Why can't we have a black James Bond?
Its the only way a Bond film cannot be racist.
shareBecause he was wrote as white. It’s not racist or a big deal that he’s white it’s just who he is. Why’s this even an issue.
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MovieChat Forums > Spectre (2015) Discussion > Why can't we have a black James Bond?
James Bond is a white character. Plain and simple.
shareThe only reason I can see is that he needs that underlying old-money, old-family polish. Sure, all sorts of people are going to Eton and Oxford and thinking themselves upper class these days, but that's not the same thing.
And that's my only objection. Face it Bond is like Batman, he can look like anything! It's his actions and personality that make him iconic, not a specific look.
I always assumed that Bond was part of the 'elite', but, unlike Batman, wasn't necessarily an aristocrat.
Admittedly, recent films detailing his background seem to suggest that, although he was an orphan, like Bruce Wayne, he did come from money. Nevertheless, I think it would be easier to make a black Bond work than a black Bruce Wayne work (although that's certainly not to say that we shouldn't have a black Bruce Wayne or a black Bond) simply because Bruce Wayne tends to be defined by his wealth and blue-blooded roots in a way that Bond isn't really.
There was a time when a black Bond wouldn't have made much sense, in view of the systemic racism of the British security services and establishment in general, and the inherently colonialist agenda he upholds, but I don't think that's the case any longer. Racism and imperialism hasn't disappeared, of course, but they no longer seem to be the cast-iron barrier to black people, and other minorities, reaching the heights of MI6, and other elite British organisations, that they once were.
guys... he's just baiting you... the OP is written in jest...
And no, Iris Elba would not make a good James Bond... Daniel Craig barely does as he does not seem like he attended Eton and is maybe a bit too blonde if we want to be nerds about it, which is surprising as it would have been trivial to dye his hair a shade or two darker... But Sean Connery was Bond and he doesn't seem like what the book fans talk about so there is some flexibility...
I think theoretically, there could be a black James Bond, but I just can't see it working well as if they did a proper Bond... As it is supposed to be an establishment type spy... Then again times have changed and the James Bond from the Ian Fleming stories would be a bit out of place and anarchronistic, unless it was an older character... So Bond has to change a bit to work in a contemporary setting...
The thing is, most candidates seem either far too effeminate (Tom Hiddleston or Mathew Goode) or unrefined and "blokey"...
Will be interesting to see who is the next Bond...
I didn't realize James Bond operated on a quota system.
shareObviously a fake bait thread which is the kind of thing I think is the case a lot of the time when this comes up. Bond will likely never be portrayed by a black actor and I think that's for the best. Bond is just far too iconic of a character to mess around with unnecessarily. Creating more new films with black leading men would be great though and should be the goal.
I'd just hate giving people who are actually racist a legit issue to hide behind. What's needed is more black leading men and action heroes in general, not a black James Bond.
Im curious to know why you think it should be the goal to create more black leading men?
shareInstead of making a black guy James Bond: since Felix Leiter has been established as a black guy by Jeffery Wright why not cast Idris Elba as Felix Leiter and give the Felix Leiter character a bigger role in the movies?
They could alternatively (to not take the spotlight from Bond) make a few spin off movies about Felix Leiter, sort of Bond but not Bond movies where this time Felix saves the world from the baddies.
Since you got some folks who go on about Bond being black and stuff I think this might be a fair compromise and alternative