James Bond in 'Skyfall': Hero, Patriot and... Exploiter of Sex Trafficking Victims?

Article by Jeff Bercovici..

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When it comes to his treatment of women, James Bond has never been a nice man. That’s part of his retrograde charm. But in “Skyfall,” the newest installment of the Bond franchise, Agent 007 reaches a new level of not-niceness: having sex with and otherwise exploiting a captive victim of sexual trafficking. And it’s not at all charming to professional advocates for victims of sexual violence and trafficking.

On Thursday night I saw a screening of the film, which opens nationwide today (and which I otherwise enjoyed). Here’s a quick summary of the relevant plot thread, with some spoilers:

At a casino in Macau, Bond meets Sévérine, a woman he believes to be working for Silva, the film’s villain. Bond notices a distinctive tattoo on her wrist that identifies her as a former brothel worker and correctly guesses that she is not, in fact, Silva’s employee but his captive, bought or stolen out of the brothels to serve him. She agrees to lead Bond to Silva on the promise that he will kill the villain. They part ways. In the following scene, Sévérine, who believes Bond to be dead, is in the shower when he enters, naked, and initiates sex. In the following scene, they arrive at Silva’s stronghold, and Silva promptly kills Sévérine.

Sexual hyper-aggressiveness and putting women in harm’s way are trademarks of the Bond franchise, of course. They’re a big part of why the protagonist is often decried as a misogynist and even a psychopath. None of it has stopped the series from earning more than $5 billion and counting.

But those elements are uniquely problematic when set in the context of a character who’s a victim of ongoing sexual violence and intimidation, say critics.

Tracy Cox, director of communications for the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, calls the on-screen sequence “alarming.”

“In the film, a trafficking victim discloses what has happened to her, then is further victimized by the person she confides in,” Cox says. “Society may falsely assume that victims of sexual violence are sexually available when in actuality, the shower scene depicts James Bond abusing his power and authority.”

(To be clear, neither Cox nor the other experts quoted here has seen the film yet. Their comments are based on a description similar to the one above.)

The Bond of “Skyfall” abuses alcohol and painkillers, womanizes and causes wanton destruction, yet he’s still clearly meant to be seen as a hero, not an antihero. But his conduct toward Sévérine isn’t just ungallant — it’s coercive, says Julie Gerstein, a writer for the women’s site The Frisky. ”Essentially, he’ll only free her if she completes a transaction with him,” she says. At the moment he approaches her in the shower, she is as much Bond’s prisoner as Silva’s.

Viewers who know more about Bond’s reputation as a lothario than they do about the psychology of abuse might confuse this exploitation for seduction, worries Heather Genovese, a New York City psychoanalyst who specializes in working with traumatized individuals.

“Sometimes victims of sexual abuse are so deeply in need of help and have such a strong wish for rescue that they get into situations where they are being abused and don’t even realize it,” she says. “Sometimes it’s simply because the dynamic is familiar to them. This can be why they are so vulnerable to being re-traumatized, and it is alarming for society to see such a thing without a clear understanding.”

“Women are always collateral damage in Bond films,” says Gerstein. ”It’s a common trope that he exerts his masculinity vis a vis sexing any woman he wants, but it’s rather tacky to then put that into a sex-trafficking narrative.”

A spokeswoman for Sony Pictures, “Skyfall’s” distributor, said the creative content of the Bond films is entirely in the hands of Eon Productions. Though the spokeswoman passed along my request to Eon, it was not until after hours in the U.K., where Eon is based, and no one was immediately available for comment.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2012/11/09/james-bond-in-skyfall-hero-patriot-and-exploiter-of-sex-trafficking-victims/

Said by folks who didn't even see the damn flick. No surprise.

“Sometimes victims of sexual abuse are so deeply in need of help and have such a strong wish for rescue that they get into situations where they are being abused and don’t even realize it,” she says. “Sometimes it’s simply because the dynamic is familiar to them. This can be why they are so vulnerable to being re-traumatized, and it is alarming for society to see such a thing without a clear understanding.”

“Women are always collateral damage in Bond films,” says Gerstein. ”It’s a common trope that he exerts his masculinity vis a vis sexing any woman he wants, but it’s rather tacky to then put that into a sex-trafficking narrative.”


