I've read the Bond novels many times and Ian Fleming made it very clear that Bond was a ruthless sociopath, misogynist and war damaged killer with multiple family based mental issues. The character "M" was always evaluating Bond's mental fitness, knowing that cutthroat agents and assassins could only live on the edge for so long without going completely nuts. Bond's ego also led him to make stupid mistakes and he berated himself with regret. This is what made the Ian Fleming Bond so compelling, as he was a tragic hero that dealt fearlessly with evil criminals while constantly torturing himself whenever humanity clouded his thoughts. Bond thought those feelings made him weak, and his lack of parents and WWII made him despise weakness. When the films strayed from the books the film series devolved into an Austin Powers spoof.
Yeah this isn't true. Bond feels hollowed out and soulless at times from the job but he's deeply conscious of its necessity and of what he's taking from his adversaries. Consider the final chapters of DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER the opening chapters of GOLDFINGER and almost the entirety of MOONRAKER. What you're saying is the kind of thing people hear second hand about he Bond of the books and believe if they've never actually read them.
Whatttt what would be dope... bond reboot . Him in ww2 doing some crazy mission , ends with Mi5? Or 6 I forget when they were created. They come either hire him jn the end or he gains the 007 rank somehow
@@joevalle2630 I think overall they need to stop being so precious about these characters and stories. Why do we need such continuity all the time, why not just occasionally drop these characters into stories to, you know, entertain people? I'm a grown up, it's ok for me to suspend disbelief and know that because this part may contradic that part. Even loan the characters out to writers and creators who have an interesting idea. I hate this continuity pish all the time.
Daniel Craig’s Bond is definitely not a psychopath in my opinion. He seems hurt from his past after being orphaned, finding love, and then having her betray and commit suicide in front of him. I don’t think people understand how bad it hurts not having a family, and then to find love and have that happen. I’d describe him as depressed, wary and untrusting of others. Married to his profession which gives him purpose because he has none out besides that. He respects and loves his colleagues and that is something a sociopath or psychopath is incapable of doing.
He had somewhat of a heart in OHMSS. Lazenby is criticised for being wooden, but I think his performance suited the story. I couldn't imagine Connery's Bond being vulnerable, empathetic and genuinely falling in love.
@@michaelsims1160 Of course, there's the "Minions and Contractors" issue, but I agree with the guy in "Clerks" who said that the professionals who fall in with crooks knew the risks...
In my opinion "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is the first James Bond story. This is where we see Bond as a relatively normal, well-adjusted, happy man. The rest of the stories occur after this chapter in his life, after his career kills his wife. In the rest of the stories he is emotionally damaged, a joyless, heartless man waiting for death. "OHMSS" is the "before" picture of the character. After that he is only fit to be a licensed assassin. In a normal life he would be regarded as a psychopath.
Not quite - but almost. It’s only because he loves women that he’s not entirely morally reprehensible. You could argue that his patriotism is another redeeming feature.
the 2'nd actor to play the role of 007' james bond was a good quick choice and on HMSS is the most underrated movies of the 007' franchise and yet still 1' of the better of the after Connery films with dalton & Craig coming in right after it's funny that the actual actors who've read the Fleming books are the actors who got the role and part right he was the blunt instrument that Fleming wanted
And the temptation to split people's wigs they so much as mentioning that day as he demonstrated numerous times since. The day Tracy was killed, Bond's journey towards the Dark Side was complete and there was no turning back.
I remember the film critic, david Denby, reviewing a james Bond film and musing about Bond's personality. The only thing that Denby could think that Bond would always have is contempt. Contempt for everyone in the world, all 7 billion (at the time). He has saved everyone's live's countless times, everyone owes their lives to him. He's the top 1% in marksmanship, skiing, skydiving, scuba diving, car racing, even snowboarding and windsurfing! How could he not always be looking down at lesser mortals. On a related note, Roger Moore himself, in a Bond TV special, said that Bond, when not on assignment, would have to spend more than 40 hours a week taking nonstop classes, in the library and in the sports fields learning everything about everything and building up his muscle memory for all the physical activities that he would encounter.
