What does 007 represent to most fans? Entertainment, excitement, thrills, escapism, glamour, exotic locations, fantastic stunts, wonderful music… we could go on.
It is no exaggeration to say that Ian Fleming’s fictional creation James Bond has become one of the most iconic figures in post-war literary and cinema history. He has become part of popular culture in ways that many other fictional creations simply cannot match. Alongside such famous creations as Sherlock Holmes or Tarzan, Bond has become almost part of our very language and the ways we view the world. It has become common to hear something described as ‘Bondian’ or ‘straight out of a Bond film’. Anything to do with the world of espionage in society is often given a ‘James Bond’ angle by headline writers, while real-life villains in the world are often interpreted via ‘Bondian’ language, given ‘secret’ underground lairs or ‘super hi-tech’ global power ambitions.
And Bond has cashed in on this to great effect, from secret volcano bases to laser-beam weapons, from armoured trains to orbital space stations, and from nuclear bombs to lethal bio-weapons, Bond’s villains have often been well ahead of the technological game – but for evil purposes. Equally, however, Bond himself has regularly been equipped in the field with the latest hi-tech gadgets or scientific wonders, often by the beloved ‘Q’, who became a favourite character for many fans.
The statistics alone are truly staggering. Ian Fleming’s original James Bond novels sold in their millions, and there have been various Bond ‘continuity’ authors adding to the numbers of Bond thrillers sold over the years. The big-screen version of Bond has become the most successful franchise in cinema history. It has been estimated, for example, that over half the world’s population has viewed at least one James Bond film, and the release of a new 007 big-screen adventure is always an ‘event’ occasion, treated as a very special moment.
As we celebrate Global James Bond Day (October 5th), let’s pause briefly and recall some of the key ingredients we all love about our favourite spy, and try to pin down 007’s enduring ‘global’ appeal, as expressed by some key people who have been directly involved in making our James such a worldwide phenomenon over the decades.
007 and Counting…
001: On Bond’s appeal to the reading public: “I simply wanted to create an interesting character to whom extraordinary things happen… People simply put their own overcoats on James Bond and built him into what they admire” (Bond creator Ian Fleming).
002: On the big-screen impact of Bond: “What the Beatles did for music, James Bond did for film” (Peter Hunt, editor of five Bond movies and director of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service).
003: On the Bond film formula: “A Bond movie has conventions: girls, gadgets, action. It’s not that you must stick with them, but if you don’t, you may be doing the film – and the genre – a disservice” (Lee Tamahori, director, Die Another Day).
004: On ensuring the Bond franchise’s durability: “My only goal is to prepare Bond so that he can go on interminably, which I think he will – if they make him right… We’ll continue to make them. We’ll find ways to continue to make them, and make them successful” (Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli, Bond producer).
005: On the Bond franchise’s adaptability: “The Bond films have evolved over the years in a variety of ways. But they’ve changed with the times” (Michael G. Wilson, EON co-producer).
006: On Bond’s global reach: “If culture is globalizing, then Bond is part of the movement. We know the catchphrases and we’ve seen the spoofs… but far from hurting Bond, the parodies and takeoffs only keep him on our cultural radar” (Time magazine, 2002).
007: On the wider cultural significance of Bond: “I think the films have had a good run because they’re good films. The audience knows they are going to get a good show, they won’t be shortchanged. And the James Bond syndrome, of course, has been worldwide. Bond is in the Sherlock Holmes class now. Hardly a day goes by where I don’t see three or four references to James Bond in some way – newspapers, television and so forth. People talk about it. The whole James Bond syndrome has become part of the culture, and that has a great deal to do with the movies’ success” (Richard Maibaum, Bond scriptwriter).
Did You Know?
When the late Sir Roger Moore was an ambassador for UNICEF (the UN’s agency responsible for humanitarian aid to children worldwide), he found that no matter where he went in the world, even to the most remote and inhospitable areas, children would often come up to him and address him as ‘James Bond’. It showed how extensive 007’s global reach really was – people everywhere seemed to think that they somehow knew Roger already, as they had seen a James Bond film.
