# Racism in Bond movie "Live and Let Die" **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 12, 2005, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175 "2005-07-12T14:00:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175/1 "2005-07-12T14:00:46Z")
Some spoilers!!! Just saw this 1973 James Bond movie (Roger Moore’s debut in the role, IIRC) and was amazed. I’m not one to cry “racism” at the drop of a hat, but it was pretty blatant, I thought. Every black character except one (a CIA agent, who doesn’t make it to the end of the movie) is in league with the bad guy, “Mr. Big,” whose day job is prime minister of a Haiti-like country called San Monique but is also a heroin producer. There’s a cab driver who could be Stepin Fetchit’s grandson, a turncoat female CIA agent (different from the one I mentioned before) who’s both incompetent and very easily scared, and lots of hard-drinking, wildly-dancing, ghetto-talking extras. Anybody else seen it lately? Was there any criticism of it as racist at the time it was released? I understand the original Ian Fleming book is about the same, including a chapter called “Nigger Heaven.” ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175/2 "2005-07-12T14:17:59Z")
I read it, though not at the time it was released. As I recall, much of the book expressed disgust at the idea of children of black/asian couples. ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175/3 "2005-07-12T14:46:09Z")
Some other opinions [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=203474). I thought that it was more blaxiplotation then out and out racism. Just a bad facet of a bad movie which only had two things going for it: the awesome and totally un-Bond-like theme song and the opening scene (“Who’s funeral is this?” “Yours.”) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175/4 "2005-07-12T15:19:56Z")
I was more than a bit troubled with it when the film was released back circa 1973, but it didn’t much seem to bother anyone else. I suspect some people thought it cool that a black guy _could_ be a Bond villain. Interesting thing, in any case – this is the _only_ movie I’ve ever seen where a black guy wears an elaborate makeup disguise to completely change his appearance. Look at all the movies with white guys doing this – List of Adrian Messenger, Sleuth, etc. But no Black guys. I still don’t think I’ve seen it with someone of Asian ancestry. It’s rare with women, too, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175/5 "2005-07-12T15:25:14Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Interesting thing, in any case – this is the _only_ movie I’ve ever seen where a black guy wears an elaborate makeup disguise to completely change his appearance. Well, there was [the film](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103128/) with the guy (Lenny Henry) from [**Chef**](http://www.siegler.net/chef/). ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175/6 "2005-07-12T16:09:14Z")
Remind me, what colour are the majority of the inhabitants of Haiti? ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175/7 "2005-07-12T16:26:31Z")
Quartz is right. Logically, especially given the era, the villain would have taken his support from blacks. ---
**Author:** ![Camus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ba8739/32.png) [@Camus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Camus)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175/8 "2005-07-12T16:27:37Z")
“Black Hawk Down” (the movie) was also extremely racist. All of the “villains” in the flick were black. While there were one or two black US soldiers shown, they looked EXACTLY like the “villains” except for the different uniform, facial features, and language. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175/9 "2005-07-12T17:15:42Z")
FWIW, the book is worse. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175/10 "2005-07-13T13:47:21Z")
Not all things from different eras age well. The Sean Connery Bond films were absolutely of their time but didn’t make such an obvious effort to be hip to the latest trends. Heck, one of Connery’s lines was that the Beatles were best taken with ear plugs. The early 007 was the sort of man who read Playboy which means he didn’t have to tell you he was cool, he knew it and everyone else did. In the '70s there seemed to be much more effort put into making Bond seem current rather than timeless. The result was flared slacks, lapels that could eat Cincinnati and crapfests like LoLD. I can imagine the pitch, “take a sauve masculine secret agent but make him prissy and fopposh and put him in Harlem.” Crap on a stick. I have to admit though the song was terrific and Yahphet Kotto was way cooler than Blofeld. I also liked voodoo man Geoffrey Holder’s hearty laugh but I kept expecting him to say “HAHAHAHA, the un-cola.” Of course if you want proper blaxploitation [nobody does it better](http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0069/0069_01.asp) waka-chika-waka-chika ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175/11 "2005-07-13T13:57:54Z")
> [@Padeye](#): > > Of course if you want proper blaxploitation [nobody does it better](http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0069/0069_01.asp) > waka-chika-waka-chika You know what’s so ironic about that, don’t ya? Two words- Fred Carter. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175/12 "2005-07-13T14:10:42Z")
Sure it’s about racism and all but, IIRC, it was first posted in Cafe Society and then moved and I’m not really seeing any _great_ debate here. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175/13 "2005-07-13T14:18:27Z")
Fred Carter? He’s one bad mo…Shut your mouth! Can you imagine if Jack had drawn _Soul Story_? I shudder to think but OTOH I tingle with delight at the possibility of a parody tract. Jack’s on tracts have had the “suck” dial turned up to 11 lately so I could do no worse. This points out an element of race material, you can do it to your own race but it’s a different matter when an outsider does it. Chris Rock can have an HBO special about nothing but the N-word but a white comedian couldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175/14 "2005-07-13T14:57:43Z")
Whether they be white, black, or purple taking Bond villians seriously is missing the point. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175/15 "2005-07-13T15:33:25Z")
