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James Bond's world of fast cars, girls, guns, gambling & fighting bad guys, captures 50 years of male fantasy & dreams.

Movie poster from Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) with action near Phuket in Thailand

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World

James Bond fans mark 50 years

5/10/2012
AFP News agency
Agence France-Presse

A series of events are to be held on Friday to mark the 50th anniversary of the James Bond films, the iconic spy saga that helped define half-a-century of cultural, political and technological upheaval.

The suave British agent, code name 007, appeared on the silver screen for the first time in the 1962 classic "Dr. No", introducing himself with the immortal line "Bond... James Bond" over a high-stakes game of baccarat.

Bond has been played by six different actors over the 22-series adventure, but has always maintained his obsession with fast cars, beautiful women, high-tech gadgets and vodka Martinis -- shaken, not stirred.

"For all the attempts at change, the core of the Bondian world remains the same: obsessed with sex and violence, hypermasculine, simplistically nationalistic, and addicted to conspicuous consumption,"...

...The 23rd and latest film, "Skyfall", has its worldwide premiere in London on October 23 with Daniel Craig playing Bond for the third time.

The "Skyfall" theme tune, sung by British diva Adele, will be released at 00:07 British time on Friday, although the track was leaked online on Tuesday...

Few would have believed that Bond would become a global institution when "Dr. No", an adaptation of Fleming's 1958 novel, was released on October 5, 1962.

Critical reaction to the film saga's first installment was mixed, with Time magazine calling Sean Connery's Bond "a great big hairy marshmallow."

Critics have noted that Craig's muscular and moody performances are in sharp contrast to Roger Moore's light-hearted portrayals and Connery's old-fashioned machismo, mirroring changing social conventions.

"The 007 series now presents a male hero who is emotionally vulnerable, fallible, and in many ways psychologically broken," explained Lindner. "Ironically, this is much closer to the 'screw-up' Bond of the original novels.

But attempts to modernise the so-called 'Bond girls' do not break with the formula.

the idea that the sexist 'dinosaur'... could evolve into working for a female boss is very interesting.

As well as evolving Bond's personality, the franchise has also adapted to shifting geopolitics.

"We went from Cold War villains, to post-Communist villains, to post-9/11 terrorists, and so on,"....

..."The entire Bond lifestyle of the 1950s and 60s -- of walking into the casino in a tuxedo, the exquisite and peculiar taste in food and in alcohol -- all of this is extraordinarily exotic."

(Source: Bangkok Post, World, James Bond fans mark 50 years, 5/10/2012, AFP News agency, Agence France-Presse, link) 


James Bond Saga Vocabulary

James Bond - (See Wikipedia)
James Bond portal - (See Wikipedia)
James Bond outline - (See Wikipedia)

the world of James Bond
the Bondian world

James Bond (the person) - (See Wikipedia)

James Bond's girls - Bond girls, the actresses who played a James Bond girlfriend in a movie (See Wikipedia & fashion & belly buttons)

fantasy - thinking of nice things happening to you, imaginary life, dreams การจินตนาการ, ความเพ้อฝัน, ความนึกฝัน, ความฟุ้งซ่าน
male fantasy - the dreams that men have of who they would like to be, what they would like to do

James Bond guns - (See Wikipedia)
James Bond cars - (See Wikipedia)
James Bond gadgets - (See Wikipedia)

James Bond in film - (See Wikipedia & List of Films)
James Bond music - (See Wikipedia)

James Bond parodies - (See Wikipedia)
James Bond computer games - (See Wikipedia)

vodka Martinis -- shaken, not stirred - the famous alcohol drink that James Bond always ordered (See Wikipedia)
shake - move back and forth, move one direction then other over and over สั่น, ทำให้สั่น
stir - move liquid around, to mix something in or to cool off คน, กวน

spy - someone with the job of finding out secret information about another country or company สายลับ, สายสืบ (See Wikipedia)
secret agent - Same as "spy"
agent - Same as "secret agent"

suave - very cool and elegant
the suave British agent

Skyfall - the newest James Bond film, plot: "After an operation in Istanbul ends in disaster, James Bond is missing and presumed to be dead, and the identities of every active MI6 undercover agent are leaked onto the internet. In the aftermath, questions are raised over M's ability to run the Secret Service, and she becomes the subject of a government review over her handling of the situation. When the service itself is attacked, Bond's sudden reappearance gives M the pretext she needs to seek out Raoul Silva, a dangerous villain claiming a personal connection to both of them – but as he follows a trail from London to the South China Sea, Bond soon finds his loyalty to M challenged over secrets from her past" (See Wikipedia)

the "Skyfall" theme tune - the song for the new James Bond movie by British singer Adele (See YouTube)

theme tune - the music for the whole movie (sets the mood or "theme" for the whole movie)
tune - a song, music
theme - the main subject of something ใจความสำคัญ, ประเด็นหลัก