The Bond found in the books is a far darker character than generally seen in the films. Both Daniel Craig and Timothy Dalton gave the character a much edgier appearance.
Timothy Dalton was my favorite Bond. Not a popular opinion but I think he was truer to the Fleming novels in terms of his character. He had a bit more of a moral center and wasn't as flippant about the killing.
The way he comforts Vesper in the shower after she kills someone in Casino Royale seems very Un-psychopathic to me. He seems to understand what she is going through as this is the first time, she's killed anyone. Psychopaths don't go through the same horrifying emotions that accompany someone's first kill, even when it's justified. Where does his empathy for her situation come from if he can't personally relate to it? Although we do see his first kill in the same movie, and he seems very cold about it. The movie seems to be setting up an interesting contradiction. Something like he's only a selective psychopath but he cares about us, so we give him a pass.
Yes, Bond is a selective psychopath, as I argued in my video. There are are lots of interpretations for that scene with Vesper: showing empathy to get the girl? Greeting a fellow pyschopath? James and Vesper are a match made in sociopath heaven.
@@narcology2215 Vesper may be a sociopath, (Didn't she betray Bond in order to save her lover?, I don't remember.), but sociopaths are not the same thing as psychopaths.
@@MichaelImo I guess that's possible but I didn't see any evidence of this in the film. They just show him comforting Vesper. Outside the idea that Bond might be intepreted as a psychopath from his other actions there is no suggestion of this in this particular scene, nor is this scene ever referred to again. Maybe I missed a subtle piece of evidence here but if I did I'd like it pointed out to me.
Of course James Bond would be crazy in some way. The series "Patriot" is probably a much closer depiction of the mental state of people doing that kind of work.
Based on the movies, I can see how you might see him as a psychopath. Of course, you could say the same thing about a lot of Green Berets and Navy SEALS. In the books, Bond is an adrenaline junky. He has happened onto a career where he regularly faces life-or-death conflicts. Now he can't live without the thrill of living on the edge of death. He expects to die at any moment. So he's a gourmet because every meal could be his last. He spends lavishly on his car, clothes and vacations because he plans to die in debt. He has no 401-k. As for women, he's a serial womanizer because he thinks it would irresponsible to die and leave behind a lover, wife or children. He's also worried that any woman he bonds with could become a target for his enemies. The whole point of On Her Majesty's Secret Service is to prove that he was right all along. Unlike the movie Bond, the book Bond doesn't need creepy, lounge lizard lines to woo women. He's a good-looking, athletic man. Women just naturally want to have sex with him. No pick-up lines required. The movies have more to do with the producers' fantasies than with the more realistic book version. For example, in the movie Goldfinger, Pussy Galore is a glamorous blonde pilot, with lesbian tendencies. Bond rapes her into submission so she betrays Goldfinger. For a start, the book Bond would never rape a woman. He would consider rape to be unmanly. If a man is truly man enough for a woman, he won't need to rape her. Also, in the book, Pussy Galore is dowdy, middle-aged lesbian who sports short dark hair and a mannish pantsuit. She's called Pussy Galore because she controls the majority of brothels in New York City. Please make it clear that you're talking about the movie Bond not the book Bond.
A great fictional action hero will always be maniacal, for entertainments sake. What I like here was the mention of English 'boys' book characters. Years ago, I read Talbot Mundy's 'Jim Grim' pulp book. It was a dead-on Bond story from the early 1930's! I'll bet they were done even earlier.
