James Bond: The Reflector of Reality, The Crusader of Fantasy

edited February 2022 in Fan Creations Posts: 4
Greetings and salutations to all of you MI6 operatives! I am a brand new user, so feel free to correct my act if I overreach.

I have been a Bond fan for about 15 years now. Ever since I saw Casino Royale in November 2006. I had already been hyped for quite some time, but preceding the screenings I had the direst two days of my life. Filled with awkward pre-teen worries and heartache. Coupled with living in a deadbeat town during the most depressing month of the year. That elevated the experience from a great film to an almost life-altering experience. It is probably one of the key movies that made me get into the field of film, which I have studied and worked on for about a decade.

After that, I have of course seen all the films several times (Ranging probably between (7-25 ). Read the Fleming novels and played quite a few of the games. The series has stayed with me because it allows so many different entrance points of examination. For example action cinema, men's style, culinary culture, and history. History is the key to this post.

As an attempt to do something productive with my fandom, I have created an hour-long video essay that chronicles the ways the series has reflected the time periods the different installments have been released on. The points range from singular events to broader historical zeitgeist. The piece also ponders what kind of political reality the films build for themselves from the events surrounding them.

Now, while I have made a point of being accurate and reasonably comprehensive, lots of events and nuance has been left out. My chapter on the novels for example is quite truncated. This is why I would love the get feedback but also spark discussion on the topic of Bond's place in the world of fact and fiction.

Here's the link:


That'll be all.

Comments

  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,727
    I was interested in giving this a watch but it says that the YouTube link is private now.
  • Dragonpol wrote: »
    I was interested in giving this a watch but it says that the YouTube link is private now.

    Hi! Indeed it was made private. I had to re-upload it after a few small corrections.
    Here's the final final version :p

  • slide_99slide_99 USA
    Posts: 648
    Interesting video. However, Carver wasn't based on Rupert Murdoch, he was based on William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper magnate who helped propagandize the Spanish-American War after the USS Maine was sunk in a possible false flag attack. The parallels to TND are pretty obvious. Also, Carver quotes WRH towards the end.
  • slide_99 wrote: »
    Interesting video. However, Carver wasn't based on Rupert Murdoch, he was based on William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper magnate who helped propagandize the Spanish-American War after the USS Maine was sunk in a possible false flag attack. The parallels to TND are pretty obvious. Also, Carver quotes WRH towards the end.

    In his presentation, Carver is a bit of an amalgamation of Murdoch, Hearst, Ted Turner etc. Having done some further readings the writer Bruce Feirstein compared him specifically to Robert Maxwell, who died in what was an apparent suicide on a boat. I probably should have thrown a larger net when making comparisons, but I leaned on Murdoch specifically due to his contemporary and still considerable hold of the English-speaking media.
  • BirdlesonBirdleson Moderator
    Posts: 2,161
    No question that Murdock was a consideration.
  • Birdleson wrote: »
    No question that Murdock was a consideration.

    Quite right. I am however planning to make a few appendices. (info links in certain points of video) that expands these points that were a bit reductive given the flow of the narrative. Carver's inspiration is one and maybe the reason why it is hard to find an exact number of repatriated Cossacks.
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