==I think Eon left themselves vulnerable to this sort of reaction. Sex slavery and trafficking going on right under our nose in western democracies is a huge political football.It's a very unsettling issue, affecting immigration and refugee policy, new criminal laws, and I don't think the film handled the situation with much sensitivity.

Silva's the worst kind of exploiter. We know that, but Bond's relationship with Severine could have been better conceived.

Yeah, Bond's not a role model.

If Babs see this, we can say goodbye to Bond girls in Bond 24.

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(To be clear, neither Cox nor the other experts quoted here has seen the film yet. Their comments are based on a description similar to the one above.)

I can understand their complaints about the scene when it is described that way, but watching the film, it is pretty obvious that Bond has no idea he is leading Severine into danger. He knows she is deathly afraid of Silva, but he also correctly surmises that she is his "property", as dark and unsettling as that is. He probably figures that no harm will come to her; any repercussions will be against Bond. And when Silva challenges him to shoot the shotglass off her head, he takes pains to avoid killing her. He was probably under the impression that Silva wanted to demonstrate his marksmanship by shooting the glass off her head without any harm coming to her.

As distasteful as Severine's backstory is, I hardly think it is mysogynistic. It's obviously been written to fit the notion that Severine is terrified of Silva, but stays with him. As for her death, a recurring sub-theme within the film is that decisions in the field are often made based on the information the person making that decision has at the time. When Eve shoots Bond, it is because M considers risking his life to be an acceptable risk, and certainly an acceptable price to pay if it means protecting the list. Likewise, Bond has no real reason to believe Silva means any harm to Severine until he actually shoots her. That's what makes her death so shocking: both Bond and the audience are led to believe that the scene is going to show off some trick shooting.

FieldsMan wrote:

Yeah, Bond's not a role model.

If Babs see this, we can say goodbye to Bond girls in Bond 24.

I don't know that Bond needs to be a role model. The issue is with the filmmakers. Considering the sensitivity of the subject, the filmmakers have latitude as to how they approach and present the subject matter. It's a fictional story so the filmmakers can draw the scenes anyway they want. The way its presented though, its as if the filmmakers didn't seem to understand that people might be offput by Bond seducing a woman who is clearly a sex-slave.

Within the context of the story that they did present, Bond's behaviour can be rationalized as on missionor as Shadow describes, but that's not much solace to those who have strong feelings on the matter.

Wasn't Tiffany Case in Fleming's DAF gang raped? Tracy was suicidal and Honeychile was also a victim of sexual assault, wasn't she? Those are all vulnerable victims, and Bond is one to help "cure" them. He always has been, so PM is right in assuming that Bond thought no harm would come to Severine.

Hell, even Pussy was a 'victim' of homosexuality, that Bond needed to "cure".

Severine is just another [well written] classic Bond girl, with a tragic past, looking for redemption in Bond. And you know, it's not like a sex slave isn't ever going to have sex again. She had reciprocated feelings for Bond.

FieldsMan wrote:

Severine is just another [well written] classic Bond girl, with a tragic past, looking for redemption in Bond. And you know, it's not like a sex slave isn't ever going to have sex again. She had reciprocated feelings for Bond.

Yes but this is fiction. This is how the filmmakers chose to portray their sex-slave character.

The critics are bothered by the choice.

Says the psychoanalyst quoted:

“Sometimes victims of sexual abuse are so deeply in need of help and have such a strong wish for rescue that they get into situations where they are being abused and don’t even realize it,” she says. “Sometimes it’s simply because the dynamic is familiar to them. This can be why they are so vulnerable to being re-traumatized, and it is alarming for society to see such a thing without a clear understanding.”


==regarding Tiffany Case she was gang-raped and never had sex again until she met Bond (naturally ;) ) but Bond was well aware of her history and didn't make a move. She made the approach when she was ready. Book-Bond can be the poster-boy for chivalry at times. Honey was raped too but was practically demanding sex from Bond after she got to know him. These people might have taken Fleming to task too for his portrayal of rape victims, 50 odd years ago, but at least Fleming bent over backwards to assure us gentle reader, that Bond was very sensitive to the history of these girls and only stepped-up when they practically gave him no choice. But I doubt there was as much medical/psychological "understanding" of rape trauma as there is now. Flemings crtics wouldn't have had studies and experts to wave in is face, but I wouldn't be surprised if he took some heat back in the day. Suffice to say, Bond did nice by Tiff and Honey and even SF Bond seems to be trying with Severine. We Bond fans can see that but not everyone else is going to be as accomodating, and I'm not going to tell them they're wrong either.

