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Essay / Toxic Masculinity of James Bond in The Skyfall
For over 56 years, James Bond has brought his outdated and unacceptable traits into the 21st century, and with this, Bond's masculinity has influenced the ideology that to become one, they must be like Bond. Sleaze in a suit is an embodiment of the toxic traits the 21st century wants to avoid. The notion of Bond goes beyond all values and no longer corresponds to the archetype of today's man. Bond is an unacceptable version of masculinity given his ideology regarding women and alcohol abuse. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Bond, in the film Skyfall, is a quintessential symbol of toxic masculinity. Throughout this misogynistic film, Bond treats women as if they were candy wrappers. Through a number of scenes, where Bond is holding a stocky man in one and a woman in the other, there is no dialogue, no eye contact, nothing at all. This silent treatment is far from an act of love. A mid-shot, where Séverine has her hands tied and a glass of scotch on her head, is a scene in which Bond's toxic façade is depicted. “Let’s see who wins.” Bond perceives this as targeted training and ignores the fact that Séverine's life hangs by a thread. After Séverine dies moments later, Bond sees no tears. “What a waste of good scotch.” Bond reacts in an absolutely callous manner. This qualifies Séverine as a “dart board” and a worthless object that should never be spoken of again. What's wrong here is that the franchise condones the fact that it's okay to get rid of women. In the 21st century, everything revolves around the women's movement. This film teaches the opposite of what parents want to educate future generations. Bond, even if you are fictional, you are damaging modern society. Bond has the ability to turn everything off, and here's the problem. Today, in the 21st century, it's all about opening up and getting help, thanks to helplines such as Beyond Blue, Skyfall is largely modulated by toxic norms, ranging from things like " men don’t cry” or “grow balls”. . Mendes, mid-shot, captures the moment of truth when Bond attempts to enter MI6. The audience can clearly begin to understand what is really going on, that Bond is struggling, but they are afraid to admit it. Breathing heavy and saturated with sweat, come on Bond it's obvious. When you're wheezing and your veins are popping, it really makes sense that Bond finds the whole thing distressing. The agents stop the tests and Bond agrees, but not just because Bond wants to be compliant, but because he is shocked that he possesses a vulnerability. Once the agents leave, he collapses to the ground. His eyes... he's not happy. The problem here is that in the 21st century, it is a norm for men to do harm. This film is a mental virus. An epidemic that pushes the 21st century to think and act badly. Men were taught from a young age that shedding a tear makes them weak and it didn't help that Skyfall supported these toxic notions. The ideology of masculinity is harmful because it reinforces the belief that men should not express their emotions. This notion is behind the male suicide rates in Australia. For every three women who sought help, one man did so and 75% of cases of intentional self-harm (3,128) were men (2,349). This underlies the belief that because men should not show emotion or seek help, they are forced to commit suicide. These statistics clearly recognize outdated and ridiculous opinions.