Friday, November 9, 2012

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

Would you date James Bond?

Posted: 08 Nov 2012 02:00 AM PST

Is Bond really every heterosexual woman’s dream?

It's been over a week now since Daniel Craig once again burst forth onto our screens, all bristling manliness and musclebound  testosterone.

Skyfall, the 23rd  installment of the Bond franchise, is coining in millions of pounds/dollars/euros/zlotys as movie go-ers worldwide watch agog at the latest gadgets, gismos… and of course, girls.

This year is also the 50th anniversary of the release of Dr No, the first film in the Bond bankathon (not including, of course, the whimsical, nay farcical, Casino Royale starring David Niven).

So after 50 years, has Bond changed with the times?  Has he abandoned misogyny for metrosexuality?

Let's leave Skyfall to one side for the moment, as it provokes its own debate. It's Bond, but perhaps not as we know it.

Let's instead have a brief look back at one of the most enduring heroes of modern literature and moviedom.

Historically, Bond has been written as something of a Don Juan, to understate the case enormously.

From Connery through Moore to Brosnan, the movie incarnations of Bond tend to engage in pyrotechnic action sequences punctuated with glib one liners and, frankly, shagathons.

The women he beds adore him. They hang on his every word and obey his every command. They fight for him and, often, they die for him.

But would a real, modern, with-a-brain woman, be attracted to him?  Is he really every woman's dream? (Can you guess what's coming?)

Hmmmmm.  Let's see.

Bond is known for his skill of talking women into bed. It's the stuff of legend and, according to celluloid evidence, foolproof. But would it work in the real world?

If, in the unlikely event you found yourself asking a man whether he preferred blondes or brunettes and he answered ”as long as the collars and cuffs match,” would you be likely to swoon and fall into bed with him (assuming of course that they did match; if not, you wouldn't get a look in I'm afraid).

And what woman doesn't want to hear: “That’s quite a nice little nothing you’re almost wearing. I approve.”

Be still our beating hearts.

Ah, Bond, what marvelous and creative writers you have.

Actually, is Bond a man who would even ask you on a date?

Well, you might have to change your name. He seems to prefer women with (ludicrous) names like Pussy Galore, Plenty O'Toole, Xenia Onatopp (oh dear God), Holly Goodhead, or, my favourite, Jenny Flex (on your knees girls!)

I don't know about you, but so far, I'm not feeling the love.

Thinking about it, Mr Bond might also pose a bit of a risk on the old health front.

According to Dr Sarah Jarvis, a general practitioner and regular guest on the BBC’s The One Show: “The likelihood of James Bond having chlamydia is extremely high.  If he came to my clinic I would definitely advise him to have an STI test.”

Not top of my date tick list ladies.

So after 50 years, have things changed?  Can journalist Paul Johnson, author of ‘Sex, snobbery and sadism,’ a critique of the  literary Dr No, breathe a sigh of relief?

Well, maybe. Skyfall has many of the predicable Bond trademarks. It's violent, it’s action packed, and Bond is unrelentingly unrepentant.

And there is, of course, sex. But as a whole, it is admittedly slightly different in tone, thanks in no small part to Dame Judi Dench as M.

It almost does a good job, but for two things (spoiler alert).

One, Bond jumps into a shower and has sex with a random character he has barely met. I can't even remember her name (actually probably a good thing – Pussy Galore stuck instantly).

And secondly, Dame JD, who famously called Bond a sexist misogynist dinosaur, dies.

And is replaced by - naturally - a man.

The only other female character of substance started the film as a gun toting hard nosed pretty cool female agent. By the end she, bizarrely, takes a desk job and reveals herself to be Miss Moneypenny. (Slow motion noooooooooo…..)

Maybe Bond will never change. That is, unless, they get a female writer. It may be a very short film.

Female protagonist (FP): You must be Mr Bond.

Bond: Why yes… and you are?

FP: ….getting the hell out of here, you slut.

