MovieChat Forums > Dr. No (1962) Discussion > Racist and bad treatment of Quarrel

Racist and bad treatment of Quarrel

posted 9 years ago by thylacine80
27 replies | jump to latest

Quarrel started as a threatening and strong character. He was mysterious, he could fight and made a strong impression on Bond.

He was a strong ally with a lot of knowledges.

Then, as soon as they arrive on Crab Key, the character is treated like a supertitious dumb, afraid of everything, acting like he never saw a beautiful woman (his look at Honey).

The worst part is when Bond ask him to go and "fetch my shoes".

I know it was 1962 and people were still ignorant about racist matters, so I'm not saying it's a "racist movie" and I adore this film, but it is still uncomfortable to watch.

[–] wallacesawyer 9 years ago

He's still a bit of an improvement over the book. In the book it became very irritating as I was reading his dialogue because Ian Fleming wrote Quarrel as speaking broken English.

http://www.freewebs.com/demonictoys/

[–] tonycarr 9 years ago

The worst one is Live and Let Die, which is where Quarrel first appears. Fleming's dialogue when Bond is in Harlem is very uncomfortable.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Skoony 8 years ago

I completely agree. The "fetch my shoes" line is what sends it over the edge. A very master-and-his-slave type moment.

[–] The_Ultimate_Hippo 8 years ago

So if Quarrel told Bond to "fetch his shoes" would you still complain?

How about the "3 blind black killers" murdering an innocent white woman showing no signs of mercy? Wouldn't that be a hate crime?

"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine

[–] thylacine80 8 years ago

How about the "3 blind black killers" murdering an innocent white woman showing no signs of mercy? Wouldn't that be a hate crime?

There's white bad people, dumb people, cruel people and criminals as well as black.
So the 3 black killers didn't bother me at all.

I'm talking about Bond acting like a master toward his slave with Quarrel, and precisely the point is we never get to see a black character talking that way to Bond.

[–] The_Ultimate_Hippo 8 years ago

Uh Mr. Big's henchmen called bond a "honky", you don't get more racist than that.

"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine

[–] The_Ultimate_Hippo 8 years ago

Plus there are white people who fetch shoes for black people and black people who fetch shoes for white people.
So Quarrell fetching shoes for Bond didn't bother me at all.

"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine

[–] HelpMeRhonda (1158) 5 years ago

Whether it was written with a racist mindset, I don't know. But when Quarrel is on a mission of life-or-death and his boss, an international spy, orders him to grab his shoes, what's the big deal?

[–] super-joey 8 years ago

Ugh. Must EVERY movie on IMDB have a thread accusing it of racism or sexism or homophobia or.... etc. etc. etc. TIRESOME.

[–] thylacine80 8 years ago

Must EVERY movie on IMDB have a thread accusing it of racism or sexism or homophobia

It depends if the said movie really IS racist or homophobic.

[–] marco-47826 8 years ago

Name any. I think people are just paranoid and intolerant these days. Hence them seeing hateful comments everywhere. I was watching the movie, the othet day, and thought to myself things looked better, back then. No nazi PC police, everywhere. People lived, without overthinking everything.

[–] KD637 (488) 7 years ago

I agree. Bond should have just silently sit in a corner and watch Quarrel have sex with Honey, just like OP would.

[–] Karl Aksel (1498) 6 years ago

I don't see how Quarrel's superstition is somehow racist. Remember, Honey was equally superstitious, and she was white, and brought up in an educated household.

[–] DeckardB26354 (1213) 6 years ago

There's too many snowflakes in this world nowadays who have nothing else in their sad and pathetic lives but to take offence at everything and anything, and to make mountains out of fucking molehills.

Deckard B26354, I'm filed and monitored

[–] kuku (3510) 6 years ago

Yeap. Fetching shoes was an usual services decades ago. It was not about race, but about economic status, and many white people made a living of it.

But hey, a black fetching shoes? that's racist!

[–] Otter (24464) 6 years ago

There were and are people who made a living fetching shoes and performing other such personal services on request, but Quarrel wasn't one of them. He was a boat owner or fisherman, who acted as an informant or agent for the CIA and MI5, was a bit of a badass, and not someone who worked in a field where fetching shoes was in the job description.

So if you think it's perfectly fine to ask random people who aren't servants to fetch your shoes, I propose an experiment. Casually ask your auto mechanic, your neighbor, some random co-worker, your dentist, and other acquaintances to fetch something for you, and see how they react. Bonus points for asking a black guy who's a bit of a badass.

[–] kuku (3510) 6 years ago

In the Bond universe, local contacts use to not only to provide information, but to meet his daily needs: food, cleaning and transport. That's a common pattern in Bond movies.

That said, is the scene a bit derogatory for Quarrell? Yeap, it is, but it's not because of Bond telling him to fetch his shoes, but because Bond had to tell him to fetch his shoes. In most movies, local contacts take charge in a very efficient way, having things done before being asked.

[–] Otter (24464) 6 years ago

But in real life, "locals" and other regular people get very huffy if they're treated like they only exist to meet the personal needs of someone who considers himself more important.

If that's a pattern in the Bond films then it's a flaw, because while Bond is a fantasy figure and not a real person, he really shouldn't behave in a way that ordinary people would find demeaning or irritating. Or racist, if he pulls it on black people.

[–] kuku (3510) 6 years ago

You find it demeaning or irritating. Don't generalize.

[–] Otter (24464) 6 years ago

Apparently, so do other people. I'm not the one who called "racist"!

[–] kuku (3510) 6 years ago

Well, that word has become kind of meaningless by now. Not a big deal.

Actually, white people have been serving white people for centuries, and nobody was running in circles while clapping his hands to his head.

[–] Borat (658) 6 years ago

this is the best james bond movie i have seen and i have seen damn near all of em. what makes it so good is it was made in a age soo far before the era of sjw vomit

[–] liscarkat (19447) 5 years ago

I love it when Bond tells that superstitious dude to go fetch his shoes.