More interesting is the question, how psychopathic are WE the audience with our voyeristic itch? Over the decades, Bond has consistently walked the narrow line of psychopathy without ever crossing it - at least without just cause. He follows through in doing what we - the audience - would never do or could do. We love him and love to loath him, but we will never banish him! He separates our money from our wallets with each new installment. Even if there were no super villainy in the world, we would invent some so we could have our Bond and watch him too... as he goes about doing our psychopathic fantasy dirty work for us. If Alfred Hitchcock were alive today, he might say Bond is the perfect protagonist antihero for the fantasy voyeuristic-psychopath in all of us. Imagine! This is why the franchise has survived for decades long after the end of the Cold War Era for which he was invented! He is continually tweaked and adjusted to suite the times we live in... and no matter how often he's killed off by story tellers, he returns immortal... because that's what we expect of him. Bond will continue to be as socially acceptable or psychopathic as we - the voyeurist audience - desire him to be.
I see your point but don't agree. Just becaues we watch a movie doesn't mean we approve of it. We don't know what its going to contain until AFTER we see it. Daltons Bond was the least crazily lethal. Moore's cartoonish killing was the most psychotic, he tried to humour it, but that just made it all the more evident. Dalton was the least psychotic, the first time we see him he refuses his orders to assassinate a target. Then he refuses to assassinate that russian general. Most of his time is spent running. So it goes by the particular movie. If they did EVERY bond movie like that wihtout the cliche killing quips I would't mind, they did tone that aspect down for Craig.
Given what he's had to do and put up with I'd say he's incredibly sane. That's proven at the end of the last movie. No psychopath would have chosen death to protect someone they love because they don't love anyone. Others aren't even real to them.
You can have only a few parts of psychopathy and not have all of it. That's why there's the term full blown psychopath. Some individuals can have both psychopathic traits and empathic traits.
true I think dexter morgan is a good example of that he calls himself a psychopath in the show but I dont really think he is one or at least not a full blown psychopath
All the Bond villians understand Bond very well since he is just like them but working for exorbitant pay for the opposition in this case which is the Monarchy which grants him a license to kill without penalties as a added bonus.
I got my minor in rhetoric and composition. Your analysis is incredibly detailed. I feel like I was in class again. That you for the wonderful content!
Bond definitely has behavior and personality attributes of the "Dark Triad". Which encompasses Psychopathy, Sociopathy, and Machiavellianism. He has some traits of all of these ..... However, he is not specifically any one of these. He is more of a combination of traits from each.
@@Mikailiklaussen Hey Dank Mann, (really like that moniker!) Thanks for the feedback. Agreed, Narcissism is indeed part of the Dark Triad. I'm actually on the fence as to whether Bond is a true Narcissist. (If He is a Narcissist it's definitely at the sub-clinical level) He is definitely confident, arrogant, and has quite an EGO issue, but I'm not sure if he is overly filled with "self love". It appears at times he actually exhibits signs of "self loathing" .? I realize that Bond being a fictional character, is a creature that might never exist "in the wild" so he's likely none and all of these things at any given time depending on the particular direction the plot of the story needs to move in. But, it's a fun thought experiment. Any thoughts or ideas on this?
I'm not sure how a psychological balance person could do what James bond does. Oh yeah, they couldn't. Does anyone really think the people who fill the ranks of special forces and clandestine operations are the picture of psychological health? I thought it was assumed that anyone who would willingly plunge themselves into high risk and very dangerous situations isn't the most adjusted person.
Some people have no moral qualms about killing for a cause they believe in. Soldiers and law enforcement officers (not all of them but many) are examples you see every day. Not everyone who kills has a mental breakdown, many accept it as part of life. Watch some interviews with Tim Kennedy and see how normal and humorously he acts. In older times when more men had been through world wars, nobody called this behavior psychopathic. Now we have the luxury of peace so we look for people to condemn because they did something we were lucky enough to avoid.
SMERSH is not a fictional version of the KGB. SMERSH was a real organization that predates the KGB. While Fleming obviously fictionalized elements of this Soviet organization, much is accurate. Fictional characters like Rosa Klebb were actually based on real SMERSH operatives. Fleming extended SMERSH's operation by a few years, since they were basically a wartime operation that ceased at the endof WW2.
