Our Comment

Our group discusses this topic from James Bond films and people's aesthetics. We will start from the four aspects of Aesthetics, Clothes, Fashion, James Bond and Bond Girls. Of course, we should first clarify what beauty is. Beauty is everything that can make people feel comfortable. It includes objective existence and subjective existence. Its scope is vast, including architecture, music, dance, clothing, decoration, painting, etc. Aesthetics exists in every corner of our life. For example, walking on the road, the scenery on the street needs us to appreciate the beauty; Sitting in a restaurant, we need to enjoy all kinds of dishes…

 

Like Tagore said, “All good things are true and indelible”. The film is art with artistic solid appeal and impact. The scene is an essential expression element in the movie. It gives the audience a visual feeling. Clothing is a vital link for film creation. It is the primary way of character modelling and plays an irreplaceable role in character modelling. This expression transmits the basic information that film works need to express and brings various artistic enjoyment to the audience. It is a creative form of emotional communication.

 

In 007 films, a short film of about two hours with removing the scene, clothes and makeup is a way for the audience to obtain information quickly, and it is also the fastest way for them to have a first impression of the characters in the play.

 

In 007 films, male characters usually appear in various scenes in classic suits, from the original classic double-breasted style to the later business and leisure style. Although the bond's dress has not changed much compared with Bond girls, the suit explains the bond's male charm and attraction well. It has become an essential asset in 007 films. At the same time, the almost entire bond image in the movie shows the dominant position of men to some extent.

 

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Picture 1, Source: Self-made

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The word "Bond girl" can always arouse our infinite imagination. How to quickly shape the role of a female character in the film, the most effective way is through the clothes she wears. The word "sexy" is always associated with bond girls. Still, according to incomplete statistics, in 25 films, the first dress of bond girls accounts for the most significant proportion, with a probability of nearly 40%. It seems that in the past 60 years, people have had the first choice for how to create the beauty of beautiful people. However, the proportion of bikinis necessary for sexy girls in people's minds is only 17%. Even work clothes account for more than a bikini, with a probability of nearly 25%. Although daily clothes and national clothes also appear, they are all minority, accounting for 12% and 5%, respectively. Another point is that filmmakers gradually reduced their sexual cues in clothing.

 

James Bond's on-screen Describe of a gentleman in the 007 series films. He is always gorgeous and perfect enough; even in some specific scenes, James Bond is shown in an old-fashioned image. And he was a fixed image between the 1960s to the 2000s. Although he was described perfectly in the films by the director or writer in terms of appearance but was James bond really like that on the inside?

 

It is well known that film and television's screen image and character behaviour can influence society. For example, the recent squid game, which has been a global hit, has led to some children following the characters' behaviour in the show, creating a bad influence.

 

The James Bond series films are filled with many macho behaviours. Especially in the early films, The machismo - present in the early James Bond series films, James Bond usually believed that he needed to protect their female companions. He considers that his female companions are always weak and helpless, so they should safeguard their female partners. We all know that the audience influences the art of cinema or, to some extent, so was it the audience of the time controlled by the films? We can think about it.

 

In real life, machismo is also rife. For example, when men and women work together on some jobs, men always habitually give themselves the physically demanding work because they think the woman may not do the job. Furthermore, when men and women eat together, macho men habit paying for their meals to show their abilities. But this is disrespectful to women and is not the right thing to do. Women in modern life have gained more status and power through their fight for it. James Bond's was rude in his films, and this toxic boilerplate portrayal has started to reduce over time; men should have more different character designs with more possibilities. At the same time, James Bond has become an immortal character in cinema history, so let's move on to the portrayal of women in film.

 

Literary and artistic practice activities can have the most effective casting, development and sublimation effects on the human aesthetic, psychological form. The beauty he created is also the perfect realisation of human aesthetic goals. In a sense, aesthetics is the philosophy of art. Our discussion of aesthetics makes people realise how the strict logical foundation of aesthetics is rooted in the long historical practice of Western literature and art and restricts and influences the complex aesthetic practice of Western literature and art.

 

We think the discussion of beauties has been relatively uniform from ancient times to the present. Starting from Venus with a broken arm, most women regard masculinity as their beauty, and their powerful limbs give observers a sense of security. When the series first started in the twentieth century, Bond girls were characterised by weak princess images, slender figures, and graceful curves.

 

As the longest-lived spy film in fashion, the 007 series has surpassed half a century since its inaugural work in 1962 and has been in the cinema for more than sixty years. At the same time, the image of the male protagonist James Bond is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. It has almost become an immortal myth in the history of movies. He must be accompanied by beautiful luxury cars when he is on the mission, and this is also an indispensable classic in the series. Match. Bond never hides his admiration for the female sex, and in these long years, the changes in the casting of Bond girls also reflect the changes in people's aesthetics towards female roles in the evolution of the times.

 

The initial images of Bond girls were relatively simple, generally dominated by bright and light-haired, blue-eyed beauties, such as Ursula in the first movie "Dr No". Blond Barbie dolls, adorable sexy stunners, exotic women or simple and crude femme Fatales. Such roles and personalities emerge endlessly, with highly high repetitiveness and substitutability. In the middle and late stages of the series, the casting of the part of the Bond girl finally ushered in an inflexion point. No longer a single blonde or blindly showing sexiness, the aesthetics of female characters have become more diverse—for example, Michelle Yeoh or Grace Jones, who breaks the aesthetic stereotype.

 

In the movie, Bond is an invincible agent capable of business. He can be an unstoppable "female magnet", always showing traditional dominant masculinity. Therefore, in most cases, Bond girls are more like trophies given to Bond. They came to the movie. Fall in love with Bond quickly and madly, and sleep with him according to the past rules. As for other things, I just did it, by the way, and sacrificed my life for him when necessary. With the changes of the times, the status and role of women in the 007 series of films began to increase gradually, and the male gaze began to decrease.

 

They pay more attention to their feelings than ever before, and they escape from the status of sex partners as Bond, and they are given unprecedented importance in the film. It is no longer just for appreciation, and it is no longer fragile and helpless to wait for rescue, but takes up arms and fights side by side with Bond and strives to be equal to Bond in all aspects. When Bond girls are no longer bound by stereotyped labels and become representatives of modern women's power, people will become more and more aware of beauty. As in the latest movie, Léa Seydoux, who plays Bond's fiancée, said: “I don’t need Bond and won't wait for him to save me.”

 

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