Wednesday, September 26, 2018

James Bond and the Color Line

I haven't blogged for a while, so let's get re-started with a truly controversial topic... Should (or could) the next James Bond be black?

My favorite James Bond is still the Bond of my youth: Sean Connery. The best Bond movie ever is still Goldfinger. Don't argue with me; that's simply a fact. I was pissed off when Roger Moore took over, 'cause it just wasn't right!

And yet, back when I was a toddler and Sean Connery was hired to play Bond, there was outrage. Hadn't the producers read the books?

James Bond is clearly, deliberately, and proudly Welsh! His background, history, education, and stature are all laid out in the books in such a way that a Scott could never accurately portray.
Yes, they were serious: Connery, from Edinburgh, was entirely unfit to play Bond, from Wales. Bond is a certain kind of gentleman, that Connery certainly is not, was the general feeling. *

But Albert "Cubby" Broccoli was on to something. Bond was bigger than the books. Bond was more worldly than Welsh. Bond was more timeless than the era in which he was created.

The movie Bonds have always been contemporary, and have refused aging with the post WWII generation that spawned the character. I miss the Aston Martin, but Bond can drive a BMW, and that's just fine.

What are the requirements to play the modern movie Bond? Bond must be loyal to the Queen, and Bond must be cooler than cool. Race (and gender) are inconsequential.

The question to the current franchise owners/producers is how to make the Bond fresh and relevant again? Questioning whether he "needs" to be played by a white actor is certainly part of that. But - for me at least, just IMHO - that also means stepping back from the effects and gadgetry a bit and coming up with a story that's relevant to the world today, and finding the very best actors to perform it.

Hiring a black Bond just because it's "trendy" and will get some extra PR... I don't object, but that's not enough to get me to the theater. Hiring a black Bond because it contributes to the story and says something about our changing world (and then casting the best person)... That's something I'll shell out to see.

Now... on to Superman... What makes you think Superman has to be white? He's not even human!

* After Connery was hired, Ian Flemming wrote in the added back story that Bond's father was Scottish, and that, although raised in Wales, Bond was educated in partly Edinburgh. I'm pretty sure that Timothy Dalton has been the only Welshman to play Bond to date. For more on all this, please see JB & Wales.

Sunday, January 07, 2018

Ray Thomas is Dead. No, He's Outside, Looking In

In October of 1972, at the age of eleven, my brothers and I rode the MTA to Boston Garden for what would be my first real rock concert; The Moody Blues. (If memory serves, we did not ride the MTA home, but our father picked us up at an appointed time and place.)

Our seats (courtesy of Dad, who worked for the Moody's distributor, London Records), were third row, slightly to the left of center, right in front of flautist/singer, Ray Thomas. At one point, while introducing a song, Ray paused, asking "What album was this on?" I shouted the answer up at him (probably the catalog number too). Ray looked down, surprised that the answer came from probably the youngest person in the crowd, then realized I was right, and finished up the intro.

Over the years I saw the classic Moody's perform several times in Boston, then again in the come-back tours in Los Angeles (and, most recently, Justin Hayward solo in Napa).

While I don't necessarily still listen to their music as often as other favorites from over the years, all of their albums continue to hold memories and meaning. Justin's songwriting won me over as a devoted fan forever, but it was Ray's songs, like Dear Diary and Legend of a Mind, that first pulled me in as a child.

And today, at the age of 76, Ray Thomas has died, "suddenly at his home in Surrey, England. No cause of death was announced."

Ray Thomas is dead
No, no, no, no
He's outside
Looking in

The Moody Blues, on tour, 1970

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