Possibly Fleming himself characterized James Bond as the sort of man, who if ordered by a superior, or if he thought himself it was needed for the mission, would, and without any hesitation, saw a live kitten in half. He wouldn't feel any pleasure in it, but its unlikely he would experience any remorse, either.
Great video! I have a fondness for fun psychological assessments of fictional characters. It would be interesting to compare the different versions of Bond and where they fall on the scale of psychopathy.
Great comment. I’d say that Roger Moore’s version is the most psychopathic, because he’s so “charming” as well as being completely callous at times. But they’re all only one half of a psychopath - without the delusional, power-hungry and erratic side that you see in Bond’s villains. 007 is really a literary version of psychopathic split thinking.
@DonaId J Trump Interesting take. Personally I would rate Craig's Bond as one of the least if not the least sociopathic of the bunch: we see in Casino Royale that killing people really upsets him at first, and he displays empathy for Vesper in the shower scene. He's also genuinely remorseful about the hurt he's caused to Madeleine Swann in No Time To Die. I think he's just a guy with serious abandonment and trust issues who compartmentalizes his emotions in order to do his job.
@DonaId J Trump I agree with you about Connery's Bond having the glib charm down pat. There's also the confounding variable of different writers and directors, which means the character can be inconsistent even with the same actor.
Bond isn’t fictional. John Dee was a spy/consult of queen Victoria, this character is deeply occult. 007 is a symbol for theatre glasses that the Queen wore and Dee’s signature. Please do your research. This is merely surface horseshit analysis.
Crazy is such a subjective judgement. It is fair to say that James Bond would be at the far end of the Bell curve regarding his lack of timidity to take action. I would think a week of that lifestyle would leave most of us needing long-term therapy just to cope. Certainly it would take an unusual individual to stand the psychological strain of being in perpetual fight or flight scenarios.
@@mammamiapizzeria4911 A Bell-shaped graph that typically shows a spectrum, with the average much higher in the middle, with it tapering off at both ends. Bond would be at one extreme end of the Bell curve, since his behavior is very unusual.
I don't think Bond is a psycho. He's a soldier on a mission and will do whatever is necessary to succeed. He doesn't go around randomly killing people.
My father was a Green Beret, he had to take a psych eval to get the hat. "You have to be exactly this crazy to enter" sort of thing. You can't get in if you're a complete psycho, but you have to be willing to do what is needed.
High functioning psychopaths do not go around killing random people. Its not just his ability to kill enemies or be a good soldier that makes him a psychopath. Its the other attributes like his lack of fear for example. Psychopaths are physiologically incapable of feeling fear. The part of the brain that makes you feel fear does not function in a psychopath.
@@cartesian_doubt6230 I know they are incapable of empathy but didn’t know about the lack of fear. I hope they can assess situations well enough to know not to put themselves in a position to be harmed.
He's meant to be flawed and dangerous. That said, I really like what they did in Skyfall. They showed a broken man, haunted by his past, and losing his edge. It really humanised him.
@@BillOweninOttawa why? the video did the work for him, and when does bond do it for himself, well real bond, not 006, as when do you ever see him go ballistic or abuse his privileges his job gives him? a psychopath wouldnt show control, he, real bond, not Daniel Craig's 006 does.
@@kavinskysmith4094 You have an uninformed, cartoonish view of psychopathy. My point, which you missed, was all about providing evidence for assertions. Thanks.
There are lots of great surgeons who are psychopaths. They save lives, and are almost never accused of taking lives deliberately and maliciously. Surgeons, like all doctors, are quite often viewed as altruistic. But quite a few of them are psychopaths nonetheless. Surgeons, CEOs etc. Quite a few high flying professions with far more psychopathic representation than in the average population.
