Friends, last night I saw the latest James Bond film, No Time To Die, and I'm still pondering my reaction. I won't spoil it for you, if you haven't seen it yet, but suffice it to say that the future of the Bond franchise is shrouded in mystery. Bond appears to have taken a turn -- in what direction remains to be seen. For me, this is distressing, because Bond has always been something of a hero of mine. He's the archetypal gentleman rogue: dapper, dashing, and always one step ahead of his adversaries, not to mention completely irresistible to the ladies. In a nutshell, Bond is a paragon of masculinity, and thus it seems fitting that, in an age when masculine virtues and men themselves are under such relentless attack, Bond himself should be flailing a bit. Even his survival is cast in doubt. A lot of men feel similarly. Women, especially young women, indoctrinated by the #MeToo movement and the public schools, seem to regard us as the enemy. Boys are struggling, and are being outperformed by girls according to almost every metric (except violence, of course). Statues of prominent men are everywhere being defaced and even toppled, wherever their subservience to the ideology of the Left is less than total. It's enough to make any man question the wisdom, frankly, of persisting in his manhood, when the siren song of transgenderism warbles so sweetly in our ears. I mean, all we have to do is take off our Levi's and put on a skirt, and all our problems are solved! Presto: we're no longer dinosaurs or pariahs -- we're Heroes! Moral exemplars! Heralds of a New Age! Ahh, but no. As tempting as it is to run up the white flag and surrender my masculinity, I, for one, plan to dig in my heels and await the next Bond (with hope, if not confidence). Even if the motif of the gentleman rogue is on life support, I implore Hollywood not to abandon it entirely. Heck, if need be, they should wheel out my personal favorite, old Roger Moore, for one more spy caper -- prop him up in a mobility scooter, if absolutely necessary, but make his private nurse a stunner, pretty please! Masculinity may not be what it once was, after all, but femininity still has its charms, surely. Hey, it's the 21st century -- the Epoch of Wokeness -- so we'll take what we can get...
In other news, here's a terrific summary of the various headwinds now affecting the economy. There's a good chance a recession is on the horizon. Be ready.
You know inflation has started to bite when the "Dollar Tree" becomes the "Two Dollar Tree", am I right? It's happening, like it or not...
https://fee.org/articles/dollar-tree-loses-its-35-year-war-with-inflation/
The war between Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema, and progressives is heating up! The Left is really getting crabby. Could outright violence be far behind?
And here's a great piece that captures the scope of the Left's war on merit, especially in our public schools. Civilization is all about standards, my friends, and when you abandon your standards in favor of "equity", or any other phantasm, the collpase of civilization will soon follow.
Nick,
ReplyDeleteRoger Moore was my favorite James Bond too. I understand that he really enjoyed playing the role.
Ray, my respect for your judgement has never been greater than at this precise moment! :) On a related note, I feel that Western Civilization arguably peaked in the 60s and 70s -- also encountering its first major (internal) headwinds. What say you?
ReplyDeleteNick.
ReplyDeleteI'll be back with some comments about "Western Civilization" some time today. A few years ago I quit calling it that, and I communicated that to my students, and if I start teaching again next year, I will continue to communicate it. Be back later.
Dr.Waddy and Ray from Jack : For me, Sean Connery is always the definitive Bond. Those cultures which rejoice in making complete disdain of traditions of masculinity and enforcing these prejudgements and taking advantage of, the comprehensively counterintuitive onslaught of the "woke", provide easy targets for cultures far better grounded in" politically incorrect "dictum! To them, any civilization which would, voluntarily, sans foreign compulsion, question itself so puissantly, is beneath contempt and is to be used, at advantage!
ReplyDeleteUmm...well...I hate to be a bearer of bad news, but Moore died back in 2017. I have to disagree with you and Ray, Connery was quite the Bond (and the latest- Daniel Craig). ANYWAYS, I was told by my son Bond has become woke and I wouldn't like it, say it ain't so. sigh
ReplyDeleteTalk about collapse of civilization. I believe we are already headed down the drain pipe; CRT, OSHA (soon to be) mandates, etc. I wonder what the fore fathers would think. Actually, if the Federalist Papers and the Constitution are any indication, my bet is they are turning in their graves.
Here here Jack, I agree.
Do tell, Ray. What do you call "Western Civ" now?
ReplyDeleteQuite right, Jack: any country that scorns its manhood AND its womanhood deserves what it gets!
Linda: I didn't find the latest Bond excessively woke. It was a worthy contribution to the genre, in my view. What comes next...that's the sticking point!
Linda from Jack: Thank you so much. I value the affirmation of my view which you express. Yeah, Connery as Bond was nonpareil. I've lost interest in the Bond franchise now but I remember how how astonishing the films were when they debuted. I have not seen enough of any of the Craig films to have any informed opinion. He looks tough but, I think,lacks Connery/Bond's sophistication. Craig may be tough indeed but Connery WAS a bad ass. He was a weight lifter and a fighter; he did not like Robert Shaw and their personal combat in from Russia with Love is said to have had much that was real about it! I've always admired the image of the Brit warrior who was also very well cultured. Connery portrayed this with verve despite his Scottish nationalism.In saying so I do not express any definitive denial of the warrior/ well bred man image in Scottish manhood either. I'm glad of my Scottish ancestry ( even unto the Stuart royalty)( I wore the " Great Kilt" to my mother's funeral: it is through her that I derive Scottish blood) though I have not anything approaching the noble puissance of some of my direct Scottish ancestors. I was never tested as they were!
ReplyDeleteDr . Waddy et al from Jack: Sorry, above in my comment on attacks on masculinity I meant "pusillanimously", not "puissantly".
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy from Jack: I subbed in a school system plagued by almost pervasive disorder and dysfunction, despite the best efforts of its devoted faculty and administration.This had social, not po!itical origins. Among these punkish "students" were a few with positive attitudes who had, I think, adopted the view that secondary school was but an ordeal to be endured to gain access to higher education. Perhaps this is the view which talented students ( especially NYC, where gifted children are myriad) must of necessity adopt; a defensive attitude, surviving as best they can in institutions in which dysfunction is honored and celebrated, often for purely political reasons of which even very perceptive students, because of their unavoidab!e immaturity, have little understanding. How terrible it is that they must face such injustice in schools supported by all taxpayers!
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Strong, strong parenting, is necessary in order to survive such an ordeal but in such "woke" localities secondary education is but a ritual of forced "equity" from which giftedstudents must progress as from kindergarten. Of course, in"university"settings they may well also encounter presumptuous leftist totalitarian indoctrination! But that is another matter.
Jack, it's been a while since I watched a Connery Bond film, but I agree that he set the bar very high. He was fortunate that he lived in a time when cultured and refined masculinity was prized. I agree: Craig is raw and taciturn, by comparison.
ReplyDeleteJack, I suspect high school is an ordeal for many bright students. They look forward to college, insofar as one can CHOOSE the college that suits one's gifts and ambitions best. Our system of higher education, for all its faults, performs brilliantly overall, for the simple reason that there is a MARKET for higher ed. Public ed is a monopoly, and that should tell us all we need to know.