“Die Another Day” A Feminist Reading of James Bond
007 encounters Jinx and Miranda Frost, who are both highly capable spies. Although these women possess admirable traits, they can never represent the ideal ego of the primarily phallo-centric society because, of course, they lack the phallus. They must be proven weak or dispensable. Even in the case of Bond, the woman’s lack of the penis implies a threat. In short, if she is empowered, he is emasculated. Furthermore, the lack of a penis is presumed to be an indication of woman’s disgrace and subordinate status. Thus, these women, despite their admirable abilities, or more accurately because of them, are forced to submit to Bond’s will. Because the male claim to power, which he is reluctant to relinquish, rests solely on his possession of the penis, he must disassociate and guard himself from the woman. And so, despite her primary role within the story, the female is really seen as the enemy and must be defeated, or at least neutralized as a threat. This may come conceptually through the act of objectifying the woman or having her in his debt, or literally through defeat in battle.
Miranda is introduced wearing a tight, white fencing uniform, while the lighting casts a soft glow on her face. Although she is dressed similarly to those around her, she is “isolated, glamorized, sexualized. Although her attire would imply that she is probably agile, cunning, and resourceful, its pure white cloth and sexualized presentation reduce her to simply a conquest for Bond. Similarly, Jinx is presented in a white two-piece glistening with water. She can certainly be said to connote “to-be-looked-at-ness,” but it becomes apparent in her first exchange with James that she is as witty and assertive as he. Despite the admirable qualities which manifest themselves in these and other interactions, Miranda and Jinx suffer an initial defeat as they are subjected to and put on display for Bond’s gaze. They are reduced in these first scenes to playthings, so as not to be a threat as adversaries or, heaven forbid, saviors. The portrayal of women as sexual objects, and the use of sexuality to surmount them, is condoned for Bond. He succeeds in what Mulvey coins “demystifying her mystery,” which coincidentally resembles the idea of deflowering the flower.
In addition to this initial defeat Jinx is further diminished as she finds herself in the hands of a goon. Despite her previously demonstrated intelligence and efficiency, she must now be rescued. As restitution for her salvation, Jinx is now in his debt and under his command. This leads her into another life-threatening situation from which he will have to extricate her. Bond instructs Jinx to retrieve Miranda (who he has just had sex with), Miranda betrays them and captures Jinx. Although James Bond- the ultimate womanizer- proceeds to sleep with both women in the movie, we (the audience) never question him and are contrarily appalled at Miranda’s betrayal in the end. The classic treacherous female is another common chauvinistic component of Bond films. This almost clich
Tags: feminism, Halle Berry, James Bond, media, Movies, Pierce Brosnan, womenFiled under: movies
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