Are we talking about the books or the films here? I went through a phase of listening to all the book in lockdown and you did get a good look into his head.
I don't think he is a psychopath, but I feel I do feel like you have to realize that his actions are of those of a man who has been "stung" by his mistakes. Most of his training is designed to allow him to make split second life and death decisions. But he's kinda colder than most because of the things that have happened to him. So it seems like he's brutal. But really, he just knows what needs to be done and doesn't give a crap if anyone likes it.
Not a shrink, but I would diagnose Bond as a narcissist rather than a psychopath. He has feelings, but only for himself. He has a code of honor, which he follows scrupulously, but it's for his own sake and not for others. He kills out of necessity and not for pleasure, and he has sex for pleasure and not for love. These are the traits of a narcissist, not a psychopath.
1:30 when they pulled up the map of the Hereclese virus targets I was expecting Q to remark “James they are using the virus to kill your bastard offspring, my god there are ten million of them.”
Yeah, which is lame because a professional assassin shouldn't be relatable on an emotional level to an audience of regular people. He could have always resigned from 00 status, so it's now the story of a mentally unbalanced idiot in the wrong job. The way he acted in the last four films, he would have been reassigned, if not resigned by any agency for mental unfitness.
I have an acquaintanceI who inherited a bursary at Fettes: he likes to stress the fictionality of his fellow ‘old boy’. I think he’s missing the point. Fleming fictionalised what he knew about. It might be interesting to investigate who might have been an original for that aspect of the character
Japanese loved and love you only live twice. They don’t share the Frankfurt school of racial identity. They are secure enough to celebrate stereotypes like a rich lawyer loves lawyer jokes.
The general concept of psycho is really unfirgiving in culture. What would we do with a society that only has non-threatening people? we wouldn't exist. Psychosis can happen to anyone.
Psycho = psychosis. This is not the same as a psychopath...films use the word psycho incorrectly thanks to the movie Psycho... Psychosis refers to delusions, hallucinations, aka a break from reality, they believe only their own reality..schizophrenia, etc..Cluster A personality disorders Psychopathy refers to lack of empathy, manipulative, grandiose ideas, superficial charm, there is no break from reality..they understand right vs wrong, they just choose to do wrong..this is anti social personality disorder, a Cluster B personality disorder.
5:25 Wait, so you tell me there was equivalent to James Bond behind the other side of Iron curtain? And he even FOUGHT with Agent 007? Holly hell, I need to find the copy of this immediately!
I don’t think Bond really is a psychopath, but he has the misfortune to exist in a world that forces him to behave like one, which is why he drinks so heavily.
The Bond is with the King James English Bible and English language. The Language is much like the horse in Animal Farms horse character that allowed the commen people to learn how to read and write. The films show the dangers of criminal empires againts the Church of Englands morality and legal system. I hope this simple explanition explains the link between Church and Monarchy in Britain.
Imagine that killer from No Country For Old Men but is sanctioned by a government intelligence and given whatever he wants ☕️👀 sounds like a good movie
nah a psychopath would be an anti-hero. sorta Han Solo type of guy, if Solo didn't return to save Luke in Death Star battle. meaning a psychopath character (as a "good guy") seeks only objective value. Bond's motivation never included money, he is kinda selfless character who has some narcissism traits. Quite ESTP stereotype tbh.
Yeah, that was good food for thought. Good video. For myself, I've never gone as in depth as you but I only ever saw a soldier. Varies from Bond to Bond of course but he seems self aware enough to know he maybe a little damaged. Prepared to do dirty deeds for some notion of good. Prepared to be the one to die because he doesn't have anything to return to anyways. Filling a void living up life between jobs.
Okay, I want to defend Bond for one second. I'm pretty sure the British called headphones for your record player "earmuffs". He's not saying you have to muff your ears to protect from the bad sound of the Beatles, he's saying that you should listen to the Beatles with headphones to get the best quality sound. I think.
