Were you ever stigmatised because you're a Bond fan?

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  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    Samuel001 wrote:
    Tubes wrote:
    People that make fun of other people's fandom usually are covering up for their own odd tastes and trying to seem normal.

    One person who mocks me is a fan of mountain biking so you may have a point @Tubes. ;)

    Nice to see you, by the way.

    Yeah, most of the people who mock me are hopeless addicts to World of Warcraft or Call of Duty.
  • edited November 2011 Posts: 12,837
    Samuel001 wrote:
    Tubes wrote:
    People that make fun of other people's fandom usually are covering up for their own odd tastes and trying to seem normal.

    One person who mocks me is a fan of mountain biking so you may have a point @Tubes. ;)

    Nice to see you, by the way.

    Yeah, most of the people who mock me are hopeless addicts to World of Warcraft or Call of Duty.

    one friend of mine is a call of duty addict who hates james bond. Luckily I can always own him in arguments about call of duty for one simple reason, i was in the army. Here's an example from afew years ago.

    me: have you seen quantum of solace yet

    friend: no, its like im always telling you, james bond's crap

    me: how is it???

    friend: its unrealistic

    me: your playing on call of duty 4 right now so you can't say anything

    friend: cod is more realistic than james bond

    me: honestly jase, it isn't more realistic than most of the bond films, trust me

    friend: yes it is

    me: which one of us was in the army???

    friend: *grumbles*

    me: exactly
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    Samuel001 wrote:
    Tubes wrote:
    People that make fun of other people's fandom usually are covering up for their own odd tastes and trying to seem normal.

    One person who mocks me is a fan of mountain biking so you may have a point @Tubes. ;)

    Nice to see you, by the way.

    Yeah, most of the people who mock me are hopeless addicts to World of Warcraft or Call of Duty.

    one friend of mine is a call of duty addict who hates james bond. Luckily I can always own him in arguments about call of duty for one simple reason, i was in the army. Here's an example from afew years ago.

    me: have you seen quantum of solace yet

    friend: no, its like im always telling you, james bond's crap

    me: how is it???

    friend: its unrealistic

    me: your playing on call of duty 4 right now so you can't say anything

    friend: cod is more realistic than james bond

    me: honestly jase, it isn't more realistic than most of the bond films, trust me

    friend: yes it is

    me: which one of us was in the army???

    friend: *grumbles*

    me: exactly

    Now that's hilarious. COD maniacs need to calm the hell down when it comes to their love of the series (which barely changes between installments).
  • nick_007nick_007 Ville Marie
    Posts: 443
    How does something being "more realistic" make it better anyway?
  • nick_007 wrote:
    How does something being "more realistic" make it better anyway?

    it doesn't make it better at all. This is why i don't like it when people say they don't want Q and gagdets back because its unrealistic. Yes die another day went overboard but there can be a good balance (EG: goldfinger)
  • quantumofsolacequantumofsolace England
    Posts: 279
    I remember dreading walking through the large technical drawing office at the company I worked for straight from school as all the guys would sing/hum/whistle the 'James Bond Theme' whenever I entered the room. In retrospect I cannot understand why I was so profoundly embarrassed. I guess it was my natural hatred of being the centre of attention, shy soul that I am. I sure as hell ain't ashamed of being a 007 fan. In fact I'm downright proud of it and feel sorry for anyone who isn't!
  • Posts: 1,310
    It was a good time to be a Bond fan with Casino Royale came out, what with all of the overwhelming praise and all...

    ...but when Quantum of Solace came out, I was reminded of the DAD days (when people looked at you funny when you said you were a James Bond fan). Added to that, I'm pretty sure I annoyed the living hell out of my friends and peers as I constantly reminded them how many days were left until the release. And when the film ended up being somewhat of a letdown, I tried to lie to myself and say QOS was great...but I just couldn't back myself up in an argument.

    Needless to say, it is almost surreal to see the next Bond movie start filming, the excitement almost hasn't hit me yet. But my friends seem to be more excited this time with the whole cast and such...they even think Skyfall is a good title!

