James Bond’s skin colour

Photo Credit: UK DFID
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Idris Elba, the black English actor who interpreted Detective Luther in the homonymous BBC One series, stated that he would “absolutely accept” an offer for playing the role of the British iconic spy James Bond.

In January, the actor denied a similar rumour at ITV’s Lorraine. “We don’t say ‘White Bond’, we just say ‘Bond’ so it suddenly becomes a black man and he’s a ‘Black Bond’”, he said.

Denzel Washington, some months ago, told the journalists that he would love to enter the myth, too. The black actors like even more this character.

Additionally, Chiwetel Ejiofor, who played the leading role in 12 Years a Slave, has been considered on April as the next plausible Bond’s Villain.

Nevertheless, a debate aroused from some tweets regarding the misrepresentation of a character.
Is this a justified argument or is the barrier between the white domain and the black one still raised?

In September 2012, CBS Television (Los Angeles) has launched the crime drama series called Elementary. The episodes, set in the present New York, has a modern Sherlock Holmes as protagonist, accompanied by the trustworthy Watson.

However, this last famous character is a woman, a surgeon, precisely.
The programme seemed to receive positive reviews: The Washington Post gave it a B+, as Hank Stuever said that the show “exhibits enough stylish wit in its mood”.
Therefore, the change in characters’ features have not to be a failure or appears as a desecration.

Jeremy Back, Professor at the University of Exter, evaluates Bond’ significance as a cultural barometer. As an iconic element of the cinema, it still appeals the audience because it is in that way and not differently.

However, if also the spectators applaud similar statements, it’s high time to evaluate whether, as a symbol, James Bond represents properly the reality or he is stuck to an outdated context.

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