A look @ Movie Stereotypes – Part 1

The black dude dies first

I can’t remember exactly where I heard this from but it’s become a common adage that the black dude dies first or at least extremely early in a movie or TV series. This even prompted T-Dog in The Walking Dead to proclaim: “I'm the one black guy. You realise how precarious that makes my situation?”

The first movie where I actually thought that this might be true is Deep Blue Sea, where Samuel Jackson’s character gets eaten by a giant shark. Now, he didn't die first in the movie but he was the first of the major characters to kick the bucket. At the time I remember thinking – “Damn why did the black dude have to go first?” But the more I thought about it, I realised the shark didn't eat him because he was black, the shark ate him because he was the closest human to the shark. Also, he was being a bit of a dick. If you haven’t seen the film, let me summarise. Sharks are minding their own business, living ghetto fabulous and a bunch of scientists decide to fuck with them and make them smarter. But somehow, they’re surprised when the sharks go mental and decide to eat them all. Mostly because that’s what sharks do.

Racist!

It’s an acceptable theory that before the Civil Rights Movement, which afforded black people certain liberties like being in movies, it was ok to kill off black people earlier and portray white people as the heroes but anyone who has ever seen a Will Smith or Denzel Washington movie can attest that this is no longer the case. I hereby proclaim this stereotype as false.

Damn you Civil Rights Movement!

Partners with completely opposite personalities are the best

You cannot switch a channel without tuning into a police procedural these days. But what is it that makes these shows or movies worth watching? It isn't the crime – ultimately, we know that someone dies or gets raped. It isn't the end result – the good guys always get the bad guys. It’s the chemistry between the characters that draw you in – and more often than not, it is the friction between them. Whether it’s the ‘'will they, won't they’ get together cliff-hanger; the ‘what secret is he hiding from his partner’ question; or the ‘he is a serious, grumpy, old fart paired together with a happy-go-lucky young partner’ scenario; it is clear that opposites attract. Ever since Jake and the Fatman (if you watched this, you are old), through to Lethal Weapon, 48 hours, Miami Vice, Rush Hour and Men in Black, it is a proven notion that partners with opposite personalities (and apparently skin colour) are the best. Hell, the Americans have even done one better and made their President and Vice-President a double act as well.  

First we balance the budget, then we solve crime OK?

The attractive ugly girl

When you watch movies or TV shows, it’s understandable that you want to see attractive people women. However for a certain storyline to play out, you need someone who might not be so attractive. But how do you find an unattractive person in Hollywood? Answer: you don’t. Every unattractive woman that Hollywood has peddled at me has been five times more beautiful than anyone I have ever seen in real life, let alone dated. I suppose it doesn’t help when the leading ladies in movies are disturbingly attractive themselves but come on Hollywood, throw us a bone. A classic example is She’s all that, where Freddie Prinze Jnr. has to turn an unattractive girl into Prom Queen in 6 weeks. Oh by the way, did we mention that the unattractive girl in question is freaking Rachael Leigh Cook? Basically all she does is take down her hair and removes her glasses and voila – instant hot girl.

You're so ugly, I just can't stop touching myself

Another classic example is Judy Greer, who is perpetually portrayed as the ugly best friend. Wanna know what she really looks like: Check it out (SFW).

So cut this out Hollywood. I want my unattractive women unattractive damn it.

Skyfall…

In the first glimpse in which anyone caught sight of Bond for over 4 years (besides his parachuting out over the Olympic stadium in the summer), we're introduced to him as a be-stubbled, red-eyed shadow who sits in the middle of a morbid-looking psycho-analysis via word association;

"Country? England. Gun? Shot. Agent? Provocateur.

Murder. Employment. Skyfall? Done."

A captivating snippet, but he should've said: "Done, dusted and delivered with delightful derring do!" Because make no doubt about it folks, Skyfall is 'all that'. It is the icing on the cake, it is the last night of the proms and it definitely does deserve every last bit of the not inconsiderable plaudits placed at its feet.

This is a Bond that celebrates the past, while in simultaneously breaking a bounty of Bond’s boundaries as it brings in the new...

After the stumbling stone of Quantum of Solace (say no more), James – but more importantly, we – the audience – needed to be reminded what is great about Bond, and in-particular, about this new, bullish, brutish, beast of a Bond! And rest assured, Bond aficionados and novices alike should leave Skyfall with no doubt whatsoever that Bond is infact, great! Perhaps even with the belief that this Bond is greater than any other previous...

But that's a point of subjective contention, so for now let us stick to the matter in hand; Skyfall.

It's important to point out that Skyfall holds something for everyone. With so many well-placed, well-timed and well-handled nods to the past, die-hard Bondites get enough 'Bondisms' to satisfy their every Bond need.

The familiar formula presides over proceedings from the get go; the breath-taking action sequences, the emphatic(ally beautiful) theme song, the stunningly sexual femme fatale (spoiler alert: yes he ‘gets’ with her), the villain’s lair, the self-assured winks, throw-away one-liners – Q! – and thanks to a lip-biting scene between Naomie Harris and Mr. Craig that crackles with firey desire, there's a banquet of innuendo delivered right into our laps! And while these nods to previous successes (should) keep the old guard happy, Craig and co. deliver enough grit and grunt to keep Bond newbs entertained throughout.

But the real draw for Skyfall, is the intrigue laced within each scene under the superb stewardship of Sam Mendes. Not the intrigue to who the villain is, but into who Bond is. Watching the unravelling of this tale is entirely engrossing, and will keep anyone who’s ever scene a Bond film before, entirely fixated, and a fair few others to boot, I’m sure.

It’s the introduction of this depth of character, if nothing else, that makes this new breed of Bond films – Casino Royale and Quantum (sorry!), but infinitely more so, Skyfall – not only entertaining, but totally enthralling as Bond is brought back to us through the lost art of story telling.

Who is Bond? Where does he come from? Where is he going? Who (if anyone) does he trust? And where in the name of Tom Ford does he get his suits cut??

On his 50^th birthday, (not-so) 007 (or James, if I may) finally trusts us enough to give us glimpses into who he really is and unnervingly, we start to see that he’s a man with limits. We get more than a hint of how far he can be pushed before he breaks.

As the trailers suggests, Bond is delivered to us disillusioned, introverted and undoubtedly depressed...we know he was the hero, but when he’s up against the disarming but undeniable evil genius of the exquisite Javier Bardem’s, ‘Silva’, who is more than a step ahead at every turn, the question isn’t will Bond come back to MI6; it’s can he come back? Can he bring his heart and soul back to Britain? For Britain…?

Ultimately, Skyfall is a (literal) departure from where we’re used to seeing Bond. A refreshing shift, at that, handled with care and consideration. But through the change in narrative and focus – on to ‘Bond the person’ as opposed to ‘Bond the tool’ – 007 has had fresh life breathed into him in a film of two tales. First; a story with one eye on the present which is no more certain than the doom-laden future that lies ahead, and then one that gazes longingly and mistily at the past…the irretrievable and intangible past.

So where others say this was 007 going back to his roots, I’d argue that Skyfall is far braver and bolder than a mere tribute. It is a stand alone and stand out story of a man who we’ve known for 50 years, but only now are we starting to truly get to know him.

As for the after math, will Oscars fall from the sky, as so many predict? Who can say, although after a four year wait, Bond is back. And he’s better than ever.

Long live the Queen.