One of the most important changes that showed how the representation of gender has changed was the fact that ‘M’ is now played by a woman, (In the earlier film ‘Goldfinger’ ‘M’ is played by a man.)
‘M’ in Goldeneye is now played by a woman and not by a typical Bond girl, but by a respectable, intelligent, mature woman who is seen just as capable of making decisions as a man.
The first woman that we saw in ‘Goldfinger’ is a belly dancer, dressed in next to nothing, and within a few minutes is seen semi naked in the bath. This shows how women were portrayed. In comparison to ‘Goldeneye’ where the first women that we see is an intelligent smartly dressed doctor. This demonstrates exactly how women’s roles have changed.
We see Bond as a hero from the start of both ‘Goldeneye’ and ‘Goldfinger’ the difference being that in the earlier film, Bond used the woman, who he is kissing as a shield to save himself from being shot. This shows that he has a higher opinion of himself and complete disregard for women. It shows how women are represented as being disposable.
In the later film ‘Goldeneye’ Bond puts Natalias life first, when the train is about to blow up. This shows how representation of gender has changed from the earlier film. Bond now sees Natalia as an equal and wants to ensure that she is safe before himself.
Another example of how in the earlier films women were seen to be sex objects is when Bond is talking to a pretty blond woman, but as soon as Felix comes arrives Bond slaps the woman on the bottom and send her on her way declaring that she is no longer required because its ‘mans talk.’
In ‘Goldfinger’ women are there for amusement, a trophy figure. Goldfinger himself demonstrates this himself by paying Gill to be seen with him.
‘Goldeneye’ shows how women are more equal. ‘Zenia Onatopp’ shows how women are being represented. When racing with Bond she is equally as good. She challenges him and is very assertive. ‘Zenia’ is represented in the same way as the men from ‘Goldfinger.’ (The men are all sat around the table, drinking and smoking cigars whilst talking to Bond) This is seen between Zenia and Bond.
Zenia is still a typical Bond girl in the sense that she wants Bond, however this time she is the one in control and is the seductive one.
Women are portrayed in ‘Goldfinger’ in such a way that it seems that they all want to do is be married and “play house”. Moneypenny is first seen kissing Bond and within the first thirty seconds of the audience meeting her she is hinting at marriage. This is representing women of the sixties, showing that all they want to do is be a housewife.
In the sixties the Bond films were very sexist. Even the car is a woman. – ‘She’s a beauty.’
‘Goldeneye’ seems to have more roles, in which women are represented as being intelligent, equals to Bond and essential to the storyline, than there are “typical” Bond girls. In comparison to ‘Goldfinger’ contains more “typical” Bond girls, who are just there to be slept with and are not essential to the plot (i.e. they do not give Bond information that is needed to complete missions) ‘Goldfinger’ has very few women who are actually assertive and intelligent. The change in society has most definitely changed the way Bond films represent gender.
One thing that is noticeable about the ‘Goldeneye’ and ‘Goldfinger’ is that they both contain women who act out of the typical character of that time. An example of this in ‘Goldfinger:’
The majority of the women in this film are being portrayed as sex objects and people that can be pushed around, and just want to be at home to “play house.” The grandma shows this. We first see her cooking in her kitchen, happy and contented. Wearing clothes that we typically associate with grandmas – (cardigans, slippers, glasses, grey curly hair.) The next
time we see her she is using a machine gun shooting at people. This is against the stereotypical Bond girls.
A similar situation occurs in ‘Goldeneye.’ – The female doctor is a stereotype of a “Bond Girl” from an earlier film. The doctor is very naive, sensible, easily seduced, and is not at all brave.
The stereotypical Bond girl in ‘Goldfinger’ is being seen less and less in newer Bond films. The female characters are becoming a lot more intelligent and vital for the plot. Saying this, James Bond has, and will probably will always have girls which are there to be sexy, and to look good, the only difference now being that these girls are appearing less and less but being replaced with sexy intelligent women, who are just as respected as Bond himself. These changes have been growing fast, due to the fast development in out culture. Women are now seen as equals to men and the newer Bond films show this.
It would seam clear that women in Bond films will continue to grow and change in line with the development within society. However while the Bond girls have moved on, one thing remains hardly unchanged …. Bond himself. He may be licensed to kill, but his aims will always be on the latest female challenge (a challenge that he will always rise to!)
