Would you support the idea of a black actor playing James Bond?

OK. That is a pretty good argument and I'll try to refute it.


Let's just say Idris Elba becomes the next James Bond (hypothetically).



First of all the background you are talking about, wouldn't be very different from the current James Bond. His relatively rich parents get killed when he's still a child (or maybe in this case, he's adopted and his adoptive parents die) and he grows up with another rich member of the family (which is regarded as what officially happened to the original James Bond) or maybe he is immediately put in a kind of spy training programme or something like that.

They are constantly changing Bond's background in the film series, so there are plenty of possibilities. The point is, that the skin color doesn't necessarily mean that his youth was different from the original 'white' character of the books. They don't even have to explain it in the film. I'm just saying that being black shouldn't necessarily change him into a completely different or unbelievable character.

One thing is sure: he shows signs of extreme intelligence and skills and is therefore simply the best in pretty much everything he does. Skin color doesn't really matter if you have that kind of talent. You're above everything. Everyone will look up at you.

Because, according to my theory, the 'black James Bond' grew up in pretty much the same environments as the 'white James Bond', I don't see why his personality would be so different than the Bond we have now.

He could still be a snobbish, stylish, cynical, brilliant, slightly tortured (in the last movies this characteristic is getting more obvious), womanizing secret agent who calls himself Bond... James Bond and who likes his Martini shaken, not stirred.


P.S.
I'm not saying there HAS to be a black Bond, but I'm just stating that it doesn't necessarily harm the essence of the character or the series, if executed properly.

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Now I understand your point of view on this.

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Gonna give me the rundown on each minority's personality?

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I think it's pretty obvious that being a minority race changes your experience of living life. It has to. To suggest otherwise would be to suggest that nobody notices or cares about anyone's race, which we know isn't true.

The danger, of course, comes from trying to glean specific conclusions or form expectations for specific people from this general truth.

Would like to, but I cannot, since I cannot know how it feels to be a particular minority. I only know their experiences would be different from my own, and that their character would be informed accordingly.

Then you must have a problem with what the film series have become anyway, I guess?

Thank you.

Each actor has put their own spin on the character, but the physical characteristics of the character have been consistent.

All white?

Perhaps they could make James Bond a female - JANE BOND!

Ian Fleming, who created James Bond, made the character white. What's wrong with that? The real-life British spy Fleming based the character on was white, also.

Well, I did suggest he should be a working mother in the next re-boot!

I agree, but isn't it different in some cases?

I mean, if a rich family adopts a black baby and he pretty much grows up in the British high class and shows many great qualities. Do you really think the kid would experience that many problems?

I'm just fantasizing here in the context of the James Bond character.

@Quagmire: What are your thoughts on my earlier post?

I replied to your earlier post(s).

What's wrong with a black Bond?

Not to my long post.

Okay, but he also wrote him with dark hair. Does he have to have dark hair? He placed him in a specific time frame. Does he have to stay in that time frame? The former is pretty superficial, but the latter isn't.

The point, of course, is that his race isn't really what makes James Bond who he is. And while I agree that being a minority race changes your experiences, that's not quite the same thing as suggesting it's integral to the character. It certainly doesn't rule out the possibility of a young black man growing up into the type of character Bond is.

Well, I'm just talking about differences, not necessarily "problems." But yes, wealth would probably mitigate a lot of it. That said, in order for Bond to be wealthy you'd have to change his backstory, and I think it's fair to say that his being an orphan is a pretty integral part of who he is.

It's not exactly the same thing, but if you're concerned with tradition and political correctness, what about Shakespeare and Othello? Undoubtedly conceived as a role to be played by a white actor, albeit most times in blackface, Othello has been played by some of the greatest white actors in history, and some of them in the last 25 years. Is it political correctness that he's now played by a black? I don't really want to change the subject, but generally acting is all about being able to convince others that deep down you're somebody else. Therefore, I don't see the big deal in "role reversals". I don't think it has to be a gimmick, especially with a character like Bond who's been played by so many different actors already.

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Hair colour is not going to change the character Fleming created; he could be bald. And sure, a young black man could grow up into the type of character Bond is, but he wouldn't be Bond because Bond has an established history already.