> [@Wolfian](#): > > Some other opinions [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=203474). If anyone’s interested, here’s a list of the rest of the series of threads in Café Society: [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 1: Dr. No](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=194271) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 2: From Russia with Love](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=195426) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 3: Goldfinger](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=197003) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 4: Thunderball](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=198872) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 5: You Only Live Twice](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=200355) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 1: Dr. No](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=194271) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 2: From Russia with Love](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=195426) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 3: Goldfinger](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=197003) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 4: Thunderball](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=198872) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 5: You Only Live Twice](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=200355) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 6: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=201997) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 7: Diamonds are Forever](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=202333) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 8: Live and Let Die](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=203474) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 9: The Man with the Golden Gun](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=203688) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 10: The Spy Who Loved Me](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=205080) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 11: Moonraker](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=205291) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 12: For Your Eyes Only](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=206734) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 13: Octopussy](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=211103) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 14: A View to a Kill](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=212749) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 15: The Living Daylights](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=214160) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 16: License to Kill](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=215589) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 17: Goldeneye](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=218148) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 18: Tomorrow Never Dies](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=257650) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 19: The World Is Not Enough](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=258823) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 20: Die Another Day](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=262580) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 21: Casino Royale (1954)](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=264712) [The James Bond Film Festival. Part 22: Casino Royale (1967)](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=312581) (I haven’t done _Never Say Never_ yet.) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175/16 "2005-07-13T15:35:52Z")
Oops. Didn’t notice the duplication of the first five links. [sub](And sorry for trying to be such a control freak in the _Dr. No_ thread. :o ) [/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175/17 "2005-07-16T03:14:20Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#): > > I read it, though not at the time it was released. As I recall, much of the book expressed disgust at the idea of children of black/asian couples. As _I_ recall, Fleming’s deal with “Chigroes” was that they had the intelligence of the Chinese and the cunning of the blacks, and considered themselves above the blacks in Jamaica’s racial hierarchy. Fleming vacationed every year in Jamaica, but he wasn’t the most racially sensitive of sorts. The only positive black character in his novels I can recall was Quarrel, who trained Bond in scuba diving in _Dr. No_ and was torched by a flame thrower in _Live and Let Die_. Bond liked him, but Quarrel knew his place, calling Bond “Captain”, apparantly exactly as it should be when whites work alongside blacks. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2005, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175/18 "2005-07-16T04:05:36Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > (I haven’t done _Never Say Never_ yet.) And for the love of all that is good and holy, please don’t. I’d like to scour that film from my memory, at least, if I can’t actual abolish it from existence. _Live and Let Die_ was an attempt to cash in on the then popular blaxipoliation craze. One might as equally–and pointlessly–take umbrage at _Goldfinger_ for defaming Koreans (off of Auric Goldfinger’s minions were Korean.) Taking any Bond film–especially the generally exreable _Live and Let Die_ is going way to far. And, “Names is for tomestones, baby.” Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175/19 "2005-07-17T07:25:43Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > but Quarrel knew his place, calling Bond “Captain”, apparantly exactly as it should be when whites work alongside blacks. Except that Bond holds the rank of Commander in the Royal Navy. Near enough to Captain. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175/20 "2005-07-17T13:32:38Z")
Going by old films I’ve seen, it seems common to assign an appellation to people you don’t know well; e.g., ‘Chief’, ‘Mac’, ‘Doc’, ‘Governor’. I took Quarrel’s ‘Captain’ to simply be such an appellation, not a sign of submission. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-in-bond-movie-live-and-let-die/312175.md?page=2)