She did invite Bond to her yacht...

FieldsMan wrote:

She did invite Bond to her yacht...

yes so.

I will admit that I didn't think much of it at the time, but the more I thought about it, the more Severine's backstory made me uneasy.

I get that the writers were going to the traumatic backstory, and that they were trying to write her character in such a way that she was afraid of Silva. But I think they could have done it differently, or at least been less blunt about it. I'm not saying that they should have been more politically-correct about it, but I think they could have been a little more tasteful.

Maybe she could have been abducted into the sex trade, but instead of going demurely, she killed the first person who bought her. Unfortunately, that person was particularly powerful or connected to the criminals who had caught her, and Silva somehow got her out of it, but was holding the threat of giving her back to the sex slavers over her head.

Where the filmmakers blew it (assuming one cares) is that it seems they didn't factor that people might be offput by Bond seducing a woman who is clearly a sex-slave.

The push-back is predictable.

I suppose there are some elements of society who feel that mainstream entertainment is obligated to be morally-rigtheous for no other reason than because it is mainstream entertainment.

tiffanywint wrote:

FieldsMan wrote:

She did invite Bond to her yacht...

yes so.

She wanted to sleep with Bond for the same reason Tiffany Case wanted to. Bond offered to protect her, and didn't he offer her sex. She wanted to bang him.

I don't know, maybe I'm being narrow-minded, but this stuff isn't new in a Bond film.

FieldsMan wrote:

tiffanywint wrote:

FieldsMan wrote:

She did invite Bond to her yacht...

yes so.

She wanted to sleep with Bond for the same reason Tiffany Case wanted to. Bond offered to protect her, and didn't he offer her sex. She wanted to bang him.

I don't know, maybe I'm being narrow-minded, but this stuff isn't new in a Bond film.

I don't think you are being narrow minded, but I don't think you understand what the women are concerned about. Forget about it. Let the women take it up with Babs.

You should all stop your illogical female whining. No one is innocent in Skyfall. Here are the facts:

1. Severine is a murderer:

i. She positions a man so Patrice can get a killshot.

ii. She entertains Bond at the casino knowing he is to be killed by her henchmen; she only warns him of the ambush after it becomes apparent that Bond may be useful to her by killing Silva.


2. Bond does not take advantage of Severine in the shower:

The room in the yacht shows that she has arranged a romantic dinner for two. She expects to entertain Bond. Severine is a woman in her 30s and a prostitute knows better than most women what a man wants. She also knows that everything has a price.


3. Severine brings Bond to Silva’s secret lair to kill him: the ultimate betrayal.

No one should be surprised when Silva retaliates by beating and then killing her.

The facts do speak for themselves. Severine is all of the above.

But the women are offput by Bond seducing a woman who is clearly a sex-slave. Logic doesn't enter into it.

tiffanywint wrote:

FieldsMan wrote:

Yeah, Bond's not a role model.

If Babs see this, we can say goodbye to Bond girls in Bond 24.

I don't know that Bond needs to be a role model. The issue is with the filmmakers. Considering the sensitivity of the subject, the filmmakers have latitude as to how they approach and present the subject matter. It's a fictional story so the filmmakers can draw the scenes anyway they want. The way its presented though, its as if the filmmakers didn't seem to understand that people might be offput by Bond seducing a woman who is clearly a sex-slave.

Within the context of the story that they did present, Bond's behaviour can be rationalized as on missionor as Shadow describes, but that's not much solace to those who have strong feelings on the matter.

Now, tiffy, just because one has been a sex slave doesn't mean they lose their libido. (And I ought to know!) Severine responded with intense passion to Bond's advances in the shower.

