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Daniel Craig as James Bond

Daniel Craig. Oh, Daniel Craig.

Ladies, if you didn’t go weak in the knees for him before, you freaking will now! Men, if you didn’t think he was a badass before, hold on tight. Because Daniel Craig just destroyed James Bond.

And it was glorious.

In an interview with The Red Bulletin, Craig had some incredibly profound things to say about life, role-models, heroes, and the fact that James Bond is a total bloody misogynist!

(Sorry, I get really English after I read so many awesome Daniel Craig quotes.)

So here’s how it all went down…

It started building slowly.

At one point, the interviewer asked if Craig thinks James Bond is a positive role model.
And Craig replied, “My own role models are people who have a moral compass. People who have the courage of their convictions: great journalists, writers, artists … You know, one of the greatest problems we face today is people’s self-awareness. It’s all about ‘Who am I?’ instead of ‘What am I doing?’ When I was growing up, it was all about work and what we produced. Being self-aware is the enemy of all creativity. Because as soon as you start thinking about yourself and only yourself, you stop creating. That’s when your ego takes over. All great artists, from Picasso to Francis Bacon, have their own strong convictions and stick to them throughout their life. Neither of those two gave a fuck what you thought of their work. They said, ‘This is what I do.’ I admire that, as it takes real strength.”

Soooooooo…. I’m pretty sure that’s a firm “no.”

His words are really beautiful though! I honestly love what he said to say. And I found myself incredibly touched by the idea that, as artists, we should get out of our own way and just create! That’s such a wonderful piece of wisdom.

But he didn’t say shit about Bond.

So then, a bit later on, The Red Bulletin interviewer said “Speaking of women, many men admire Bond for his way with the ladies…”

“But let’s not forget that he’s actually a misogynist,” Craig said. “A lot of women are drawn to him chiefly because he embodies a certain kind of danger and never sticks around for too long.”

BOOM!!!!!

Let’s face facts. James Bond is a complete misogynist! And it’s awesome that the man who played James Bond, said it, point blank.

james-bond-007-action-james-bond-movie-secret-agent-suave

Sean Connery as James Bond

It’s not that we can’t love the movies! Or even love James Bond for that matter. We totally can! But just because he’s awesome and fun to watch on the big screen, doesn’t mean he’s not also incredibly flawed.

For example:
A father and son have just watched a James Bond film.
The father turns to the son and says, “See, son. That’s how you treat women.”

Nope. Never happened.

But!!!! One of them did, probably, look at the other and say, “Oh man! Did you see that thing blow up?! And when that other thing, did that other thing?! That was the best!”

So why didn’t the misogyny conversation happen? Because it should happen. And it should go something like this:

“Yes, all of those other things were super awesome! But let’s talk about women too. Don’t you think it’s kinda odd that James Bond has a different girlfriend in every movie? Let’s talk about that.”

Furthermore, not to be a traitor to my gender in anyway, but what Craig said about women being attracted to Bond was also important. Because he’s right– Bond is dangerous. And, for some reason, that makes him sexy as hell. And we women are so smart! We know he isn’t going to stick around.

I mean, can you picture James Bond going to brunch with you and your grandparents or bouncing a baby on his knee? No, no you can’t.

So that’s another conversation that should be had with our daughters. And it should go something like this:

“Sweetie, James Bond is super handsome, isn’t he?! But you never want to marry a man like James Bond.”

james bond - Die_Another_Day

Pierce Brosnan as James Bond

Later in The Red Bulletin interview, Craig commented on whether or not Bond has become “more chivalrous” in more recent films.

“That’s because we’ve surrounded him with very strong women who have no problem putting him in his place,” Craig said.

Ummmm…. YES!

And then the interviewer said, “And this time you’ve gone one better, showing 007 succumbing to the charms of an older woman.”

To which Craig replied, “I think you mean the charms of a woman his own age. We’re talking about Monica Bellucci, for heaven’s sake. When someone like that wants to be a Bond girl, you just count yourself lucky!”

So totally awesome.

Everything Daniel Craig said here about Bond being a misogynist was so significant. And here’s why:

More and more women are starting to speak openly about feminism, equality, and the daily injustices that they experience. And it’s incredibly important for men like Daniel Craig to join the conversation, use their voices, and show support.

You can check out the entire interview here!

(Source: The Red Bulletin)

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Katherine Sangiorgio

Katherine is a proud UCLA grad turned freelance writer who enjoys writing about love, life, feminism, positive body image, and all things nerdy, shiny, and/or polka-dotted.
She loves to spend her free time kickin’ it with her crazy-awesome husband and their cat, Joey Tribbiani.
You can catch up with Katherine on Facebook at facebook.com/katherinesangiorgio, on IG at @SassyKatieSang, and on Twitter as @KathSangiorgio