Abstract
This study examines the contribution of popular culture and artefacts in the narratives
of the James Bond films and postulates that these narratives in turn become popular
cultures of their own.
In the audiovisual industry the actuality and novelty of the content and the production
thereof relates directly to the success of the production. The main reason is because
of actuality of the theme, topic and the popular culture portrayed in the production.
The popular culture products at the time of production is set to change rapidly within
weeks from the time the premiere has been broadcast. These products include
technologies like colour, grain and resolution which are quite evident even to the
untrained eye. Furthermore, and as the aim of this study, social products like fashion,
hairstyles, language, décor, cars, watches, slang, paradigms, narrative schemes and
actuality news stories will have rapidly changed and might not be accepted and
embraced by the viewers. The unique way in which all of these elements are
incorporated into the narrative scheme for the production can proclaim a stake in
box-office income for a film. These popular culture elements are usually developed
with a short term and immediate goal of success in mind. For the purposes of this
study though, and as a result of its success, the James Bond 007 films by Eon
Productions are studied as a unique case study of a sustainable popular cultural
phenomenon.
Although initially thought of as too popular for academic inquests Ian Fleming’s
James Bond novels soon attracted the attention of academics like Kingsley Amis and
Umberto Eco. In the years to follow numerous theorists the likes of Roland Barthes,
Robin Wood, Tony Bennett, Janet Woollacot and James Chapman investigated the
academic and socio-cultural implications of Bond. According to Chapman (1999:4-13)
the main reason that the James Bond “phenomenon” is still not receiving much
academic attention is because it is merely “unfashionable in the present intellectual
climate”. Trahair (1976:1) states that merchandising the hero’s image is important in
creating a popular hero. He adds that this is only possible if you have a “saleable”
item, in this case Bond. Not only is the Bond phenomenon well marketed but also
well accepted by audiences. It is estimated that almost half the world’s population
has seen at least one Bond film (Chapman, 1999:14; Smith & Lavington, 2002:1).
According to Smith and Lavington (2002:1) the Bond franchise is seen as: “the
longest-running, most commercially successful and perhaps most recognisable film
series in the history of the medium”. Bond raked in record breaking audiences and or
box-office income for almost every newly released James Bond film over a period of
forty years. It is also recorded as the highest grossing film franchise in the world with
added grosses of more than $3 billion until 1999 (Chapman, 1999:14). This gives an
indication of the acceptance of the holistic concept that is James Bond 007. It leads
to the question of why James Bond works in a world that has changed enormously in
the last forty years. What is presently in fashion and technologically advanced could
be easily outdated and succeeded by the time it is sold.
It is then the popular nature of the franchise as created through the narrative scheme
and popular culture elements within this narrative recipe that lead to this enquiry.
After branding Bond as being extremely popular, Smith and Lavington (2002:1)
remarks that: “We know that. Everyone knows that. And that’s the point.” They are
referring to the fact that Bond is so well known and accepted that an inquiry into its
popularity is inevitable. Although many such enquiries have been made this study will
focus on the use of popular commodities or popular culture artefacts to popularise the
narratives of the James Bond films. These narratives in turn commodify the films as a
popular franchise.
Dr. F.P. Duvenage