As IF Times

Source: Lashana Lynch will play 007 in new James Bond movie: report

According to this line from the linked story, the creators wanted to “to modernize the franchise criticized by many as being too dated and sexist.” I’ll bet Ian Fleming is shaking and stirring in his grave over what has happened to his original spy thriller stories.  As some may know, Fleming was a British intelligence officer operating in the uncertain world which was cold war Europe in the 1960’s. He likely drew from his experiences in the shadowy world of no holds barred espionage and embellished them with an active imagination to produce one of the most iconic characters in popular fiction and subsequently, the entertainment business.

As usually happens when commercial forces gets a hold of a successful franchise, the Bond mystique has morphed over the decades from being a daring cloak and dagger operator,  into the cartoon like character we now see over the past generations.  From a story line geared towards adults, the Bond franchise has devolved into films with video game like scenarios to appeal to the A.D.D. crowd.  Each film now has a gossamer thin plot line connected by 90 minutes of car chases, explosions, super human feats of agility and an exaggerated Bond insouciance.  It resembles Fast and Furious but with occasional tuxedos and evening gowns and fewer tattoos. It’s all about money.

The first crack in the franchise happened when they decided to cast Judy Dench as M.  Some may have noticed the disappearance of Miss Moneypenny over recent episodes, she of Bond groupie fame.  We definitely don’t see Bond slapping her on the butt as in the early days.  Having to write a subplot of an harassment suit into the show would destroy the flow of the narrative. Although, I can definitely see an LGBT person taking on that role in future films…or a robot…or an animal depending on the state of society by then.  In earlier episodes of the franchise, Bond had to often physically contend with brutish Slavic thugs in life and death hand to hand combat.  As time went on, the fights stretched a bit of credulity, taking on a video game-like feel, but now we are to believe that a slightly built woman will be just as good in such instances.  Okay….

We’re not really sure which audience this ‘freshened up’ franchise is supposed to address.  The latte sipping, vegan, gender confused, safe space, bicycle short wearing crowd shouldn’t be interested in someone employing duplicity, kung fu fighting and other assorted violence for the benefit of a nation…which they think is oppressive anyway. Bond used to be an agent working to further the aims of the West against a Communist East Bloc. What is Bond supposed to be fighting now? Brexiteers?

I’m not sure how gripping the narrative will be as the audience adjusts not only to a black female secret agent, but also to her driving a Tesla instead of an Aston Martin and drinking soy oatmeal smoothies instead of martinis.  On the other hand, given the PC environment and our modern reality, she may actually still be seducing women like Bond of old.  Though the plotline is not yet out, we can expect that her mission will include taking out plastic straw makers and global warming deniers.

The real world has experienced an Alice In Wonderland perversion of most every facet of normal life.  People are gaslit daily on what constitutes unimpeachable fact.  Even the most elementary observation of the sexes is now not so obvious.  Apparently sex is a social construct, not a biological fact.  As some wise guy noted, it’s amazing that throughout hundreds of excavations of ancient civilizations they’ve only ever encountered two sexes.  Suddenly in the past decade, there are dozens.  Apparently, crime is good, cops are now bad.  Single is good, families bad.  Hot days are proof of climate change; conveniently, so are cold days.  Maleness is oppressive, but males in female sports is ok.  I can go on.  That’s real life today and somehow we deal with it.

But novels and characters.  Leave them alone.  They are the product of someone’s imagination and they capture periods of history and reflect their cultural zeitgeist.  People can do whatever they choose to make current history, but leave the old stuff well enough alone.  The new breed of idiots are not just rewriting history, they’re rewriting fiction!

Amazing at it seems, especially to me, As IF Times has been around for almost 10 years.  It was glaringly obvious that the spin on much of the news stories we are exposed to as consumers are often preposterous and were just begging for rebuttal commentary.  The original intent of the essays were to cast an amusing light on the foibles of the media in all its forms, as they portrayed American life as expressed by their politics, their culture and their entertainment.  With well over 600 articles, it’s obvious that there is no lack of material to write about, most viewed with humor but also with the undercurrent of sad reality in each piece.

What has been noticeable over the past 10 years is that the stakes have increased dramatically for the survival of traditional American culture and society.   It is not hyperbole to state that the very foundations are under attack from many diverse fronts, but all with apparently the same goal; to overturn the great experiment that is America by challenging every institution within it.  We observe more and more assaults on the very foundations of law and order, on the standards of cultural behavior, on social norms, even questioning the most elementary definition of the sexes.  Who would have thought even a few years ago that there would be a question of whether one’s sex was a biological reality or merely a social construct?? We also observe commercial players influencing messages to the consuming public, quite apart from their notional products offered for sale.

Is this organic, representing the natural progression of societies or is it more nefarious, representing a coordinated assault?  Certainly, the United States is not alone since social upheaval is manifest in nations the world over and especially in countries heretofore considered stable and civilized.  But America is important because they are the de-facto standard bearer for all kinds of things and ideals that can be collectively characterized as Western civilization, including the most important ones of liberty, freedom and the notion of fair justice for its citizens.

It’s increasingly difficult to find that balance between the humor that such upheaval brings against the aforementioned sadness that now seems to dominate the stories more and more.  In a slight departure from my usual format, I attach a recent speech given by Mollie Hemingway at Hillsdale College in which she addresses the increasing divide facing America today and her thoughts on its roots.  In a comment near the end of her speech she intones the most insightful line of her excellent presentation.  She states,

“…It is not a political divide, it is so much more than that.  Anyone who thinks that this will be resolved through an election is not thinking clearly…”  It’s a fabulous and articulate speech.