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Lets make mississippi burning with a all white cast
Let's make king kong with a lion
See where I'm going for this
If black people are upset that there aren't enough famous black characters in cinema then create some.
and BB will probably know that Fleming, Her Father and (Insert # of MI6 Members here) would kill her...
So, the question stands: what would Bond benefit from a colour-change? If there's no plusses, only a lot of die-hard fans who'd abandon the franchise.
Thelma and Louise's genders are the defining aspect of their characters. Bond's (in this discussion) is his nationality, not race. However, if someone suggested making the character of Bond a female then I would agree that a comparison to switching the genders of both Thelma and Louise would be an accurate analogy.
The races of the characters in Mississippi Burning informed the way they acted and were historically accurate. Bond is a fictional character and doesn't act the way he does simply because he's white.
King Kong with a lion? Hmm, maybe... ;-)
If we were making a period piece Bond film with the character the way he was in the books then yes, a black Bond wouldn't work. But for the "movie Bond" in a film set in 2011? There's no reason that a white person *must* be cast. If the best actor for the role was black then I'd rather he get it than a lesser actor. Much like how I don't care that Craig has blond hair because he's so good as the character of Bond. They never had a line of dialogue in CR or QoS (or probably any other Bond film) that mentioned that Bond was from Scots/French Swiss background - how did that make the movies worse than if they *had* said it? I can't see how CR or QoS would have been improved if Craig had dyed his hair and eyebrows black - why do people think it matters?
Its the same i mean this as in YOU WOULDN'T!!! i wasn't pitching!!!
How very progressive of you. >:D< How about an Asian actor while we're at it.
There's every bit of reason why a white man must be cast. Because Bond is the sum of many parts. One of these parts involves him to be of white ethnicity. It's one of the quintessential elements of his looks. Remove it, and you no longer have Bond.
People of colour rarely get top billing and more often than not they are used as cannon fodder, rarely heroic, are either drug dealers, pimps, uncle toms, servants, rapists, killers, the undesirable or the token buddy and expendable character who gets killed off first in films.
People of colour are already competing for parts which they should naturally get first dabs at but we don’t seem to blink or object much when whites black up or portray other races/nationalities be it Cleopatra, Othello and the likes of Gerard Butler Scottish accent and all as a mighty Spartan and Angelina Jolie as Marianne Pearl etc, so the chances of whites giving up the big iconic role to a black actor is pretty slim.
As far as the video that was posted earlier on this thread, I would have two things to say in response to that. First is that I would say most of those people have never read or possibly don't even know that James Bond was a novel character first and not just a action-movie super spy. So like I said earlier, if you are just looking at the film character, then I can definitely see it. I think that also explains why some of them were suggesting American black actors to play the role, because they only know the film version, and anyone who is a true Bond fan would never suggest that an American could play Bond.
The second thing I would say in response to the video is that it was obviously made by Americans, and being from America, I can tell you that there has been an ongoing struggle since the Civil Rights movement about this kind of stuff. Call it being "politically correct," or call it what you like, but the American community (as well as the British community to an extent I would assume) has always struggled with the "let's make up for everything" effect. A lot of Americans (white and black both) believe that we should allow blacks as many opportunities like this as possible in order to somehow make up for things blacks have suffered through like slavery, segregation, and racism. Another example is the novel Huckleberry Finn. The novel is a monumental piece of American literature, but there is an ongoing debate over whether or not to teach it in public schools because of its depiction of slavery. Many believe we should simply not teach kids about slavery and racism so they will never learn to be racists. I, however, am a firm believer in the old phrase "anyone who fails to learn from the past is doomed to repeat it." I think that rather than neglecting events in our past and changing fundamental things in white culture (even things like james being white which is minuscule in the grand scheme of things) we should simply be more willing to glorify things in black culture. More movies should be made about black heroes, new stories about black heroes should be written, and we should encourage new ideas within the black community. Instead we have somehow come to the point where we try to mesh black culture and white culture in places where it shouldn't be forced to mesh.
The final thing I will say is that we will never truly be rid of racism until we stop accusing people of racism. @DaltonCraig007 It was wrong of your friend to accuse you of being a racist just because you believe that Flemming's work should continue to be followed. Until the day comes where the white community can look at business or a movie that is firmly based in black culture and not think it racist, and the black community can look at a situation like this one and say "It's ok for James Bond to be white because that's the way it's supposed to be," we will never truly be rid of racism.
Sorry I wrote a novel on here, but like I said earlier, this is a very interesting topic to me.
@thelordflashheart the question is: is it inevitable? Your reasoning only says it makes it possible. You may not have anything against a blonde Bond, but remember the backlash that was generated after Craigs presentation?
We here love to say that was only becouse of one nutcase, but the truth is, many opposed him becoming Bond. And that was just haircolour!
Sure Bond's background wasn't mentioned in the film, but it was on the official internet page.
I personally think it's not only not inevitable, but highly unlikely. You'd alter so much of the character, even if it was a black man that went to Eaton thanks to an old aunt, etc. etc. Equality doesn't mean copying, it means same worth. SO, no, not a black Bond.
What has this got to do with anything? This isn't about whether or not black people are upset about the lack of famous black characters, the topic of discussion is pretty clear. Is a black James Bond inevitable? Imo the answer is no but it MAY be possible but I doubt it will ever happen any time soon. Yes, you pointed out the obvious fact that Bond is a white man and being PC has nothing to do with the casting of Bond. He isn't a minor or supporting character, he's an iconic protagonist that is firmly embedded in British culture with deep rooted signature traits.
However, you would do well to realise that black people in general as you appeared to make out aren't crying to have certain white characters being made black but what you're also proposing is easier said than done. There is a lot of racial obstruction and other various problems that still roam the corridors of Hollywood but that's another matter entirely.