He’s like Martin Riggs from Lethal Weapon…good cop, good friend, tries to do the right thing, but can’t do his job at the best of his ability without being an unhinged lunatic at times.
He works in human intelligence; of course he’s a psychopath. What do you think they are selecting for with those psych evaluations in the background check?
"No other hero in cinema places women on such a pedestal." So, we're just gonna ignore the outright rape scene in Goldfinger where _he's_ the aggressor?
I've read the Bond novels many times and Ian Fleming made it very clear that Bond was a ruthless sociopath, misogynist and war damaged killer with multiple family based mental issues. The character "M" was always evaluating Bond's mental fitness, knowing that cutthroat agents and assassins could only live on the edge for so long without going completely nuts. Bond's ego also led him to make stupid mistakes and he berated himself with regret. This is what made the Ian Fleming Bond so compelling, as he was a tragic hero that dealt fearlessly with evil criminals while constantly torturing himself whenever humanity clouded his thoughts. Bond thought those feelings made him weak, and his lack of parents and WWII made him despise weakness. When the films strayed from the books the film series devolved into an Austin Powers spoof.
Yeah this isn't true. Bond feels hollowed out and soulless at times from the job but he's deeply conscious of its necessity and of what he's taking from his adversaries. Consider the final chapters of DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER the opening chapters of GOLDFINGER and almost the entirety of MOONRAKER. What you're saying is the kind of thing people hear second hand about he Bond of the books and believe if they've never actually read them.
Don't read then, they're terrible
Whatttt what would be dope... bond reboot . Him in ww2 doing some crazy mission , ends with Mi5? Or 6 I forget when they were created. They come either hire him jn the end or he gains the 007 rank somehow
@@joevalle2630 I think overall they need to stop being so precious about these characters and stories. Why do we need such continuity all the time, why not just occasionally drop these characters into stories to, you know, entertain people? I'm a grown up, it's ok for me to suspend disbelief and know that because this part may contradic that part. Even loan the characters out to writers and creators who have an interesting idea. I hate this continuity pish all the time.
@@M05tly You have no care for quality!
Daniel Craig’s Bond is definitely not a psychopath in my opinion. He seems hurt from his past after being orphaned, finding love, and then having her betray and commit suicide in front of him. I don’t think people understand how bad it hurts not having a family, and then to find love and have that happen. I’d describe him as depressed, wary and untrusting of others. Married to his profession which gives him purpose because he has none out besides that. He respects and loves his colleagues and that is something a sociopath or psychopath is incapable of doing.
Sociopaths understand respect and love, but generally are not moved by the former, or swayed by the latter.
He had somewhat of a heart in OHMSS. Lazenby is criticised for being wooden, but I think his performance suited the story. I couldn't imagine Connery's Bond being vulnerable, empathetic and genuinely falling in love.
Yes - interesting how the “ideal masculine spy hero” has evolved over time.
That's exactly what Sean Connery wanted to do with the character
This has always been my opinion. And while Connery seems like the professional; Lazenby's Bond actually seems to enjoy his job.
Totally agree
A tremendous film
"He's not *a* Psycho,
he's *OUR* Psycho!"
--Her Majesty.
So true.
Bond never killed anybody who didn’t have it coming.
@@michaelsims1160 Of course, there's the "Minions and Contractors" issue, but I agree with the guy in "Clerks" who said that the professionals who fall in with crooks knew the risks...
suddenly communism
In my opinion "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is the first James Bond story. This is where we see Bond as a relatively normal, well-adjusted, happy man. The rest of the stories occur after this chapter in his life, after his career kills his wife. In the rest of the stories he is emotionally damaged, a joyless, heartless man waiting for death. "OHMSS" is the "before" picture of the character. After that he is only fit to be a licensed assassin. In a normal life he would be regarded as a psychopath.
