opinion
The character of James Bond has evolved quite a bit on the big screen. From Sean Connery's cold-blooded, promiscuous version, Roger Moore's funnier one, Timothy Dalton's more serious and darker Bond, and Daniel Craig's grittier, rougher version of the sexy secret agent, they've kept one thing constant over the decades – impact. Of broken and murdered hearts.
Unfortunately, the cinematic version of Bond suffered a fatal blow to all things fun – triggering warnings. Specifically, two of Sean Connery's Bond films produced by the BFI come with foreshadowing to prepare the audience for the surprise that the past was culturally different than it is now.
However, this particular warning is meant to protect the Institute more than the viewers, as the world has become overcrowded with a population willing to take offense at anything and everything. It should come as no surprise that a mysterious international super-spy would offend the sensitive sensibilities of the average viewer in today's society.
foregone conclusion
The British Film Institute (BFI) has posted warnings on its website for films highlighted in its latest exhibition, John Barry: The Bond Soundtrack and Beyond. Two of the films that received warnings were Sean Connery's portrayal of Bond in the 1964 film. Goldfinger And the 1967 movie You only live twice.
The BFI claimed that the films “will cause crime” with the following disclaimer on its website:
“…many of these films contain language, images, or other content that reflects the prevailing views of their time, but would cause offense today (as they did then).”
You only live twice Receives a specific warning:
“Contains outdated racial stereotypes”
For those who haven't enjoyed watching yet You only live twice, Bond has to disguise himself as Japanese. A tall Scottish man poorly disguised as a Japanese man is not offensive; It's funny.
In response to the clear ridicule and anger sparked by these warnings, a BFI spokesperson explained:
“A 2021 British Board of Film Classification poll found that nearly two-thirds of teens surveyed support trigger warnings for films that may negatively impact their mental health.”
Reading between the lines, one can sense the actual response: “Don’t blame us; “We just give people what they want.”
RELATED: Woke Publishers Add Warnings to Ernest Hemingway Classic
Lots of triggers
Depending on which media source you use for your news, you'll likely find several outlets supporting Bond and James Bond. Hey ho! The films listed all types of 007 films that, according to them, required warnings.
But they didn't just stop at movies. According to the website, even popular opening titles should contain some warnings.
They admit that the opening sequence of the Bond films is:
“…innovative, vulnerable, creative and certainly influential.”
However, they continue to say:
“But take a moment to think: Crowds of naked women wrapping themselves around arms, making buxom, naked movements for no reason?”
The author of the article does not appreciate the artistic quality of the opening scenes, let alone their symbolism. The inherent sex appeal of a woman's curves moving like an ever-elusive silhouette combined with the clean, crisp lines of a gun – both are equally dangerous for the mysterious man.
RELATED: Woke sensitive readers go after James Bond by removing 'offensive' language from novels
This is not the first time Bond has been in the crosshairs of the progressive left. Last year, reprints of novels by Ian Fleming came with the following disclaimer:
“This book was written at a time when terms and attitudes that contemporary readers might find offensive were common.”
The above has earned Ian Fleming a place among other authors offended by “sensitive readers”, such as Roald Dahl and Ernest Hemingway.
Warning raised
Trigger warnings are a reasonably new concept introduced in an attempt to prepare consumers emotionally for potential depictions of violence or other disturbing things. The idea was that individuals who had experienced past trauma might be retraumatized if they were inadvertently exposed to images or depictions of something similar to their experience.
However, some experts argue that trigger warnings have a detrimental effect on these individuals. Victoria Bridgeland from Flinders University explains:
“When people see trigger warnings, it makes them feel anxious, but that anxiety doesn't seem to represent any kind of useful emotional preparation.”
Basically, the trigger warning itself excites individuals. She goes on to say:
“We need more strategies to give people rather than just putting a warning on something and assuming that will give them a mental health toolkit.”
How about getting rid of trigger warnings altogether and putting the ownership of dealing with one's emotions and mental health up to individuals? Life is all about struggle, as we learn from a story job in Bible.
RELATED: As sensitive readers tune out the language in Roald Dahl's books, they're now less likely to read them
One cannot live life without the pain and suffering associated with it. You can't take the good times and leave the bad times because they are inconvenient.
One must learn to accept the things that happen to them, deal with them appropriately, and learn how to survive and thrive despite those difficult times. If watching a Bond movie from the 1960s sends you into a state of mental health free fall, you have more significant issues than previous traumas.
It's time to support and share the sources you trust.
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