Transcript Fast Cars, Beautiful Hotels and Crazy Despots!
Fast Cars, Beautiful Hotels and Crazy Despots!
James Bond as celebration or critique of capitalism?
The classic account Bond as celebrator of capitalism?
aspirational products
Conspicuous consumption Aspirational lifestyle - independence; glamour and
excitement; gadgets = seductive power
Result = beautiful women Even the
‘inaccessible’ and un-seducable
Q and Bond’s ‘new BMW’
Fast cars, champagne and..
Product Placement
Moonraker Drax’s wealth
Capitalism’s seductive power?
Bond and the un-seduceable?
Bond as capitalist critique?
Despots corrupted by greed and lust for power Capitalism results in megalomania?
Films as critiques of capitalism
The World is Not Enough released in 1999; Pierce Brosnan Elektra King - female despot; key protagonist kills own father to control oil company willing to detonate nuclear bomb to secure energy domination capitalism has corrupted her
Elektra King’s lust for power
Tomorrow Never Dies released in 1997; Pierce Brosnan Elliot Carver - media mogul
attempts to launch WWIII in order to promote own media empire
wife assassinated for prior relationship with Bond Satire of Murdoch Press? Reveals corrupting power
Elliot Carver, media mogul chapter 20
Goldfinger released in 1964; Sean Connery Auric Goldfinger despot who ‘loves only gold’ plan to attack USA gold deposit at Fort Knox to pollute the gold supply so increasing value of own stock. greed and megalomania caused by capitalism
Moonraker released 1979; Roger Moore Hugo Drax, California technology entrepreneur.
space shuttle programme huge wealth and opulence desire to destroy humanity and flee to space Again, capitalism has created megalomania.
Drax’s plans for global rule!
Conclusion Capitalism is ubiquitous in Bond films
YET
capitalism results in despotic tendencies and megalomania
BUT
Greed is ultimately defeated by Bond with a return to ‘the norm’ ‘The norm’ (i.e. capitalism) results in more despotism, greed and megalomania The cycle repeats itself...
Thus capitalisms contradiction is continuous.