The James Bond legacy: shaken, not stirred
By Jon Lowell
Summer On-line Forty-Niner
By now, everyone who is into pop culture
knows about James Bond, the international
spy who is licensed to kill and a renowned
ladies man.
But to truly get to know James Bond, one
should first get to know his creator, Ian
Fleming. Then you will come to the realization
that James Bond and Ian Fleming are the
same person.
A good place to learn about Bond and Fleming
is the upcoming SpyFest, which will be held
on the Queen Mary in Long Beach Aug. 9-10.
Speaking at the SpyFest will be John Cork
and Bruce Scivally, co-authors of the book
"James Bond: The Legacy." Cork
and Scivally recently spoke at the Long
Beach Public Library on July 26 as a warm-up
to SpyFest.
Cork opened the lecture by talking about
Fleming, who came from a well-off family
in England. The family wealth did not come
easy, however, and Fleming was instilled
with a work ethic that would help carry
him to great success.
After a stellar academic career, Fleming
became a journalist and also worked as a
banker. During World War II Fleming answered
the call of duty and started working for
British Intelligence, where he was an assistant
to the director of naval intelligence. There,
Fleming had direct access to how real intelligence
agencies worked. He also received spy training,
learning what would and would not make a
good agent.
In France during World War II, when the
German-occupied towns would get overrun
by Allied forces, the Germans would burn
their files and documents to prevent information
from getting into enemy hands. British Intelligence
would send in commando units before the
attacks, whose missions were to obtain German
files and documents before they were destroyed.
Though Fleming spent time in France coordinating
such missions, he did not see very much
action. It was his days during World War
II when Fleming would later refer to the
point in his life when he felt the most
alive.
After the war, Fleming decided that he did
not want to spend another winter in England.
He bought a house in Jamaica, which Fleming
named Goldeneye, and it was where he would
spend his winters writing. The first novel
that was a result of the Jamaica writing
sessions was called "Casino Royale."
"Fleming enjoyed immediate success,"
Cork said.
The connections between Bond and Fleming
started to become obvious. Fleming was also
known to have had several mistresses, which
would explain Bond's infatuation with the
ladies.
"Fleming lived life to the fullest,"
Cork said. "He did not like to make
compromises in a compromising world."
Throughout his career, Fleming did not stray
too far from writing the spy novels which
had brought him so much success. Fleming
did write a children's story titled "Chitty
Chitty Bang Bang."
"Since gadgets were such a big part
of the James Bond character it is interesting
that the one children's story that he did
write was about a gadget car." Cork
said.
In the early 1960s, Fleming's novels were
adapted into films.
Today, the Bond series is the longest-running
series in the history of film, spanning
40 years and 20 films.
"James Bond, with his sex appeal and
style, has become an icon in our popular
culture," said Michelle Gutierrez of
Buena Park.
Countless books and documentaries have been
made about the Bond/Fleming series and many
have been produced by Cork and Scivally.
When asked about how they got into writing
about Bond, Scivally said, "Follow
your bliss and eventually the work will
come to you."
Both Scivally and Cork will be talking about
their bliss and their book during SpyFest,
Aug. 9-10 at 10 a.m. in the Queen Mary
Exhibit Hall. The authors and over 60 celebrities
will be on hand for the two-day event.
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