Well, one can dream.

Jewish Film Festival finds the women

Posted: 08 Nov 2012 01:00 AM PST

Amanda Keats
Guest Editor

After the landmark Oscar win for director Kathryn Bigelow in 2010, for her war film ‘The Hurt Locker’, it seemed the way had finally been paved for other female filmmakers to step forward in an industry dominated largely by male directors. It was a disappointment then to see that not one of the films in competition for the Palme D’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival was directed by a woman.

A few months on from Cannes, though, The UK Jewish Film Festival 2012, is set to turn things around once more with a line-up that boasts a selection of female greats behind the camera.

“We are absolutely delighted to be showing such a strong range of films and documentaries by female filmmakers,” says Judy Ironside, the festival’s founder.

Ironside went on to say that, “there was so much impressive work on offer highlighting the strength and creativity of women in film,” that it was very tough to choose this year’s programme.

So what can film fans expect from this year’s line-up?

First to show off her work was French writer and director Sophie Lellouche, who had the honour of opening this year’s festival. Last Thursday, fans flocked to the BFI Southbank in London to see Lellouche introduce ‘Paris-Manhattan,’ a witty rom-com based on one young woman’s love of Woody Allen. This feel good film is an impressive feature début from Lellouche.

Lellouche is not the only female director in the spotlight this year, however, with films from multi-award winning screenwriter and director Ela Thier, Swedish director Lisa Ohlin, actress-turned-director Maya Kenig and Australian director Cate Shortland, to name but a few.

There are also documentaries from German-Canadian director Alexa Karolinski and Helen Benigson and the screening of the Pears Short Film winner, ‘That Woman,’ written by playwright Amy Rosenthal.

What these women are bringing to this year’s festival is anything but straightforward.

While Lellouche’s ‘Paris-Manhattan’ was a heart-warming rom-com to please romance and comedy fans alike, others have taken a different approach, looking at the innocence of youth, the aftermath of war, religious conflict and family secrets.

Shortland’s ‘Lore’ looks at Germany’s transition from conqueror nation to occupied state and a young girl’s transition from naïve, indoctrinated Nazi to political activist.

Ohlin’s adaptation of Marianne Fredriksson’s novel ‘Simon and the Oakes’ has already received a record thirteen nominations and two awards at Sweden’s Guldbagge Awards. The film follows a young man who sets off on a life-changing journey after he uncovers a family secret that shatters everything he thought he knew.

Kenig’s ‘Off White Lies’ focuses on a relationship between a young girl and her estranged father, while Thier’s ‘Foreign Letters’ is a sweet tale about the precariousness of teenage friendships.

Potentially the most shocking story of all is that of ‘The Other Son’, from writer-director Lorraine Levy. The story looks at two baby boys accidentally switched at birth – one an Israeli, the other a Palestinian – and what happens when, aged eighteen, they discover the truth behind their heritage.

It is not just female filmmakers taking centre stage this year as 1925 silent film ‘His People’ gets a screening at the Barbican. The film will be accompanied by live music from critically acclaimed klezmer violinist Sophie Solomon, together with three of London’s finest musicians.

That so many women are being represented at the UKJFF this year may seem a remarkable step in the right direction for female filmmakers. However, Lellouche was not all that surprised. When I asked her why she thought female directors were so absent from the film industry, she told me:

"Not in France. We get a lot of women directors. I think there is no difference. No difference. Last year, the best movies we got were women directors. They won prizes…."

Perhaps then, the rest of the world need to start paying more attention to French cinema.

The UK Jewish Film Festival 2012 runs across the UK from November 1st to 18th.

For more information, check out their website at ukjewishfilm.org.

Amanda Keats began writing stories back in primary school, but now spends her time writing largely about books and films as well as working on her own novels. She blogs at Film vs. Book.

She believes education is the key to tolerance and understanding and that every person on the planet should be made to read To Kill a Mockingbird, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.