Kursinformation

Sessions take place as follows:

Intro Session:            Monday, 12 April 2021        (18-21 o’clock)

Block Session I:         Saturday, 24 April 2021      (10-16 o’clock, ZOOM 10-13 o’clock)

Block Session II:       Saturday, 15 May 2021        (10-16 o’clock, ZOOM 10-13 o’clock)

Block Session III:      Saturday, 12 June 2021       (10-16 o’clock, ZOOM 10-13 o’clock)

“For Your Eyes Only” is the title and theme song of the 1981 spy film starring Roger Moore as James Bond, which, in turn, is the altogether 12^th film in the James Bond Series produced by Eon Productions. It marked a significant change towards more credible film plotlines and more realistic geo-political issues, yet raised questions about Bond’s white (male) gaze, the limited role of the Bond girl and the audience’s viewing perspective. Now, 40 years later, the release of the 25^th film in the James Bond Series entitled No Time to Die, has been postponed twice and rumors about the reshooting of scenes due to outdated electronic gadgets make headlines. Yet, is it only electronic and digital innovations that the producers should keep in mind in this context? How about modifications due to (recent) socio-political movements like Black Lives Matter with their continued call for anti-discriminative treatments of people of all wakes of life, irrespective of color, gender, sexual orientation, age, etc.? Whose ‘eyes’ and perspectives have the producers of the earlier as well as the later James Bond movies primarily focused on and transferred to the audience in the past and nowadays?

This seminar takes a critical look at these challenging issues in the James Bond film franchise with a particular focus on For His Eyes Only and the James Bond films of the New Millennium, starring Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent 007. We study heroism and villainy and analyze intersections with gender, class, place, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Furthermore, we discuss the popular cultural impact of the Bond films in past and present.

Participants are encouraged to add their voices to the ongoing debates and to contribute different media samples that are relevant to the topics being discussed and appropriate in light of academic and educational purposes.

Primary and secondary works:

Participants need to familiarize themselves with the movies For Your Eyes Only (1981), Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2016) during the semester break.

A reader with relevant critical texts will be available at the local copy shop Script & Copy.

Please note that the seminar will be taught online via Zoom and Moodle. All students must be registered for this class and also need to register with Moodle: https://moodle.studiumdigitale.uni-frankfurt.de/moodle/