Not quite - but almost. It’s only because he loves women that he’s not entirely morally reprehensible. You could argue that his patriotism is another redeeming feature.
the 2'nd actor to play the role of 007' james bond was a good quick choice and on HMSS is the most underrated movies of the 007' franchise and yet still 1' of the better of the after Connery films with dalton & Craig coming in right after it's funny that the actual actors who've read the Fleming books are the actors who got the role and part right he was the blunt instrument that Fleming wanted
And the temptation to split people's wigs they so much as mentioning that day as he demonstrated numerous times since.
The day Tracy was killed, Bond's journey towards the Dark Side was complete and there was no turning back.
The first James Bond story is CASINO ROYALE.
Not true because he was damaged ever since Vesper died, OHMSS was his supposed to be his redeeming arc which gets snatched away from him forever.
I remember the film critic, david Denby, reviewing a james Bond film and musing about Bond's personality. The only thing that Denby could think that Bond would always have is contempt. Contempt for everyone in the world, all 7 billion (at the time). He has saved everyone's live's countless times, everyone owes their lives to him. He's the top 1% in marksmanship, skiing, skydiving, scuba diving, car racing, even snowboarding and windsurfing! How could he not always be looking down at lesser mortals.
On a related note, Roger Moore himself, in a Bond TV special, said that Bond, when not on assignment, would have to spend more than 40 hours a week taking nonstop classes, in the library and in the sports fields learning everything about everything and building up his muscle memory for all the physical activities that he would encounter.
Yes because it's his job.
The Bond found in the books is a far darker character than generally seen in the films. Both Daniel Craig and Timothy Dalton gave the character a much edgier appearance.
Why does everyone seem to forget that Bond was basically an assassin?
Government sanctioned assassin
@@jasonalpha A more direct way of getting rid of an Osama Bin Ladin type than using a drone or a missile.
A sailor that could handle himself....not a euphemism
Because we usually dont see war criminals as humans, and you can't assassin something thats not human.
Timothy Dalton was my favorite Bond. Not a popular opinion but I think he was truer to the Fleming novels in terms of his character. He had a bit more of a moral center and wasn't as flippant about the killing.
Agreed, on both favorite Bond, and his behavior.
agreed. I read the books. I felt Dalton was really close. And his movies were low tech too.
Agreed.
Dalton for sure and Pierce Brosnan absolute savage in Goldeneye
I’m sure Fleming would’ve loved him if he was alive
The way he comforts Vesper in the shower after she kills someone in Casino Royale seems very Un-psychopathic to me. He seems to understand what she is going through as this is the first time, she's killed anyone. Psychopaths don't go through the same horrifying emotions that accompany someone's first kill, even when it's justified. Where does his empathy for her situation come from if he can't personally relate to it? Although we do see his first kill in the same movie, and he seems very cold about it. The movie seems to be setting up an interesting contradiction. Something like he's only a selective psychopath but he cares about us, so we give him a pass.
They can pretend to as a way of gaining trust
Yes, Bond is a selective psychopath, as I argued in my video. There are are lots of interpretations for that scene with Vesper: showing empathy to get the girl? Greeting a fellow pyschopath? James and Vesper are a match made in sociopath heaven.
@@narcology2215 Vesper may be a sociopath, (Didn't she betray Bond in order to save her lover?, I don't remember.), but sociopaths are not the same thing as psychopaths.
@@MichaelImo I guess that's possible but I didn't see any evidence of this in the film. They just show him comforting Vesper. Outside the idea that Bond might be intepreted as a psychopath from his other actions there is no suggestion of this in this particular scene, nor is this scene ever referred to again. Maybe I missed a subtle piece of evidence here but if I did I'd like it pointed out to me.
He was just pretending to be sensitive so he could boff her later on
Of course James Bond would be crazy in some way. The series "Patriot" is probably a much closer depiction of the mental state of people doing that kind of work.
Based on the movies, I can see how you might see him as a psychopath. Of course, you could say the same thing about a lot of Green Berets and Navy SEALS.
