to, she will defend herself but she is unsure of Bonds' and her own strength.Once she was sure Bond meant no harm, she becomes friendly with him which tells us that she is (like a child) easily led and very trusting. When Bond asks her name, she replies by saying "Honey Ryder. " He tells her that it is a "very pretty name" in a patronising tone and in the same manner, as you would talk to a child. The director used a medium shot when they were walking through the beach.
The shot of them together shows that he is both stronger and bigger. She tells him that the reason for her being in Crab Quay is that she's collecting shells to sell them, which tells us that she finds very simple and childlike ways of supporting herself. They then get into trouble and we see that his arm is around her waist as they are hiding behind the sand. This gesture is very intimate but could be misinterpreted as just an excuse for him to touch her. Bond recognizes Honeys' childlike quality and realizes the need to protect her.The position of their heads also tells us that Bond is large and in charge as Bonds' head, although next to Honeys' is slightly above hers, which indicates a higher rank.
Honey has a childhood belief about monsters. We see this in a close up of her face as she describes the appearance of the ‘dragon' from this we see her fear, another indication of her naivety. She describes the dragon as ’big' in the same way as a child would. After the boat has been damaged, Bond says :’what are we going to do with her? Bond does not consider Honey Ryder to be important, he does not value her opinions and treats her as if she is invisible and a disturbance to his plans.The setting quickly changes from a sunny tropical beach to being a rainforest, which tells us that the situation's getting dangerous.
Honey's appearance also changes. She puts on a white shirt, which seems to have come out of nowhere. The shirt is white, which once again symbolizes purity and innocence, although she covers herself up, the fabric clings to her skin and is very revealing when its wet and white is very see through.While hiding in the reeds, she suddenly exclaims that ? something is biting' her foot' which accentuates her childlikeness, as it is only something a child would say amidst all the danger surrounding them.
Honey Ryder is depicted as a sex kitten with very little brainpower. She shows vulnerability. Innocence, naivety and is only in the film as a sex object for Bond to play around with. She shows childlike qualities in mostly everything she does which totally contrasts with the second Bond girl Wei-Lyn ‘Tomorrow never dies’.
Honey is dependent of Bond, which Bond girls in the 21st century are not New wave of Bond girls like Jinx, Elektra King and Wai Lin have her own motives, enemies, strategies, wit, speed, and punch, and when needed could drive the car as well. Wei-Lyn played by Michelle Yeoh who shows maturity, spirit and independence in all her actions. The scene we analysed started with a medium shot of Bond and Wei-Lyn's head in the sea. They look like a team but vulnerable because they cannot go anywhere apart from the boat, which has been taken over by Carver's men.When they get taken onto the helicopter, she says to Bond, "if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were following me around Mr.
Bond," This statement tells us that amidst all the danger they are in, she still has a sense of humour. It also suggests that he IS following her around when in fact it is by pure coinfidence they have ended up in the same place looking for the same thing. When she is in Carver's building her appearance changes from wearing a tight wetsuit to casual clothes consisting of a pair of black trousers, white cropped top and a red shirt worn as a jacket which made her look almost masculine.These clothes seemed to have appeared out of nowhere as she certainly was not carrying any bags! Carver describes Wei Lyn as a collaborator of the Chinese People's External Security force. This sounds like an important and a very high-risk occupation that is stereotypically a male role in other spy films. This re-emphasizes her masculinity, shown in her clothes, manner and choice of occupation.
She wants to succeed as a woman in a predominantly male role without having to use any female traits. She is willing to compete in an equal level and shows competence in doing the job using brainpower alone.Just before they escape, Wei Lyn's calm and assertive manner shows that she is confident and familiar with the situation. The type of shot used to capture Bond and Wei Lyn's escape was a medium shot.
This type of shot showed both Bond and Wei Lyn in its frame, giving the impression that they are working as equals. Next scene, Wei-Lyn shows us she can look after herself when she gets involved in a fight with the ‘bad guys' using martial arts as her defence. The scene shows her, a woman, in a masculine role where she is undoubtedly able to compete competently with her male counterparts.The entrance of Bond in the scene enables us to carry on with the thought of Bond ‘saving the day' so to speak as he kicks the gun that was pointing to her from the enemy's hand. She instinctively resents his interference and argues that she could have dealt with it herself.
The shot used to portray Wei-Lyn as she said this was a low angle shot that suggests that she is as powerful and self sufficient as any man can be. Wei-Lyn's role as Bond's equal is almost masculine and a familiar characteristic with masculinity is domination.Both Bond and Wei-Lyn show these traits as both want to dominate each other even while they work as a team. Halle Berry’, who played Jinx in the ‘Die Another day’ said that: ‘To be strong woman and to be taken seriously today does not mean that you have to lose your sense of feminity’ - So as this statement demonstrates although this Bond girl was represented as strong it did not mean she could not also be attractive and therefore for the male gaze. Although today the portrayal of the ‘Bond Girl’ depicts the modern idea of ‘girl power’.
However in the past the Bond girls provided the glamour and sex appeal. Now they contribute to the action as well. The differences are also how they are portrayed in their period of time. In the 1960s the Bond girl was made to look more like a possession, that they were controlled and were not capable of being independent.
You can see this from the sexuall names, which go back to the first Bond film. For example: Honey Ryder, Pussy Galore, Octopussy, Holly Goodhead all these names connote the Bond girl as an object of male desire.Whilst the Bond girls in the 1990s and afterwards look like women who are in control, independent and women who have professional careers, but still looking glamorous and beautiful. They have more important and diverse roles in the script, and seem to be have huge effects on Bond’s character and emotions (e.
g. Bond being emotionally touched at the death of Electra in The world is not enough 1999).They are also being represented as being more valued members in the society depicted in Bond films, from being a shell collector (Honey Ryder) to being the boss of Bond (M. Whatever's changed about the Bond Girls, they still have to be racy, active, sexy and uncomplicated and dressed as seductively as possible. However in other ways namely the sexual denotation of the women, things have not changed. Bond still seduces women quickly, using witty words “I’m here for the birds” (Die Aother Day,2002) So,Bond’s attitude towards the Bond Girls’ has not changed.
He never keeps the same girl. After he uses her and completes his mission, he moves on to a new girl.
