Aurie Zeituny
Professor Libertz
2 November 2020
ENG 2100: Writing I

A Story of Mistrust, Inner Conflict, and Overwhelming Chaos

Although there are countless rhetorical lenses that can be used when analyzing a cultural artifact such as the latest addition to the James Bond franchise, Spectre, the “pathos” lens works best. The James Bond film franchise is one of (if not the only) film franchise that still creates new additions to it’s storyline every few years even after creating several decades worth of films. The franchise invokes much emotion in its viewers, allowing for there to be dozens of movies that have been created relating to the franchise over the past several decades. The playwrights who created Spectre use certain imagery and emotional storytelling to attract the audience and adhere to their emotions throughout the entirety of the film.
The world-renowned James Bond franchise holds many award-winning classics under its belt. Some notable members of the series include the likes of Goldfinger, For Your Eyes Only, Diamonds are Forever, Skyfall, and many more. Considering how the James Bond series is viewed as a “cultural artifact” of sorts (by being a franchise adored by billions worldwide), the most recent of these brilliant films, Spectre, can be analyzed using tools of rhetorical analysis.
In this edition of the James Bond film franchise, “A cryptic message from the past leads James Bond (Daniel Craig) to Mexico City and Rome— After infiltrating a secret meeting, 007 uncovers the existence of the sinister organization SPECTRE. Needing the help of the daughter of an old nemesis, he embarks on a mission to find her. As Bond ventures toward the heart of SPECTRE, he discovers a chilling connection between himself and the enemy he seeks” (IMDb).
The rhetorical lens of pathos “appeals to the emotions of the audience and elicits feelings that already reside in them. Pathos is a communication technique used most often in rhetoric, as well as in literature, film, and other narrative art” (Google). The James Bond films all appeal to the emotions of the audience and constantly keeps everyone watching on the edge of their seat throughout each movie’s entirety. Each film is action-packed and comes with a fresh storyline that contributes to the continuation of 007’s story. The first James Bond movie, Dr. No, was released to the public in 1963; almost 60 years later the franchise is still creating films with No Time to Die being the latest one set to release in November or 2021. Countless famous actors have played as James Bond over the past 6 decades. Some of the most notable being Sean Connery, Daniel Craig, Pierce Brosnan, and Roger Moore.
The James Bond film franchise is one of the most profitable in history. “Over 24 films, the series has grossed more than $7 billion worldwide” (Observer). The movies that have come out (and will continue to come out) all give a fresh take on different missions that James endures. Even with different brilliant actors playing the one role over the course of time, fans are as excited as ever to see the next addition to the series. The film series does such an exceptional job at tugging at the heartstrings of the audience, that viewers like myself, constantly find themselves re-watching films from the series over time as we wait for the next edition to be released. The James Bond films are a classic. The directors, actors/ actresses, and crew do an amazing job at holding the audience’s feelings hostage, as they (spoiler alert) slowly kill off everyone James has come to know and love throughout the series’ creation. In almost every film, 007 eventually meets a new love interest, only for her to either be killed, leave him, or for him to leave her for his chaotic lifestyle. There have been more love interests in the James Bond series than there have been different Bond actors. Almost everyone James comes to love eventually gets killed off by the directors and scriptwriters as a brilliant way to keep the audience intrigued in seeing what beautiful face will accompany 007 in the next film. One example of this is how at the beginning of the film, Spectre, we see James Bond going after and killing an enemy. His enemy had a wife, who Bond ends up meeting “and then sleeps with her after his funeral while she begs him to stay for more” (The Guardian). Bond reluctantly leaves and continues on his quest to defeat a higher, more important power. Audience members constantly find themselves rooting for James as he battles villainous enemy organizations, murderers, at times the government agency he is a part of, MI6, and his own inner demons that have built up over the past several decades. The creators know exactly how to captivate the audience and although the films are seen as basic action/ adventure films to some, there is something truly special about the Bond universe that keeps people’s eyes glued to their screens throughout each movie that releases. The last scene in Spectre involves James and his most recent love affair (a woman he meets later in the film, not the widow spoken upon earlier) walking away together from the main protagonist of the film as he lays in a pool of his own blood. Earlier in the film, James admits to this more recent love affair that he was partly responsible for her father’s death. In fact, he admits to watching her father commit suicide before his very eyes, and that he could not do much to prevent him from doing so. The audience sees this woman run away from Bond earlier in the film while screaming at him, to walking away from the camera in the final shot of the film with him, hand in hand. “She acquires temporary cold feet: “I can’t go back to this life. And I can’t ask you to change. This is who you are,” she tells him before the final action set piece in “Spectre.” Inevitably, she changes her mind” (The Washington Post). After reviewing the film and looking at the more minuscule details, I can now say that the final scene, in particular, stood out and made me realize how their relationship changed in such a short amount of time. The creators of the film made sure to pull on the audience’s heartstrings as they flipped the “love affairs” characters’ emotions in such a short time. In just this film alone, he kills a man and sleeps with his wife, and later is the reason a man kills himself and sleeps with his daughter. Both women were aware of 007’s involvement in both crimes, yet they both eventually realized that they could not resist the temptation to be with him.
