Roger Moore as James Bond

Normally I would write something that has something to do with this blog, but due to the startling inactivity shown by myself, I'm going to go off on a tangent to get myself back into things. Poor Roger Moore! He's consistently named the worst bond... hang on, I have something to say before we say any "Moore":

George Lazenby, the man who played bond in "Her Majesty's Secret Service" was once divorced for punching his pregant wife in the face and breaking her nose while his son was dying of cancer.

You should probably read that twice. George Lazenby later went on to work for AIG Financial Products.

Roger Moore was consistently named the worst bond. Let's try to dispel that rumor with a one movie citation: Live and Let Die. Let's break down some of the things Moore did in this movie with a critical eye towards the "bond-ness" of the actions and the strange view of morality said actions impose. I believe this movie was both a revolution within the bond franchise, and more importantly, one of the greatest trans-racial documents produced in recent times. In short, I want to argue that the actions depicted in this movie paved the way for mainstream acceptance of both African American culture and drug culture as both feasible alternatives to the nuclear family model of the 50's, and legitimate issues to the conservative white community. I would also like to touch upon what impact I feel this movie may have had on the African American community in the United States at this time. As a clear example of "Blaxploitation", Live and let die serves as shallow thesis for the equalization of rights in 1970's America.

Lets start with what is inevitably the most interesting part of any James Bond movie: The girl. We're introduced to Rosie fairly early in the film, and she meets her untimely demise just as quickly. Why is Rosie important? Because she was an idiot. She was ideologicaly driven and all the more incompetant because of it. She was painted as a useless agent whos only saving grace was her good looks. As an African American woman and an undercover CIA agent, she truly embodied the vision of the "outsider". However I think the directors were very clever here: they weren't afraid to depict her as a stereotypical "dumb woman", and they weren't afraid to depict her as a "fearful zealot" of her religion as well. Risky! Archetypes like that are what drive controversy and I don't believe for a second that they're actual phenomenon. There's just as many dumb men and fearful non-zealots. I'm not anti woman or anti voodoo priest. I am pro woman and pro voodoo (as a hobby, not as a belief). Just so we're all clear.

Anyways, the directors make her stupid. She's the first African American woman to ever be a bond girl, and she's horrendously incompetent. Racism? No! This is the sincerest form of anti-racism there can be! Bond girls are always idiots, and they gave her no special treatment. Is it possible Stephen Colbert's "I don't see race" philosophy was shared by the casting director in charge of bond girls? Is it shared with the writer in charge of her part? I postulate that yes, it is. It totally is.


Now let's look at Roger. What a douche! And that's my argument: that he was, in fact, a douche. Bond, despite all his chiseled features and government funding, is a total asshole. Just admit it so we can continue on with this post. Okay? Great. What I'm saying is that Roger Moore does just fine in this respect. In one key scene Bond gives Rosie a choice: either die by the hands of a voodoo priest and tell me what you know, or die because I shoot you in the head after we just had sex in this jungle clearing. He seriously bangs her, then threatens her with death. Guess what? She dies after a voodoo priest uses a robot scarecrow to shoot a blow-dart in her neck. Later, on a boat, he jokes about her being a moron then tells the man he's sailing with that "at least she's good looking"... before he slaps her ass and sends her down into the boat. Several seconds later he follows her, and most likely has 1970's sex with her, which is like the sex we have now, only without protection and with more hair.

Roger Moore is often accused of being a sillier, less intense and more boring version of Sean Connery. I think that anyone who has carefully studied Live and Let Die would disagree. I'd like to end this installment of "Live and Let Die as Socio-racial commentary" with the promise we'll get into the nitty gritty in about a weeks time.

To be Continued...