Dr. No - the first James Bond film in 1962 (See Wikipedia)

Sean Connery - the first actor to play James Bond in movies (See Wikipedia)
Roger Moore - played James Bond (1973-1985) including The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) set in Thailand (See Wikipedia)
Daniel Craig - the actor who is now playing James Bond in movies (See Wikipedia)

Ian Fleming - the author of the James Bond novels that the film was based on (See Wikipedia)

saga - a long never-ending story การเล่าอย่างยืดยาว

mark - to celebrate and remember something important ฉลอง to show respect for or commemorate, to show that something happened or is happening เป็นเครืองแสดง
James Bond fans mark 50 years

anniversary - a date when you celebrate something that happened in a previous year that is important to you วันครบรอบ
mark the anniversary of
events to mark the anniversary of
events to mark the 50th anniversary of

the iconic X - most people think of this, when they think of X (the picture that people have in their mind of something)
the iconic spy saga

upheaval - a big change (chaotic, without order)
political upheaval
helped define half-a-century of cultural, political and technological upheaval

A series of events are to be held on Friday to mark the 50th anniversary of the James Bond films, the iconic spy saga that helped define half-a-century of cultural, political and technological upheaval.

code - numbers that names or identifies something (used to get into computer system, for example) รหัส
code name 007

the silver screen - the screen in a movie theatre

classic - an important and famous old book, film, piece of music, etc 
the 1962 classic "Dr. No"

immortal - living forever
immortal line - something that someone says that people always remember (from a film, for example)
the immortal line "Bond... James Bond"

baccarat - a gambling game with cards (See Wikipedia)
gambling - การพนัน

stake - a bet, the amount of the bet in gambling เงินพนัน
high-stakes game - a gambling game with very large bets
a high-stakes game of baccarat

The suave British agent, code name 007, appeared on the silver screen for the first time in the 1962 classic "Dr. No", introducing himself with the immortal line "Bond... James Bond" over a high-stakes game of baccarat.

adventure - an unusual, exciting and possibly dangerous activity such as a journey or experience, or the excitement produced by such an activity การผจญภัย 
the 22-series adventure

obsession - something that you spend all your time thinking about infatuation, preoccupation  ความหลงใหล, การครอบงำจิตใจ, การฝังแน่นอยู่ในจิตใจ
obsession with fast cars, beautiful women

violence - physical force with the deliberate intention of causing damage to property or injury or death to people ความรุนแรง
sex and violence

obsessed - considering something as so important that you are always thinking about it, in a way that seems extreme to other people หมกมุ่น
obsessed with sex and violence

maintained - kept at the same level (not allowed to increase or decrease)
has always maintained his obsession with fast cars, beautiful women

Bond has been played by six different actors over the 22-series adventure, but has always maintained his obsession with fast cars, beautiful women, high-tech gadgets and vodka Martinis -- shaken, not stirred.

core - the most important or most basic part of something ส่วนสำคัญ แก่น แกนนำ
the core of the Bondian world
the core of the Bondian world remains the same

masculine - being a man
hyper - very very much (too much)
hypermasculine - being very much a man (having a lot of what people think is "manly" like Sean Connery's hairy chest, for example)

nationalism (noun) - the belief that your country is the best or right
nationalistic (adjective)  
simplistically nationalistic

conspicuous - very easy to see
consumption - using, eating or drinking something or using something you bought (such as wearing clothes) การบริโภค
conspicuous consumption - buying expensive things and then using them so that everyone can see (driving a very expensive car around town, for example

addicted to - cannot live without it
addicted to conspicuous consumption

"For all the attempts at change, the core of the Bondian world remains the same: obsessed with sex and violence, hypermasculine, simplistically nationalistic, and addicted to conspicuous consumption,"...

premiere - when a movie is shown for the first time แสดงรอบปฐมทัศน์
worldwide premiere

diva - a famous female singer
sung by British diva Adele

released - made available to the public
released at 00:07 British time on Friday

leaked - let people see or hear some secret thing
leaked online - something secret made available to people over the internet

track - one song on a CD
the track was leaked online on Tuesday

...The 23rd and latest film, "Skyfall", has its worldwide premiere in London on October 23 with Daniel Craig playing Bond for the third time. The "Skyfall" theme tune, sung by British diva Adele, will be released at 00:07 British time on Friday, although the track was leaked online on Tuesday...

