We all know the iconic James Bond. The British secret agent, also known as 007. The man who took down odd job, the man who bested Gold Finger, then he took to the stars and saved the world…again. If you are not familiar with any of these plots and villains, than I am sure that you are more familiar with the catch phrase that has been forever engraved into our minds since the first book of James Bond hit the shelves in 1953, “Bond, James Bond”. I am sure we are thinking of the same person now. Concerning the history of James Bond, the character has been played by eight different white males, the last one being Daniel Craig. Recently, Sony studios was hacked which spilled the beans on many of Sony’s upcoming projects, one of them being the potential next actor for the iconic James Bond role. The next James Bond role could be played by Idris Elba, who is black, and that is perfectly fine.
However, Rush Limbaugh does not think that this man is right for the job, because of his race. In an article produced by BBC, which details Rush Limbaugh’s fit about the next James bond, Limbaugh goes on to iterate that “it’s probably racist to even point this out” but “He was white and Scottish, Period. That is who James Bond is.” It is important to point out that Rush Limbaugh brings an intriguing argument to the table, basically stating that the role calls for a white man, and not a black man; although, his logic is inherently wrong. Not because it is racist, but because it is irrelevant what race plays James Bond, for James Bond is nothing more than an idea, an idea that inspires people to use the tag line “Bond, James Bond” and knowing the actor Idris Elba, he can full fill this role and inspire the audience.
Some could argue that a black James Bond could hinder box office sales. A study achieved by Indiana University shed light on why producers are uneasy about casting minorities as major characters in films, the reason is that there is a “fear that the white audiences will largely avoid such films”. The results showed a correlation between black actors casted as a main role and whites avoiding such films. The correlation was actually the strongest in regards of the romantic films.
While James Bond films tend to have some steamy romance buried within the plot of each movie, it is by no means a romantic film. But, it is hard to ignore statistical evidence brought forth by the above study, nonetheless James Bond with a black actor does still have hope. A black actor offers something new to the James Bond series, and could revive the currently dormant series. Also, Idris Ebla is the actor, have you heard his voice? He sounds like he already is James Bond.
Motion Picture Prejudice 