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James Bond archetypes

A mate and I have been contemplating the idea of writing a James Bond film script for next year's ScriptFrenzy. Obviously we have no pretentions of getting it made, but it should be fun none the less.

So I have been mentally reverse-engineering the Bond format and it has occurred to me that, outside of the usual reoccuring characters of Bond, M and Moneypenny, there are six character archetypes that appear in virtually every Bond film.

On the good side:

The love interest (aka The Bond girl)

The woman who Bond falls very temporarily in love with over the course of the story. I find the strongest love interests are the ones that complement Bond's weaknesses (eg Vespa Lynd, Natalya Simonova), female Bonds (eg Jynx) are somewhat redundant and dumb ones (Mary Goodnight) are just annoying.

The ally

A non-Brit who shows up from time to time to give invaluable assistance to Bond. Quite possibly just there to avoid the impression of Britain acting unilaterally. The best example of the ally archetype is Felix Leighter.

The lamb

Someone (Normally female) who pays the ultimate price for assisting Bond in some way. This archetype exposes Bond's biggest weakness, his tragic inability to protect his loved ones.

And on the Evil side:

The villain

The mastermind of some evil plot to upset the power of the free world.

This archetype embodies some of the negative elements of Bond, typically being a well mannered, intellectual socialite and man of action who isn't afraid to use violence to get what he wants. Some have even seen Bond as a kindred spirit of sorts.

The dragon

Typically the villain's bodyguard or most trusted confidant. Usually someone that Bond either has to defeat to get to the Villian, or someone who catches Bond off guard after the evil plot has been thwarted.

There are two main variants of the dragon. The first one is the henchman, typically stronger than Bond but is defeated by Bond's superior cunning. Jaws and Oddjob are well known examples. Could also be seen as a dark parody of Bond, being a dumb brute who resolves situations through extreme force.

The other is the femme fatale. A beautiful woman who can again can be seen as a dark parody of Bond, being someone who uses seduction as a means to control people.

The accomplice

Typically a traitor whose position or skills initially make him key to the Villain's plot. It's not unusual for the accomplice to be killed off by the Villain himself once his usefulness has expired.

Of course these archetypes can overlap somewhat and don't apply to every single Bond movie, but to make my point I have done a table listing characters in each official Bond movie that I feel fit the archetypes. (Warning - potential spoilers)

Film
The love interest
The ally
The lamb
The villain
The dragon
The accomplice
Dr No Honey Ryder Felix Leighter Quarrell Dr No Miss Taro Professor Dent
From Russia with Love Tatiana Romanova Kerim Bey Kerim Bey Rosa Klebb Red Grant Kronsteen
Goldfinger Pussy Galore Felix Leighter Masterton sisters Goldfinger Oddjob Mr Ling
Thunderball Domino Felix Leighter Paula Caplan Emilio Largo Fiona Volpe Angelo Palazzi
You only live twice Kissy Susuki Tiger Tanaka Aki Blofeld Hans Mr Osato
On her majesty's secret service Tracy di Vicenzo Marc-Ange Draco Tracy di Vicenzo Blofeld Irma Bunt N/A
Diamonds are Forever Tiffany Case Felix Leighter Plenty O'Toole Blofeld Wint and Kidd Bert Saxby
Live and Let Die Solitaire Felix Leighter Rosie Carver Dr Kananga Tee-Hee Rosie Carver
The Man with the Golden Gun Mary Goodnight Lieutenant Hip Andrea Anders Francisco Scaramanga Nick Nack Hai Fat
The Spy who Loved Me Anya Amasova General Gogol N/A Karl Stromberg Jaws N/A
Moonraker Holly Goodhead Colonel Scott Corinne Dufour Hugo Drax Jaws N/A
For your eyes only Melina Havelock Milos Columbo Lisl von Schalf Aristotle Kristatos Erich Kriegler Hector Gonzales
Octopussy Octopussy Vijay Vijay Kamal Khan Gobinda General Orlov
A View to a Kill Stacey Sutton Sir Godfrey Tibbett May Day Max Zorin May Day Dr Mortner
The Living Daylights Kara Milovy Kamran Shah Saunders Brad Whittaker Necros General Koskov
Licence to Kill Pam Bouvier Q Della Churchill Franz Sanchez Dario Milton Krest
Goldeneye Natalya Simonova Jack Wade Alec Trevelyan (Initially) Alec Trevelyan Xenia Onatopp General Ourumov
Tomorrow Never Dies Wai Lin Jack Wade Paris Carver Elliot Carver Mr Stamper Henry Gupta
The World is Not Enough Christmas Jones Valentin Zukovsky Valentin Zukovsky Renard Electra King Bullion
Die Another Day Jynx Raoul General Moon Gustav Graves Zao Miranda Frost
Casino Royale Vesper Lynd Felix Leighter Vesper Lynd Le Chiffre Gettler Steven Obanno
Quantum of Solace Camille Montes Felix Leighter Strawberry Fields Dominic Greene Elvis General Medrano


 

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arran4
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Joined: 05/05/2009

Cool I love matrices of information like this... Although I have yet to watch the earlier bonds!

Earok
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Joined: 02/06/2009

Heh, I figured that you like data presented in a structured format, I didn't realise this extended to objective stuff too.

The old Bonds were great, though things get a bit silly around the tail end of Connery's run and stayed silly until Dalton took over.

Avengingwatcher
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Joined: 12/21/2009

Not a fan of the new Bond. Doesn't drive stick? What kind of wuss super agent can't drive stick? Not a fan...

Earok
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Joined: 02/06/2009

That's actually a myth it's impossible to hold a UK drivers licence unless you can drive manual.

Avengingwatcher
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Joined: 12/21/2009

well...I stand corrected then...oddly enough I saw Munich and didn't catch that. 

arran4
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Joined: 05/05/2009

Earok, that was your only post since I received my 'update notifications' that didn't contain the word cool in it! On that note, smoking is not cool!

Earok
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Joined: 02/06/2009

Totally agree that smoking is not cool. However I support the right of consenting adults to partake in it.

In the words of Penn Jillette:

"If you live in a free country, you have the right to put whatever you want into your own body. Anything else is bulls***"

arran4
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Joined: 05/05/2009

Didn't mean to bring the conversation here. But the problem with smoking is the frequency of satisfying the addiction. It's not like it's something they can do after hours or only on weekends. It's ever couple hours, for 15 mins. Which tends to put them as close as they can be to their work where it's still legal. Often it IS outside, but doesn't satisfy a 'smoke free working environment' criteria. Like standing outside the bulcony with the door open. 

Earok
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Joined: 02/06/2009

No no, I'm cool with conversing about this here, there or where ever..

I can understand and sympathise with your frustration, and frankly it's not fair that your lungs are filled with smoke because of the thoughtlessness of others. However even as a non-smoker I'm not a fan of tightening legislation determining where you can smoke. I think the rule should possibly be that you can't smoke in a position where wind could realistically drag the smoke to a position you're not legally allowed to smoke in.

In other words, shut the balcony door.