Sean Connery As Bond Was Charming, But Is Bond's Approach Towards Women Worth Celebrating?

The first James Bond movie released in 1962. Since then many actors have portrayed the famous British secret service agent and wooed their audiences by saying, ‘The name is Bond, James Bond’. But most Bond fans would agree that none have been able to fill in the shoes of Sir Sean Connery. In 1989, when Sean Connery was 59 years old People magazine anointed him the “Sexiest Man Alive”, such was the charisma of the “original Bond”. Connery passed away in his sleep on Saturday at the age of 90 in his own home in Nassau, Bahamas. As agent 007 on Her Majesty’s Secret Service Connery was part of six films before saying goodbye to the franchise. He went on to win the Oscar in 1988 for his role in The Untouchables.

Obituaries have been pouring in since, for the Scottish actor. There is no denying Daniel Craig’s words (the current James Bond) that he was "one of the true greats of cinema". However, there are certain things about Connery that cannot be glossed over.

Also Read: Sean Connery: ‘Bond, James Bond’, but so much more

Connery found himself in mid of controversy after in an interview with Playboy in 1965 he legitimised hitting a woman. He said, “An open-handed slap is justified – if all other alternatives fail and there has been plenty of warning. If a woman is a bitch, or hysterical, or bloody-minded continually, then I'd do it.”). His Bond did this on-screen in From Russia With Love and Diamonds Are Forever, cites The Conversation. Here is look at some of the women characters that were part of Sean Connery’s James Bond films.

James Bond’s “girls” are his prize at the end of the movie and are best remembered for their iconic swimsuit entries. It must also be noted that it was only in 2003 that for the first time a well-established female actor (Halle Berry as Jinx Johnson in Die Another Day) was cast as co-star to Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond. It is without any doubt that the narrative of the books as well as the films are structured for the male gaze.

Also Read: Real-Life James Bond Q Is A Woman, MI6 Chief Reveals

Bond, over the years, has not just remained a spy but emerged as a phenomenon. Bond movies are expensively produced films which seek commercial success. Bond fans wait to see him use ultra-sophisticated technology from his briefcase and learn a few tips about his style. Watch out for his Omega watches, BMWs, Ericsson and so on. However, the films that Connery acted in as Bond had still not become the franchise it is now. In the films, the commodity largely remained the “girl”.

Remembering, Connery, an 84-year-old, Ursula Andress who played the bikini-clad Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film Dr No in 1962 told The Sun “It was a very small budget production and I agreed to do it thinking not many people would see it.”

In the film, Ursula emerges from the sea clutching a shell, and asks 007, "What are you doing here? Are you looking for shells?'' He responds ''No, just looking'' as he eyes her stunning figure. That defined Bond’s relationship with his ‘girls’.

Bond’s girls, have a sad past, unhappy childhood or are often controlled by the villain. They also have some characteristic or physical flaw. In From Russia With Love, Tatiana Romanova is an extremely beautiful woman but she is shown stealing a spoon from a hotel.

Also Read: Sean Connery: His five best Bond movies rated

In Diamonds Are Forever a black woman (just a background character) is turned into a gorilla. Another female character is Plenty O'Toole don’t miss the innuendo in that name, and finally, the character Bond slaps Tiffany Case, is a small-time smuggler associated with the villain.

In the Worldview critical edition of From Russia With Love, editor Dilip Kumar Basu writes, “There is enough external variety in the women. This has to be, for in these books women are consumer commodities which have to be packaged differently so that the (Bond, reader) is attracted. There are facts which support this line of thinking. At least three characters, friends and foes of Bond, reportedly are known to ‘consume women in large quantities. Again, a Honeychile, a Tiffany, A Pussy are seen to desire Bond’s body in different ways: which would be all right if the entire narrative structuring were not for the male gaze, and expected readership were not so emphatically male.”

In a letter, Ian Fleming asserts that his lesbian Bond girl Pussy Galore (Goldfinger) “only needed the right man to come along … to cure her psycho-pathological malady.” The film ends with Bond observing Galore’s “deep blue-violet eyes were no longer hard …” He kisses them lightly and says, ‘They told me you only liked women’. She said, ‘I never met a man before.’”  Did your jaw just drop reading this? This letter was to be auctioned for an estimated price between £3,000 and £4,000, the aforementioned article said.

It is difficult to accept James Bond as the hero anymore, the treatment of women is hard to stomach, the changing political scenarios need to be taken into account, however, there is no denying that people of all genders still love to go on adventures with him. It is strange that when he is his cruellest and savage best that he is most admired as the spy hero. But we need to ask ourselves as viewers can we watch these movies in a post #MeToo world? Does he fit the idea of a hero for the millennials? And is there a change knocking at the door?

An article in The Guardian,talking about the next instalment of Bond No Time to Die said, “While Daniel Craig is set to reprise his role as James Bond in the next film, the franchise is set for a shake-up, with reports claiming that black British actor Lashana Lynch has been cast as 007 – taking over Bond’s secret agent number after his character leaves MI6.” For this, we have to wait till April 2021.

The views expressed are the author's own.