On paper, the James Bond that sparkles on the silver screen simply does not make sense for a secret agent. He drives flashy eye-catching cars like Aston Martins, Rolls Royces and Lotuses. He literally announces who he is. “The name’s Bond, James Bond.” He’s a standout character that attracts attention in his suave suits and oozes charisma. Instead of blending in, he stands out. Newspaper reporters don’t notice all those high speed car chases causing destruction. And a womaniser of that much impact and volume? That’s going to get its own TikTok trend surely.
But in a way, all of that seems to be the point of the global hero that is deemed to embody Britishness. To stand out rather than fit in. To break the rules rather than abide by them. In fact, to behave as though the rules simply don’t apply.
This week is the 70th anniversary of James Bond. Ian Fleming’s debut Bond book, Casino Royale, was published on April 13, 1953. Since then, more than one hundred million books within the Bond series have been sold worldwide, according to Ian Fleming Publications. New editions of the original Bond books are being released on April 13 to mark the anniversary with other events planned for this year. The first Bond film Dr No was released in 1962 and the 25th and most recent instalment was in 2021 – No Time to Die.
There’s much discussion about James Bond and what he represents about Britishness today. Is he a relic of a bygone era, or can he be reinvented for the modern age? It’s a proxy for a more existential discussion Britain is having about itself. Is it clinging on to old notions of the empire, the winning of the World Wars and its once global superpower status a sign of being a relic, or can Britain – like the James Bond movies – reinvent itself for a new world order?
Bond was a character looking for a purpose in a post colonial era; a character created by people with a certain vision of themselves in the world. Fleming was married to Ann Charteris, previously married to the second Viscount Rothermere, the owner of the Daily Mail newspaper. Prime Minister Anthony Eden famously stayed at Fleming’s Goldeneye estate in Jamaica – where the Bond novels were all written – to recuperate from the impact of the devastating defeat in the Suez crisis. It’s a cosiness of what might be called the "ruling classes" that rankles in a more egalitarian Britain today.
But as the success of the books and the films continually show, the glamour and chutzpah of Bond are a winning formula for fans. A chance to escape into a an easy, smooth, fantasy world. And why not?
Which means that Bond is at the same time very important and also not important at all. His status as embodying Britishness mean that discussions about whether 007 should be a woman or a person from a minority ethnic background are deeply heated and revived every few months as part of the culture wars.
All of which then begs the question, why does Bond have to be an all-encompassing representation of all things British for the Britain of today? He’s certainly a giant culture figure. And we can all agree that he is a huge source of soft power for Britain at home and abroad. But perhaps we are overburdening a fantasy character by making him into a representation which he is not.
And if audiences want 007 to morph into a female or minority ethnic character to change things up, reflect more diverse cinema audiences and give Bond somewhere to stretch the character’s creative legs through new personas, then what a brilliant way to extend the films and their appeal. Roger Moore and Daniel Craig were wildly different Bonds. Why not a woman or someone Black? Why would that be any more or less plausible?
One of the most famous lines in the Bond films comes from the 1964 film Goldfinger. The eponymous villain has captured Sean Connery’s Bond and tied him to a torture device so he can be cut in half by a high powered laser. Bond asks Goldfinger whether he expects him to talk. And Goldfinger replies with a sneer “No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die.”
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Do I think Bond is a current representation of Britain? No. Do I think – to fulfil Goldfinger’s desire – that the franchise should end? Absolutely not. We should absolutely have more Bond. But we can also remember – he is a fantasy of a different era. And real life has moved on. Not everything needs to have an existential meaning and not every beloved story or character needs to be fought over for ownership in the culture wars.
The films are great entertainment, and maybe they are better placed to be depicted as modern hi-tech gloss on a period drama rather than something new completely. Let’s enjoy Bond in his element, although he can and should be modernised for new audiences and representation. But what we don’t need to do is put him on a pedestal as a proxy for a new 21st century British identity.
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if you go
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
Planes grounded by coronavirus
British Airways: Cancels all direct flights to and from mainland China
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific: Cutting capacity to/from mainland China by 50 per cent from Jan. 30
Chicago-based United Airlines: Reducing flights to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong
Ai Seoul: Suspended all flights to China
Finnair: Suspending flights to Nanjing and Beijing Daxing until the end of March
Indonesia's Lion Air: Suspending all flights to China from February
South Korea's Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air and Jin Air: Suspend all flights
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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'Peninsula'
Stars: Gang Dong-won, Lee Jung-hyun, Lee Ra
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Rating: 2/5
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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SPECS
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Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
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The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
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How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Scoreline
Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')
Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3', Marcus Berg 50')
Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77'
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
