The Real James Bond

In his 1966 play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Tom Stoppard in effect deconstructs the character of Hamlet by shifting our perspective to that of two minor characters in the original play. In a similar way, Alan Moore's The Black Dossier deconstructs James Bond by showing him from the perspective of Wilhelmina Murray and Alan Quartermaine. He becomes Jimmy, a misogynistic, 'nasty little thug', quite different from the debonair, sophisticated spy that we are most familiar with. This version of Bond is in some respects reminiscent of the original Ian Fleming novels.

The 2006 reboot Casino Royale also shows James Bond in a different way: somewhat of a thug, quite a bit less confident, and certainly far removed from the Sean Connery and Roger Moore versions. While not completely inverting the character, the movie succeeds in returning to the original source material for a new perspective.

The picture on the left is an image of James Bond commissioned by Ian Fleming. He looks a lot more like Daniel Craig than Pierce Brosnan, doesn't he?


No discussion of The Black Dossier would be complete without referencing Jess Nevin's unbelievable annotations. See link below.

http://www.shsu.edu/~lib_jjn/dossier.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosencrantz_%26_Guildenstern_Are_Dead