The James Bond 007 Dossier

A lot of people seem to be upset about it, but I can respect India's stance on this. Bond isn't in love with these women, he's just seducing them. On cultural and religious grounds I can see why they might want to censor this behavior. However, what I really want to know is: did they also censor the violence? Or did they cut the kissing but leave the eye gouging and torture? If they did that, then that's messed up! I know which I'd rather have my kids grow up and try... ‪#‎SanskariJamesBond‬.

And this sort of double standard is also rampant here in America, both in films and on TV. Spectre is rated PG-13 in the US, "for intense sequences of action and violence, some disturbing images, sensuality and language". Fair enough, I think that's a good call, certainly I wouldn't want to take anyone under 13 to see it. But I guarantee you that if either of the Bond Girls has showed a nipple on screen it would have been rated R (17 and up), even if there was less violence, the nudity would bump it to an R. Think about that. Eye gouging and torture are okay for children 13 and up but we can't let them see a nipple! After all, only EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD has nipples, all I have to do is look down my own shirt and I can see two, no, surely it's much healthier for them to learn how to gouge somebody's eyes out with their thumbs?!

As an adult, I enjoy Daniel Craig's portrayal of Bond, but at the same time I lament the fact that James Bond is no longer family entertainment. I grew up during Roger Moore's tenure, and back then kids were into James Bond. There were James Bond toys, and read-along books and kids under 13 could go see the films at the cinema. We'd turn away in disgust at the smoochy stuff and revel in the car chases and gadgetry. I don't remember ever seeing any blood or hearing any bad language, and the suggestive double entendres always went right over my head. It was all cartoon violence, not the kind of gritty realism we are used to today. Sure the films seem rather silly now, but boy were they fun when I was 10!

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