Why James Bond is Pop Culture's Favorite Secret Agent

For a character who has been on screen for twenty two films and over forty five years, we don’t seem to know much about James Bond. We know he likes women, fast cars, cool gadgets and his martinis shaken, not stirred, but we’ve heard all that at nauseam. While Batman, Superman, and the rest of the film franchises try to give their hero an identity by explaining their past, the James Bond films have always been identified by the present. It is the films dedication to the current state of the world that makes James Bond the most timeless and relevant character in pop culture history. I understand Harry Potter and Star Wars might be more popular, but no hero has been able to transcend the rules of time like James Bond.

The 60s - If you watch the films from the 60s, Bond is a perfect poster boy for the sexual revolution. His numerous conquests, cocky swagger and seductive gaze gave promiscuity a respectable name. While saving the world was business, the sex was always fun. You can almost see Sean Connery smirking on the inside every time he has to address Pussy Galore by name. James Bond films fully embraced America’s figurative unbuttoning of it’s blouse, as Ursula Andres made her dripping wet entrance and Claudine Auger’s dark vulnerability made her role as Domino not only one of the hottest Bond girls of all time, but one of the hottest film characters of all time. The political climate in America was the perfect background for James Bond to travel the world as an agent in The Cold War. The spy genre was huge in this era because the paranoia of the Iron Curtain had patriotism high and everybody watching their back. 007 even capitalized on America’s obsession with space, as his numerous foes often had world domination by use of space weapons as their agenda, causing Bond to leave the galaxy for some of his missions.

The 70s – As disaster movies like The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno raked in mega bucks for Hollywood, the Bond franchise decided bigger was in fact better. The 1970s saw the release of the most ambitious films of the entire series, as they pushed barriers with stunts even the Japanese weren’t crazy enough to try. The mid-air parachute fight in Moonraker took 13 days to shoot, and the ski cliff dive from The Spy Who Loved Me convinced the film’s crew that the director was insane. As racial tension across the world intensified, Live and Let Die provided blaxpotation scenes worthy of Super Fly and Foxy Brown as it depicted the gritty ring of drug smuggling in Harlem, and the bigotry on New Orleans.

The 80s – With Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton splitting Bond duty in the 80s with three and two respectively, it seemed Bond received a makeover every time he made an appearance. Hollywood was producing blockbusters in every genre, so there was no true formula to follow. The only thing they all had in common is the characters had to be larger than life. From Indiana Jones to Tootsie, captivating characters carried films throughout every genre. Where the Bond films of the 90s would be effects driven, the interaction between James Bond and the likes of Max Zorin (Christopher Walken), Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi), May Day (Grace Jones) and Octopussy (Maud Adams) dismantled any need for big explosions and high speed chases. Of course Bond would not be Bond without those things, and even held it’s own with Die Hard when it came to climatic action scenes.

The 90’s – Bond appeared for the first time since the end of the Cold War in 1995, and there was a question of whether he would be relevant. As the technology age flourished in America, it did so for James Bond as well. It seemed like Bond’s weapons were becoming outdated faster than Q could pump them out. James Bond should never be using technology made available to the general public. If the three movies in the 90s, Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough, the producers tried to top each other in terms of special effects in each one. The good this was that it worked. With George Lucas and CGI becoming more of the norm, Britain’s favorite MI6 agent blew up everything from Tokyo to Peru out of desperation to keep up. Although the 90s will be known as the Peirce Brosnan ear, it can also be identified as the era where James Bond gets back his footing.

The 2000s – A new Bond and a new beginning were emanate. As Die Another Day paid tribute to the past forty years, Bond took a new direction. Just like Batman and Superman, Bond returned to his roots. The beginning. The only difference is, Bond is not damaged and not doomed. He’s rather good in the beginning but not the best. He’s serious but had a witty edge. And in our recent political climate, who would have thought it would be a British agent saving the world from Middle Eastern terrorist and economical bankruptcy. James Cameron put the kibosh on True Lies 2 because he thought it was no time to dramatize Iraqi terrorist, but why not. James Bond has, and always will be the barometer for pop culture and current events, which is why he is still the longest running franchise is movie history.