James Bond
Film Institute warns about two 007 classics
© imago images/ZUMA Press
Racist stereotypes and an outdated image of women: The British film institute BFI warns about two James Bond classics.
The British Film Institute (BFI) is officially warning viewers about the content of two James Bond classics from the 1960s. The British media are unanimously reporting on this. Two episodes from the 007 series were also shown in London as part of a film series honoring the work of composer John Barry, 77. Before the screening of all the films in the series, the BFI issued a general disclaimer warning that the works shown “could cause offense today”. Language, images or other content would only “reflect the views of the time.”
The films were selected for historical, cultural or aesthetic reasons, says the BFI, according to “The Guardian”. The views shown were not endorsed in any way, but the decision was made to show the films. For the 007 classic “You Only Live Twice” from 1967 with Sean Connery, 90, as Bond actor, an additional warning was issued in the program details: the film contained “outdated racist stereotypes”. In a well-known and long-controversial scene, Connery disguises himself as a Japanese man.
BFI wants to increase audience trust
The second James Bond film in the BFI series was “Goldfinger” from 1964, also starring Connery. The program note states, among other things, that the strip has “cartoon-like sexiness”. The other films in the John Barry series are “The Death Trap” (1968) and “Ipcress – Top Secret” (1965) with Michael Caine, 90, the Elizabeth Taylor classic “Surf” (1968) and Judi Dench -Drama “Death in the Morning” (1965).
The films “The Marten of London” (1967) and “Asphalt Cowboy” (1969), which were also shown, also warned against “homophobic language and sexual violence”. In the drama “Petulia” (1968), the organizers placed a warning about “scenes of domestic violence.” A BFI spokeswoman explained the procedure in detail in a statement to The Guardian. As a cultural charity, you are responsible for the preservation of moving images, but also for the audience, and are therefore constantly confronted with challenges.
That’s why we install trigger and content warnings in front of works that we as an institution now reject due to language or representations. You continually and continuously review your own processes to make improvements and increase audience trust. On the one hand, they also collect feedback from customers and, on the other hand, they work closely with the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), the counterpart to the German Voluntary Self-Regulation of the Film Industry (FSK).