Stereotypically, women are seen as ‘family makers’, whereas, men are seen as ‘breadwinners’. This stems from men going out to earn the money and women expected to remain at home and look after the children. Women addressed this in the 60’s, with an outcome, of the shortly following, sexual revolution. Women have, from there on, tried to become equal members of society, and be able to participate in everything a man does. In the early 60’s it was just expected for women to cater for their husbands, yet in more recent times women are becoming increasingly recognised as being ‘on par’ with men. Careers were something rarely undertaken by women, especially successfully, in the 60’s. Yet nowadays it is the ‘norm’ for an intelligent woman to go into the world of business as they are not seen as inferior.
In “Goldfinger”, the representation of women is much more demeaning than that in “The World is not enough”. Although both films are revolved around men’s needs, the women in “Goldfinger” seem to have more of a naivety around Bond, and are portrayed as less intelligent than all the men.
The opening credits for both films are representative of how men see these women. Not only is their nudity in the credits a signal of the provocative nature they are expected to evoke, but also, they are covered in a costly substance. This is a sign of the monetary value the women hold in the films. The representation of the female characters is determined by the audience, and the ways in which the characters hold themselves throughout the film. This is affected by the choice of clothing, their first appearance and their relationship with Bond.
The first Bond girls to be seen in both films show the difference in how women are seen at the time. In “Goldfinger” the first woman to be seen by the audience is a dancer. With the first camera angle view from above, it gives a degrading view of her. Whilst dancing she is on her knees to a man, giving him the dominance over her. This is unlike the first woman seen in “The World is not enough” who has a much more professional manner. Unlike the dancer she is not dressed skimpily, but in a suit. Also, she stands over Bond when delivering her knowledge of the accounts, rather than having a man dominant over her.