The James Bond franchise as a whole has a very specific medium, genre, and style that the creators live by in order to keep the excitement for the series going. As each movie falls under the genre of action/ adventure, there is a certain style of filmmaking that goes into each film. The latest addition to the franchise, Spectre, does a great job of showing this. In the film Spectre, there are fast-paced action shots, climactic moments, dilemmas that 007 needs to make decisions on, and more. The movie is action-packed and the plot leads James across the globe in search of the villainous terrorist organization he is seeking to find. The audience is left on the edge of their seats throughout the film as James battles countless mercenaries with automatic weapons has to rescue his love interest multiple times; as he attempts to stop the organization’s leader who takes him on an eventful, global goose chase. In addition, during the entirety of the film Spectre alone, we see a total of 4+ intimate scenes involving sex, nudity, and other means of affection. Although Spectre is one of the least sexual Bond movies so far, respectively, it still incorporates intimate scenes that add to an overall more personal feeling/ connection that the audience feels with James, thus resulting in more audience retention and relation to the film.
Spectre takes place in the late 2010s as it was released in late 2015. As 007 is English and works for the English based counter-terrorist organization MI6, we see cultural commodities that relate to the English culture such as 007’s infamous Aston Martin that he drives himself in, different exotic accents used by many characters in the film, and a storyline that spans Europe (and more specifically at times, England). The audience that the film is tailored towards is people that enjoy action/ adventure films, and people who have seen previous editions of the James Bond series. With a budget of 245-300 million dollars, there were not many constraints that held the film’s production at a standstill. The cast and crew were able to film all across the globe. Pyrotechnics, exotic cars, life-like CGI rendering, and other amenities were used throughout the film’s duration in order to turn it into the masterpiece that was envisioned by the directors. The storyline was intriguing and emotionally captivating, some of the camera angles and drone footage that was recorded were filmed in an extremely professional manner, and the actors/ actresses who played in the film brought their all allowing for the film to come out as a polished work of cinematic art.
The creator’s main purpose for creating the film, Spectre, was most likely to contribute to the vast James Bond film franchise. Dozens of films have been based around the James Bond universe, and the author must have felt a need to continue the story, playing on James’ inner demons, and how he came to eventually overcome them. This is a film franchise that seems to never have an end date. As said earlier, the next edition to the Bond franchise No Time to Die is set to release in November of 2021. It has been rumored that after this film is released, there will be a new actor that will take Daniel Craig’s spot for James Bond, thus continuing the storyline after what will have been 25 total films at the time.
The James Bond franchise, and more specifically, the latest James Bond film, Spectre, takes the audience on an adrenaline-inducing adventure. The storyline is extensive, spanning over the course of several decades. The creators of the film franchise know how to keep the audience at the edge of their seats. Throughout the entirety of the storyline, James accumulated countless inner demons that he is tasked with disposing of, in addition to several world-saving counter-terrorist missions brought on by MI6. James fights through all of his pain and suffering in order to save the world from the grasps of evil many times. The 007 film franchise is one of class and elegance that will continue to dominate the film industry for decades to come. Spectre, the latest addition to the 007 universe is no different. The playwrights and producers captivate the audience’s attention by playing on their emotions. The world cannot seem to get enough of James Bond’s adventures for good reason; I like most people am glad that the end to his story does not seem to be anywhere in sight.