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!

Source: Students at Lena Dunham’s college offended by lack of fried chicken | New York Post

The great gulf between what is depicted in the movies and what you observe in real life is laughingly wide to those that pay attention to these things.  Whomever said that life imitates art hasn’t been paying attention.  The majority of movie trailers today tease filmgoers with chaotic scenes of violence and action: well coiffed heroes with guns ablaze performing superhuman acts of courage and daring while cavalierly dispatching bad guys.

There is no angst expressed during  the decimation of faceless thugs and evil despots; nor in the property destruction that is typically a horror show for insurance adjusters.  All of this visceral action and mayhem is undertaken ostensibly to benefit the greater good of mankind.

Movie depictions are truly created out of the most improbable adolescent fantasies.  Given today’s cultural zeitgeist, there is zero chance that such alpha personas exist other than as portrayed in cinema.  Kids on college campuses can barely withstand the horrors of name calling much less take a roundhouse to the temple.

It’s comical to imagine that 20-somethings today could possibly handle a multi round automatic weapon when the mere image of one sends them scurrying away to their self declared safe zones.  If they can’t handle the odd verbal slur, they aren’t going to like their nether regions being slammed by bolo balls while tied naked to a chair like 007 in a recent Bond movie.

While film has always been about creating idealized escapism, they may want to make movies that can more identify with today’s real world.  Conflicts between despotic villains can be resolved by earnest discussions without resort to violence or name calling.  Climactic scenes will include the peaceful surrender of evil doers by the marshaling of opposing protesters holding placards instead of the generic gun battles with infinite bullets.  Instead of stylized mano-a-mano kung-fu fights, they can instead be filmed as intense rock, paper, scissors scenes.  There will always be lawyers accompanying covert operators as they parachute into enemy territories on missions.  Perhaps in a delectable bit of rapturous fantasy, they can all be sacrificed for the good of the rest of society.  Meh, that’s probably too much of a stretch.

If you think about it, Star Wars as a concept couldn’t exist.  Societies would never be allowed to continue shooting and slashing in their struggles.  More likely, the conflicts would be determined by bands of lawyers huddling over canapés and scotch while the fearful masses sit huddled nearby anxiously awaiting the results like waifs in a Dickens novel.

Yep, the entertainment of today is mislabeled.  It’s not action/adventure; it’s all fantasy.