The Bond films as historical/cultural documents ?

DaltonCraig007

Dimi, thank you, my friend ! :-bd

Samuel001

To an extent, the longest running film series of all, much show us something if only for that fact. Fashion certainly and how certain countries looked at a perticular time add value to the argument.

Maybe if Bond gets to 100 years, history classes may take note due to the series taking place over an entire century and if they happen to include a still popular character, there's all the more reason for it.

QBranch

I agree that some elements of the films (i.e. what's going on in the world at the time & current fashion) can be used towards historical/cultural documents. The films as a whole cannot.

Luds

Edit: I've just cleaned up the 2nd page, please carry on with the topic.

Saw this thread on another site, thought it was interesting.

With the franchise existing for almost 50 years, and most of the films' plot having for concern their era's preoccupations, can the films be used as historical documents ?

Maybe 'historical documents' is a strong expression... But can the films be used to understand the history of the last 50 years ? The cold war history ? The fashion/dressing style ? The technology ? Men/women relations ?

DarthDimi

I suggest the excellent book James Bond: The Legacy. It demonstrates with clear examples how the Bond movies reflect on the time in which they were produced. Ergo, while watching the Bonds, we can with some legitimacy absorb historically relevant information or frames of reference. In that sense, I'm glad I spent my entire youth watching the Bonds. They've given me perspective on the three decades preceding my teen years.

OHMSS69

For what it is worth:
Bond films can be best used as a document of movie tastes. The Bond movies with the high adventure set the trend for action type movies and there are still imitators to this day. After the 60's the Bond movies themselves followed trends. LALD, TMWTGG main examples as they went to cash in on the Blaxploitation and the Kung Fu /Bruce Lee films of the 70's.
As for political attitudeds not much here. After 1980 the next movies touched on some of the arms race/cold war issues (FYEO, OP, AVTAK, TLD).
LTK with the dress down and drug lord themes are reminiscent of a popular TV show at the time (Miami Vice)
By the time of CR the problem was not world domination or annialation but fighting terrorists which reflect the news themes of the day after 9-11.
Sexism- the Bond movies lagged behind the times and it was not until the 70's when they began to make the women more...liberated. Recalll how in GF Pussy Galore is supposed to be an experiened pilot but totally lost it when the plane went out of control. And needed Bond to save her ass. Maybe the films finally started to catch on to the women's movement but not until well into the 1970's.
Race Relations? I found DN, GF, and YOLT to be explicitly(sp) racist. These not so PC things began to subside also in the 1970's.
The Bond movies have reflected the times and attitudes of the present day and if they lagged behind in several areas they seemed to evolve and catch up with the rest of us later.
IMHO

thelivingroyale

wow, thats alot of posts for 1 argument

but anyway, on topic, yeah i think that the bond films show how times change. one thing i think of is the cars, sure normal people like you n me may not be able to afford cars as flashy as bonds but you see how the designs change over the years.

@DarthDimi i got that book for xmas afew years back, really good, has alot of info on the films and the making of them

the weapons in the film are another good example, although bonds PPK never seems too outdated

also the fashion.