global - throughout the world ทั่วโลก ทั้งโลก
institution - an important tradition or system upon which society is based สถาบัน
Bond became a global institution

adaptation - to change the form of something (change a novel into a film, for example)
adapatation of novel
"Dr. No", an adaptation of Fleming's 1958 novel

Few would have believed that Bond would become a global institution when "Dr. No", an adaptation of Fleming's 1958 novel, was released on October 5, 1962.

critics (noun) - people who write about some subject (movies, books) in a critical way in newspapers, articles and books
critical (adjective)

movie critics - people who write about movies (films) in newspapers, articles and books
literary critics - people who write about novels and stories (literature) in newspapers, articles and books

reaction - the way you behave or respond as a result of something that happens ปฏิกิริยาตอบโต้
critical reaction - what movie critics think about a new movie (their response)

critical reaction was mixed - meaning: some thought it was good, some thought it was bad
mixed critical reaction

installment - one in a series of articles, books, movies, etc
first installment - the first in a series of articles, books, movies, etc
the film saga's first installment

Critical reaction to the film saga's first installment was mixed

Critical reaction to the film saga's first installment was mixed, with Time magazine calling Sean Connery's Bond "a great big hairy marshmallow." Critics have noted that Craig's muscular and moody performances are in sharp contrast to Roger Moore's light-hearted portrayals and Connery's old-fashioned machismo, mirroring changing social conventions.

sharp - strong ที่รุนแรง
contrast - a noticeable difference ความแตกต่าง
in sharp contrast ... - a big difference ....

vulnerable - easily damaged or harmed ซึ่งถูกทำลายได้ง่าย ที่เปราะบาง ที่ล่อแหลมต่อการเกิดภัยภิบัติ
emotionally vulnerable

fallible - not perfect, makes mistakes, sometimes fails

psychology (noun) - the study of the mind and behaviour 
psychological (adjective)
psychologically (adverb)

psychologically broken
in many ways psychologically broken

Ironically, ..... - the opposite of what you would expect to see ....

screw up - make mistakes, do something the wrong way
the 'screw-up' Bond of the original novels.

"The 007 series now presents a male hero who is emotionally vulnerable, fallible, and in many ways psychologically broken," explained Lindner. "Ironically, this is much closer to the 'screw-up' Bond of the original novels.

formula - the standard way something is done (the standard way that Bond behaves with women in films, for example)
break with the formula

sexist - a man who thinks that men are better than women (and behaves like this)
dinosaur - 1. a very old-fashioned person, not modern or up-to-date; 2. a very large animals that lived on the earth long long ago
the sexist 'dinosaur'

female - of a woman สำหรับผู้หญิง
female boss

evolve - to develop gradually, or to cause something or someone to develop gradually ค่อยๆ พัฒนา
evolve into working for a female boss

But attempts to modernise the so-called 'Bond girls' do not break with the formula. ... the idea that the sexist 'dinosaur'... could evolve into working for a female boss is very interesting.

personality - the part of a person that makes them behave in a particular way in social situations, e.g., in friendly or unfriendly way, or in a confident or shy way บุคลิกลักษณะ ลักษณะเฉพาะตน
evolving Bond's personality

geopolitics - global politics (the big trends of relations between countries)
shifting geopolitics - changing trends in relations between countries

franchise - an arrangement to do some business or make some product (like a film) using another person's ideas (the James Bond idea)
the franchise has also adapted to shifting geopolitics

villain - the bad guy in movie (a criminal, terrorist, dictator, etc)

Cold War - the long, slow war between the US and the Soviet Union (Russia) that followed World War II
Cold War villains

As well as evolving Bond's personality, the franchise has also adapted to shifting geopolitics...."We went from Cold War villains, to post-Communist villains, to post-9/11 terrorists, and so on,"....

lifestyle - a way that people live: fashion, home decoration, pets, cooking, music, tv, movies, garden, etc (example: the bachelor lifestyle can be very disorganized)  รูปแบบการดำเนินชีวิต
the Bond lifestyle

tuxedo - black pants and coat, very formal clothes for special party (See Wikipedia)
walking into the casino in a tuxedo

exquisite - very beautiful; delicate สวยงาม, วิจิตร, งดงาม, อ่อนช้อย
peculiar - strange
taste in food - the kinds of foods that you like to eat 

the exquisite and peculiar taste in food and in alcohol

extraordinarily - very, very ...
exotic - very different, strange and interesting (usually because it comes from a faraway place)
all of this is extraordinarily exotic

..."The entire Bond lifestyle of the 1950s and 60s -- of walking into the casino in a tuxedo, the exquisite and peculiar taste in food and in alcohol -- all of this is extraordinarily exotic."

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