And as FM pointed out, just because a woman has had a traumatic past and is ostensibly vulnerable doesn't mean she should be off limits to Bond's advances. Is Bond only allowed to romance well adjusted women with spotless and glorious pasts? That's rather confining, don't you think?

I'm not passing judgement on the scenario This is fiction. Writers can contrive any scenario they want.

Severine's trauma is not exclusive to her past though.It's very much in her present. She is Silva's slave. He's got three apes guarding her. He commisions her to murder. Presumably he pimps her out too when it suits his purposes. Judging by her looks and her past, I don't think that's a stretch.

But I am saying that I can see where the women are coming from. Their reaction is predictable.They are simply off-put by the notion of Bond having sex with a woman who is clearly a sex-slave.

The fimmakers do to try to portray Severine as not-victimized by Bond, and they essentially do manage to achieve this, but the broader more general scenario remains, and that scenario is bound to unnerve and provoke reaction, especially with those who have experience with the trauma of sex-slaves.

ie if a man buys a prostitute who is actually a slave, being prostituted against her will, he furthers her abuse. Does Bond buy Severine? He sort of does but she also doesn't seem to mind. However she is not an indepenent woman. She is in a desperate situation. I can see why these women would take exception to Bond even attempting sex with a woman in such straights.

I think they make fair point. At the same time I don't condemn the filmmakers, but if I was Babs, I'd address the women's concerns as opposed to dismissing them out of hand.

tiffanywint wrote:

Where the filmmakers blew it (assuming one cares) is that it seems they didn't factor that people might be offput by Bond seducing a woman who is clearly a sex-slave.

The push-back is predictable.

Of course the push back is predictable. Feminists have hated Bond from the beginning. If they had their way there would be no Bond Girls, because it is against their creed that, God forbid, a man find a woman attractive and sexually intriguing in any way, shape, or form. This is business-as-usual for the feminists.

And has been pointed out elsewhere, Severine was not raped by Bond, she had the power to say "No" (since Bond was not a client of Silva's), and even though she is a sex-slave herself, she's not totally innocent of crimes against humanity (she does help set up men for assassination, so let's not pin a Nobel Peace Prize on her just yet).

tiffanywint wrote:

The facts do speak for themselves. Severine is all of the above.

But the women are offput by Bond seducing a woman who is clearly a sex-slave. Logic doesn't enter into it.

There are uncomfortable elements about the character.

I'm going to say it - the shower scene and how Bond came in made me a little uncomfortable - seriously when that happened I felt uncomfortbale. However I'm probably projecting a little my own fears. Either way at the end of the day, the champagne etc. and the other signs show that Severine was consenting, and was aware and wanted Bond to come and have sex with her. At the end of the day she did give her consent - if she didn't want to have sex she could've said no - (or not, who knows, reading Ambler's three facts above were helpful).

So really it comes down to personal projections onto the character - that is always going to happen. *shrugs*

Personally, I find Severine's murder sequence far more disturbing than the scene of her and Bond having sex, for crying out loud. I mean it was sex, for the love of god, not torture. Difficult though it may be for some to believe, some women do want to have sex and even gain pleasure from it. This was the case with Severine and Bond.

But back to her murder. This sequence was supposed to be disturbing and by Jove it was. The dessicated waste of a city, the mad Silva, the helpless beauty and the lighthearted Boum playing in the background. It was worthy of Kubrick. And it serves to reinforce a point. Despite the Moonrakers, Live and Let Dies and A View to a Kills of the world, Bond's existence is not all martinis, tuxedos, Aston Martins and Bahamas. Bond pays a price for his pleasure. And that price includes occasionally witnessing horrific atrocities. It is meet to keep this in mind.

Khan - no denying that the murder sequence is far worse. And I understand that as you say that 'some women do want to have sex and even gain pleasure from it'. I am saying that it can be easy to project personal feelings - when I saw the shower scene my personal response was slightly skeeved - something I don't usually get when Bond does the whole let's have sex with the Bond girl routine. A reaction I didn't expect from that scene - I expect to be skeeved the fuck out by the villian, I expect that.

Understood, Fae.

Yes I was somewhat "skeeved" out too. Nice word Fae.

Tapping into my feminine side no doubt.

Clearly I am a far more sensitive male than the rest of you barbarians.:flower: