Since the first Bond novel was published in 1953 James Bond, 007, has become a British institution in many ways.
The books remain popular, and since author Ian Fleming ’s death in 1962 other authors including Kingsley Amis and renaissance chap Charlie Higson have added to the cannon. But it is the films which have spread Bond’s fame most spectacularly, and given a little boost to the romantic chances of British men abroad – in Japan and Italy he is known as Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, no ambiguity there. They haven’t harmed the careers of many in the British film industry either, providing Pinewood Studios with steady work, and have helped make John Barry perhaps our greatest film composer.
Add Bond’s image and the films such subsidiary institutions as ‘the Bond girl’ (often a kiss of death on acting careers, though Honor Blackman and Diana Rigg survived the experience), and the Bond theme-song ( Paul McCartney just one contributor); and even the Bond baddie, which has provided a visual shorthand for maniacs seeking world-domination (stroking a white cat and idiotically insisting on explaining their secret plans), and the contribution of Commander Sir James Bond to our culture is clear.
That cultural impact has been both positive and negative: the hero’s suavity and style have given generations a role model, albeit of dubious morality and sometimes to unintended comic effect. That comic aspect has also seeped into the movies themselves, again not always intentionally: it was hard not to laugh at the films where Roger Moore played him, take that how you will.
At least for British men Bond stands equal with Sherlock Holmes, Biggles, Jeeves, Dennis the Menace and Lord Peter Wimsey in that part of our self-image created through fiction. Very much a national institution.
More British Institutions
Afternoon Tea
Allotments
April Fools Day
Big Ben
Binge Drinking
Black Cabs
Bonfire Night
British Sense of Humour
Brown Windsor Soup
Burns Night
Cadburys
Castles
Changing the Guard
City of London
Coronation Street
Cowes Week
Cricket
Crufts
Dad’s Army
E-Type Jag
Eccentricity
English Country Garden
Fish and Chips
Fish Fingers
Fox Hunting
Full English Breakfast
Gin and Tonic
Glastonbury
Glorious Goodwood
Grand National
Grouse Shooting
Harrods
Highland Games
Hogmanay
James Bond
John Bull
King Arthur
Land Rover
Lloyds of London
London to Brighton Veteran Car Rally
Marks and Spencer
Monty Python
Morecambe and Wise
Old School Tie
Oxbridge
Panto
Picnics
Pimms
Point-to-Point
Punch and Judy
Queueing
Real Ale
Red Arrows
Red Telephone Boxes
Remembrance Poppies
Robin Hood
Rolls Royce
Royal Ascot
Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Savile Row Suits
School Discos
School Sports Day
Seaside Piers
Speakers’ Corner
Stag Nights
Stiff Upper Lip
Strawberries and Cream
Street Markets
Summer Festivals
Sunday Roasts
The Archers
The BBC
The Beano
The Boat Race
The Brass Band
The British Bobby
The Bulldog
The Church of England
The Cup Final
The Curry House
The English Rose
The Garden Shed
The Honours System
The Kilt
The Last Night at the Proms
The London Bus
The Mini
The National Trust
The NHS
The Oak
The Pub
The Queen’s Speech
The Rolling Stones
The Royal Christmas Message
The Spitfire
The V Sign
The Village Fete
The Weather
Travelling Fairs
Trooping the Colour
Village Greens
Wedgwood
Wellington Boots
Wimbledon
Wine Gums
Yeomen of the Guard
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