Tuesday, March 7, 2023

The Signs Of James Bond

James Bond-the name is familiar to just about everyone on the planet.

He’s the British super-spy employed by Her Majesty’s Secret Service who is trained in espionage, counter-intelligence and when necessary assassination: a license to kill.

A creation of writer Ian Fleming, James Bond is the ultimate action hero.

His methods of operation, taste for wine, women and the finer things in life is legendary.

He is, for all intends and purposes, an icon of conservatism, tradition, masculinity and sex appeal--a man’s man.

But is that all he is?

In author Daniel Ferreras Savoye’s new book: The Signs Of James Bond, from McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, the persona of James Bond is closely examined.

The James Bond novels and films are well known for their formulaic storylines: megalomaniac madmen (or organizations) thirsting for world domination, clever gadgets, thrill-a-minute fights and escapes, femme fatales and Bond's thirst and hunger for fine drink and food, fast cars, exotic locales and beautiful and seductive women.

But, the James Bond novels and movies are far more than that-they are cultural snapshots of society throughout the decades.

Bond is the ultimate company man dedicated to protecting the status quo-or so it seems.

But Bond’s very existence promotes hedonism, free love, secularism and anti-establishment.

The Bond phenomenon is examined on many different levels, pulling apart the mythos of the character and stripping the veneer of stoicism to reveal a hidden side of Bond.

It’s a semiotic exploration into the world of 007. 

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." — 1 Corinthians 13:13

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