Introduction

There is little incidence in motion picture history that has been present for such a long time and as continuously as the James Bond movies, and which has not ceased to thrill audiences all over the world. The Bond phenomenon is virtually everywhere, extending its reach and influence into various areas of today's culture, while at the same time drawing from a vast amount of contemporary cultural issues, thus offering a broad spectrum of key elements of Popular Culture discourses.

Action-Adventure stories have become common in today's cinema, yet, strangely, the Bond movies, having been amongst the first to form that genre, continue to be a guideline, a reliable thread whose influence is undeniable. Having gained a cult status since the sixties, the myth of James Bond had its origin in Ian Fleming's spy novels of the late fifties and early sixties. While its unique status as an action movie may appear lost, a 007 movie is not just one of many action films around, it is still a highly anticipated event. A Bond movie is marked by specific characteristics that clearly define and distinguish it from other movies of the same genre. The Bond films are based on a recurring structural model that was introduced in the first three movies and refined and only slightly altered in the course of their history.

The conference aims at defining the cultural patterns used and established by the Bond films, and at exploring the phenomenon of James Bond - among others - in film, literature, and as a character. The idea is to analyze James Bond as a cultural appearance, approaching it, among others, through categories of gender, race, class, but also treating it as a piece of art.