    Now as far as being stigmatized:

    I often find myself being the minority among more than casual film goers when I say that I'm a fan of Timothy Dalton. On these forums it is quite different, but I'm finding lot of non hardcore Bond fans tend to loathe Dalton's portrayal of 007. And it has only been recently that I have really started gaining a true appreciation of Dalton (particularly his performance in TLD). So I have to give Dalton's movies a re-watch every time I hear someone bash his films to reaffirm my fondness for them!!!!
  • Posts: 2,341
    I can't say I was actually stygmatized but I kept my love of Bond kinda secret. I had always been a private person but Bond movies were never taken very seriously early on despite the budgets, worldwide recognitions etc. The subject of the movies and the influence on public culture, and film industry was not actually recognized until the 1980's.
    I once took a public speaking class and had to talk on a "hobby". I chose to talk of my love and admiration for the world of James Bond. I must say, i was so embarrased to get up and speak on that but the class and teacher liked the subject matter and I wasn't shunned. My embarrassment was mis-guided. :)

    I have looked to the Bond movies for inspiration in my film business.
  • nick_007nick_007 Ville Marie
    Posts: 443
    nick_007 wrote:
    How does something being "more realistic" make it better anyway?

    it doesn't make it better at all. This is why i don't like it when people say they don't want Q and gagdets back because its unrealistic. Yes die another day went overboard but there can be a good balance (EG: goldfinger)

    I have always believed there is need for balance. However, the balance seems to shift depending on the era.

    The ridiculous Q scenes (as much as I love them) would feel out of place in a modern Bond, but Q the character can still return (and I'm glad that he is!)

  • St_GeorgeSt_George Shuttling Drax's lovelies to the space doughnut - happy 40th, MR!
    Posts: 1,699
    Interesting question, Darthster.

    I can't say in my 20+ years of being a Bond fan I've ever been stigmatised. Perhaps says most about the environment I grew up in more than anything else, I don't know?

    Many Britons enjoy or even love Bond (a bit like, say, Churchill, the Spitfire and Only Fools And Horses), thus I only ever really encountered goodwill when I'd admit in company to being a big Bond fan. The most often (and unoriginal) question I'd be immediately asked was 'who's your favourite 007?' and it was mosre often than not asked with a smile and a glint in the enquirer's eye.

    Admittedly, when I was a child it was the era of Indy, so Bond may have seemed a little passé to friends etc., but it was still certainly popular - even if some felt the whole thing a little anachronistic.

    Talking of which, relatively recently, I went out with a feminist, who it's fair to say wasn't much of a Bond fan; she certainly had issues with the whole thing. Mind, she also had issues with many things - and not just because she was a feminist... ;)
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    Just the other day I talked to a colleague of mine and expressed my deep love for everything Bond. First the smirk. Then the remark, cool and with a most annoying mocking voice: "do they still make those ridiculous flicks?" And after that: "aren't you a bit old for that kid's stuff?"

    Okay, it's not really about being stigmatised or anything but the condescending tone was sincere.
  • Posts: 4,813
    Fortunately I've never had anyone poke fun at me for liking Bond-- probably because anyone that knows me realizes that I'd tell them to go straight to Hell if they had a problem with it! B-)

    In fact, it certainly has come in handy once or twice:
    http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/discussion/440/my-bond-knowledge-actually-paid-off-last-night/p1&post#Form_Body
  • I am more outcasted for being a fan of Dalton's Bond then of the series itself. The series is so known and still going, so many people don't make a big fuss if you are a fan of 007. However, alot of casual fans forget Dalts, and the ones that remember bash him.
  • edited May 2012 Posts: 1,497
    I've never been stigmatized, but perhaps felt embarrassed talking about Bond in certain circles. I think people view Bond as a 'fanboy' series, and not "high-art" or advanced film-making. Both the Brosnan era with the video-game tie-in and also Austin Powers, made Bond seem a little more low-brow and fanboy action faire to a lot of people. This of course is not true, as Fleming was very eloquent and descriptive of the character. The Bond films from the 60's were also very ahead of their times and don't get the recognition in film history as they should.

    I'm also from the States, so Bond isn't as beloved as he is in Great Britain. So I think a lot people don't quite get why I would be so into Bond.
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