Do you want to see James Bond portrayed with a different ethnicity?

[Kvikk Lunsj]

It is NOT racist to want a character who is supposed to be white to be white.

I was joking about the purple thing.Like I said I view James Bond as a code name. So give it to the best actor. Who cares about his race.

[fishstick]

Color doesn`t matter. What does is whether we are getting Elba because he`s the right Bond or because it`s politically correct to have a black/Asian/female/other opressed community Bond.Will Smith was perfect in IAL although the character in the book is whitests of white and that he is so white and blond and blue eyed and Aryan was underlined seevral times in the story. However, his whiteness or blackness doesn`t mean shit in the context because the role is essecially color blind. he`s the last uninfected man on earth. he kills ivampire-like infected. Who cares if he`s white, black, blue,etc? What matters is that he isn`t infected for some unknown reason. But race? gender? Piff.

[Kvikk Lunsj]

Color doesn`t matter. What does is whether we are getting Elba because he`s the right Bond or because it`s politically correct to have a black/Asian/female/other opressed community Bond.

Will Smith was perfect in IAL although the character in the book is whitests of white and that he is so white and blond and blue eyed and Aryan was underlined seevral times in the story. However, his whiteness or blackness doesn`t mean shit in the context because the role is essecially color blind. he`s the last uninfected man on earth. he kills ivampire-like infected. Who cares if he`s white, black, blue,etc? What matters is that he isn`t infected for some unknown reason. But race? gender? Piff.

Well if he was blue he would be Avatar or what ever the cat people were called in Avatar. Which would not make him human.

[cookie]

The whole "Bond is English" thing is funny because Bond isn't even English to begin with. The background Fleming gave (which is part of a plot twist in Skyfall thus I say this as a spoiler) is that he was born in Scotland to a Scottish father and a Swiss mother. The decision to cast Connery as the first film Bond is what persuaded Fleming to create a background for the character.

[BK007]

How did this overtly racist thread not get locked? "What does a black Bond bring to the role a white man can't?" And there's the fact it was opened by Algren. There's nothing a white man can do, that a black, Asian, Latino or Arab can't.As long as they act like a Brit, they can be Bond.Close the thread.

[Bond Bug]

They could introduce the idea by having Bond "black up" to go undercover, similar to how Bond went for a more oriental look in You Only Live Twice.

[Bond Bug]

Color doesn`t matter. What does is whether we are getting Elba because he`s the right Bond or because it`s politically correct to have a black/Asian/female/other opressed community Bond.Will Smith was perfect in IAL although the character in the book is whitests of white and that he is so white and blond and blue eyed and Aryan was underlined seevral times in the story. However, his whiteness or blackness doesn`t mean shit in the context because the role is essecially color blind. he`s the last uninfected man on earth. he kills ivampire-like infected. Who cares if he`s white, black, blue,etc? What matters is that he isn`t infected for some unknown reason. But race? gender? Piff.

I agree absolutely. However, James Bond is a character that the audience have got to know over a long time. Although several actors have played Bond, it is still not too difficult to make the leap of imagination that he is still the same character. Remember all the complaints about Daniel Craig being cast as Bond? Look at the complaints about Tom Cruise being cast as Jack Reacher. I am sure a black actor could be terrific as Bond, but the producers would risk losing that sense of continuity and they would risk rejection by those who identify with Bond in a fixed and rigid way.

[Jessie]

How is it racist to say we don't want a black bond? James Bond is white, simple. Keep him white and lets not try to be politically correct just for the sake of it.

[cozmeesah]

Why would the only reason they'd do it be to be "politically correct"? Maybe, when Craig is done with Bond and they are looking for a new actor to portray him, the one that does the best in readings, auditions and screen tests is black. They probably shouldn't set out to specifically change Bond's race on purpose, but certainly they could include black actors in the casting process.The question I think people have to ask about the race of a character, adapted or not, is "Does changing the race affect the STORY of the character in question at all?" Is race essential to the plot or the things a character does. If it doesn't and isn't... why not? The attitude & personality are what makes Bond... James Bond. Sure, we may be used to seeing him as white on screen, but if a black actor could accurately portray Bond's demeanor and character, he should have that chance. If he can do it better than all the other actors they audition then by all means, go for it.

[Ozymandias]

I agree just keep the character white. Of course, theres always gonna be people who think that is closet racist talk, but you'll never get through to those people. Daniel Craig has brought Bond into the big leagues, so why risk damaging the franchise by dramatically changing the character's 50 year iconic look? Its just a pointless move by Al Sharpton-like race hustlers without any real purpose other than "lets fix something thats not broke".

[Jessie]

I've heard people using I An Legend as an example of race change but what people fail to realise is 99 out of 100 people who have watched I am Legend have not read the book, therefore not known he is meant to be white. If James Bond is all of a sudden black even though a white character as always portrayed him then the general audience will find this very confusing. Just keep him white, its not racism, its simply who he is meant to be. After all a typical British person is white, the only people to disagree is individuals that want to be politically correct.

[DAR]

Maybe cast Elba as the next Bond villain.

[Accursed Arachnid!™]

They could introduce the idea by having Bond "black up" to go undercover, similar to how Bond went for a more oriental look in You Only Live Twice.

Yeah, cuz "black face" always works out so well.

[Accursed Arachnid!™]

How did this overtly racist thread not get locked?Close the thread.

I'm leaning there.

[Jessie]

How did this overtly racist thread not get locked?

How is it racist? If the tables were turned and bond started off black, we wouldnt want him all of a sudden being white.

[John Marston]

Nothing racist about wanting Bond to stay white. I can understand people complaining if a black actor auditioned for the role and was far and away the best actor out of all the auditioned actors and he was turned down then I can understand complaints. But these people who are just going "Oh, Bond has been white for all this time lets change him to be black" just for the same of making him black are ridiculous and are pandering to political correctness

[Accursed Arachnid!™]

Storm on the X-Men is African in the comic. Her character has cultural ties to that fact. So if they made her a white woman it would not be reverent to the source material. Banshee is Irish. He even speaks with an Irish brogue. If they made him a black man in the movie, it would be pretty unlikely since there are 1 maybe 2% of Irish people that are black. There are also only about 2% of British people who are black. How realistic is it to have a spy in MI6 be black when 98% of the people on the island of Great Britain are white?However, there is another school of thought that Bond is not just your average spy. Making him an extreme minority would only enhance that fact. And For example, take the scene in Madagascar at the beginning of CR. When less than .01% of the people in Madagascar are white, how absurd was it to have two white spies attempting to "blend into" the crowd at the snake fight? Think of Idris Elba playing Bond in that scene. Much more believable, IMO. Live and Let Die was another story where having Bond as a black man would have helped him complete the job more efficiently(Although, we would have lacked the humor of Bond walking into an all black bar).This is 2012, not 1962. As long as he's British, handsome and a good actor, I personally don't care about the color of his skin. And that is not just me being "PC". But, honestly, we still live in a world where being a white spy is more of an advantage than being another color, so a black Bond would be limited in how well he could do his job.Still think this thread should have been titled "Do you want James Bond to be of another ethnicity?", I personally find the current title to be at least slightly racist.

[Shawn Robbins]

I'm changing the title, but I think it should be noted that I don't think the title was intended to be racist.

Edited December 1, 2012 by ShawnMR

[Accursed Arachnid!™]

I'm changing the title, but I think it should be noted that I don't think the title was intended to be racist.

Never said it was intentional. And thanks.

[The Toymaker]

Seems like this board has been infected with the politically correct bug. That title wasn't how I left it.