Britain's Last Line of Defence: Miss Moneypenny and the Desperations of Filmic Feminism
1998; Springer International Publishing; Volume: 24; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
0311-4198
Autores Tópico(s)South Asian Cinema and Culture
ResumoI'm a bitch I'm a lover I'm a child I'm a mother I'm a sinner I'm a saint I do not feel ashamed I'm your hell I'm your dream I'm nothing in between You know you wouldn't want it any other way.(1) Meredith Brooks, Bitch Good old Moneypenny. Britain's last line of defence.(2) James Bond, On Her Majesty's Secret Service The fracturing of femininity is a strength of, as well as a problem for contemporary feminism. No political label can encompass the plurality of women. Since suffragettes chained themselves to the gate of Number 10 Downing Street, the representational politics of subjectivity have been a central topic of gender theorists.(3) Without a metaphoric Boadicea to embody strength, the political objectives of contemporary feminism can seem tenuous and ambivalent. In response to these larger concerns, this paper explores a minor character from a long-running film series and demonstrates that even in the midst of saturating sexism, a voice of social justice and responsibility can speak. With the latest Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies, released during the Christmas season of 1997/8, it is timely to evaluate a superspy's supersecretary. Miss Moneypenny has been featured in more James Bond films than any figure except the title role.(4) She is the assistant to M, head of the British Secret Service. All agents, administrators, technicians and scientists must pass through the Moneypenny office and antechamber to reach the Imperial core. She is, as the Lazenby-Bond described her, 'Britain's last line of defence.' Moneypenny has been played by three different actors: Lois Maxwell,(5) Caroline Bliss (in The Living Daylights and License to Kill) and Samantha Bond (in Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies). Moneypenny's scenes with James Bond have become a generic characteristic of the series.(6) The gender politics enacted through these semiotic snippets of text provide an insight into the desperations of filmic feminism. This paper introduces the character of Moneypenny, following the changes to her ideological configuration from 1962 to 1995, and concludes with an exploration of textual harassment and seduction. Filmic feminism may seem a clumsy or awkward phrase, yet it acknowledges a political framework that stands for and against specific discourses, world-views and values. Recognition is made of a representational field while maintaining a politically astute identification of who speaks, who is spoken for and how subjectivity is constituted. As Judith Butler has stated: Politics and representation are controversial terms. On the one hand, representation serves as the operative term within a political process that seeks to extend visibility and legitimacy to women as political subjects; on the other hand, representation is the normative function of a language which is said either to reveal or to distort what is assumed to be true about the category of women. The relationship between feminist theory and politics is particularly convoluted and ambiguous when invoking desires for social justice in the cinema. There is a necessity to concede that the label of 'woman' is a signifier of contestation and anxiety. While statements about the fragmentation of the sisterhood are common, it is rare to watch the workings of desperation within a film's frame. Very few historical or semiotic spheres have persisted like the Bond phenomenon. The character of Moneypenny offers a useful site for an exploration of the crevices in patriarchy and normative categories. Feminist readings of Bond films are frequently negative and generalized. As Lindsey has (over)stated: The James Bond films ... depict women enjoying rape, especially since Bond is the 'good guy' and the supposed fantasy of every woman. Once raped they are then ignored by file male star. Rapes and murders are likely alternatives to women in token roles.(7) Although Moneypenny is the token woman in the masculinist, colonial project of the British secret service, she has never been raped or murdered. …
Referência(s)