The Representation Of The “Bond Girl“

They have always been in the centre of controversy; they have always been branded as beautiful women (often with sexually overt names) who need Bond and ironically, Bond cannot complete his mission without them. They always seem to have perfection in everything they do. However, this portrayal of women can be somewhat unrealistic. Some may want the representation of the ‘Bond Girl’ to stay as it is but others may want the portrayal of the ‘Bond Girl’ to depict the modern idea of ‘girl power.’

I for one think that this representation of women is harmless, partly because it is only a fictional character. It is a representation to be regarded only in entertainment.

In this essay, I am going to look at and analyse the Bond saga looking especially at how the ‘Bond Girls’ in particular are shown and how their characteristics and qualities have changed over the decades.

The James Bond series was created to boost up Britain’s prospects of being noticed as a powerful country with their own hero armed with fast cars, girls, gadgets and gimmicks. Over

The first ‘Bond’ film, released in 1962 was ‘Dr. No’. It was created with a meagre £90.000 budget and featured Sean Connery (then a virtually unknown actor) who was to play Bond’s character for the remainder of the decade with the exception of 1969’s release of ‘In His Majesty’s Secret Service’ featuring George Lazenby.

There are four types of Bond Girl. The Angel with a Wing Down: an innocent woman connected to the villains whom Bond usually saves. The Naïve Beauty, an innocent woman caught up in the plot by accident, which Bond always saves. The Comrade in Arms, a skilled woman with whom Bond is forced to join forces – then to save, and the villainous Vixen, an insane woman whom Bond Sleeps with but never saves.

When Bond asks her name, she replies by saying “Honey Ryder.” He tells her that it is a “very pretty name” in a patronising tone and in the same manner, as you would talk to a child.

Over the years, however, the Bond Girls’ skills and names have changed gradually. From being “dumb blonde girls” (e.g. Honey Ryder in Dr. No) to being “intelligent able women” (Like Wei Lyn in Tomorrow Never Dies). Before all the Bond girls provided was the glamour and sex appeal but now they contribute to the action as well. However, Bond’s attitude towards the Bond Girls’ has not changed. He never keeps the same girl. After he uses her and completes his mission, he gets rid of her and gets himself a new girl. This makes us think of the Bond Girl as one of Bonds possessions, who he can rid himself of, for every new mission.

In her obituary, Carver describes Wei Lyn as a collaborator of the Chinese People’s External Security force. This sounds like an important and a very high-risk occupation that is stereotypically a male role in other spy films. This re-emphasizes her masculinity, shown in her clothes, manner and choice of occupation. She wants to succeed as a woman in a predominantly male role without having to use any female traits. She is willing to compete in an equal level and shows competence in doing the job using brainpower alone.

Some topics in this essay:
Honey Ryder, Bond Wei-Lyn, Denise Richards, Wei Lyn, Throughout Bond, Bond Girls, Quay Jamaica, Whenever Bond, Crab Quay, Bond Girl, bond girl, honey ryder, bond girls, wei lyn, medium shot, type shot, femininity sexuality, bond wei-lyn, bond film, childlike qualities, honey ryder wei-lyn, sunny tropical beach, ‘the world enough’,