In the books, Bond is an adrenaline junky. He has happened onto a career where he regularly faces life-or-death conflicts. Now he can't live without the thrill of living on the edge of death.
He expects to die at any moment. So he's a gourmet because every meal could be his last. He spends lavishly on his car, clothes and vacations because he plans to die in debt. He has no 401-k.
As for women, he's a serial womanizer because he thinks it would irresponsible to die and leave behind a lover, wife or children. He's also worried that any woman he bonds with could become a target for his enemies. The whole point of On Her Majesty's Secret Service is to prove that he was right all along.
Unlike the movie Bond, the book Bond doesn't need creepy, lounge lizard lines to woo women. He's a good-looking, athletic man. Women just naturally want to have sex with him. No pick-up lines required.
The movies have more to do with the producers' fantasies than with the more realistic book version.
For example, in the movie Goldfinger, Pussy Galore is a glamorous blonde pilot, with lesbian tendencies. Bond rapes her into submission so she betrays Goldfinger.
For a start, the book Bond would never rape a woman. He would consider rape to be unmanly. If a man is truly man enough for a woman, he won't need to rape her.
Also, in the book, Pussy Galore is dowdy, middle-aged lesbian who sports short dark hair and a mannish pantsuit. She's called Pussy Galore because she controls the majority of brothels in New York City.
Please make it clear that you're talking about the movie Bond not the book Bond.
"He expects to die at any moment." - I think this is the key to his personality.
A great fictional action hero will always be maniacal, for entertainments sake. What I like here was the mention of English 'boys' book characters. Years ago, I read Talbot Mundy's 'Jim Grim' pulp book. It was a dead-on Bond story from the early 1930's! I'll bet they were done even earlier.
I don't know if I learned more about Bond in this video or myself.
More interesting is the question, how psychopathic are WE the audience with our voyeristic itch? Over the decades, Bond has consistently walked the narrow line of psychopathy without ever crossing it - at least without just cause. He follows through in doing what we - the audience - would never do or could do. We love him and love to loath him, but we will never banish him! He separates our money from our wallets with each new installment. Even if there were no super villainy in the world, we would invent some so we could have our Bond and watch him too... as he goes about doing our psychopathic fantasy dirty work for us.
If Alfred Hitchcock were alive today, he might say Bond is the perfect protagonist antihero for the fantasy voyeuristic-psychopath in all of us. Imagine! This is why the franchise has survived for decades long after the end of the Cold War Era for which he was invented! He is continually tweaked and adjusted to suite the times we live in... and no matter how often he's killed off by story tellers, he returns immortal... because that's what we expect of him. Bond will continue to be as socially acceptable or psychopathic as we - the voyeurist audience - desire him to be.
I see your point but don't agree. Just becaues we watch a movie doesn't mean we approve of it. We don't know what its going to contain until AFTER we see it. Daltons Bond was the least crazily lethal. Moore's cartoonish killing was the most psychotic, he tried to humour it, but that just made it all the more evident. Dalton was the least psychotic, the first time we see him he refuses his orders to assassinate a target. Then he refuses to assassinate that russian general. Most of his time is spent running. So it goes by the particular movie. If they did EVERY bond movie like that wihtout the cliche killing quips I would't mind, they did tone that aspect down for Craig.
Given what he's had to do and put up with I'd say he's incredibly sane. That's proven at the end of the last movie. No psychopath would have chosen death to protect someone they love because they don't love anyone. Others aren't even real to them.
To be fair, Craig's Bond in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace feels pretty different from the one in the later 3 films.
Bond “lies artfully” in a professional capacity. No indication he lies in his personal life.
He’s also not immune to anxiety.
I think Craig's Bond needs to be handled carefully and needs a Shrink appt
See the scene with the psychiatrist in Skyfall for details here…
In the novels, M held Bonds mental health health in question constantly...one time he even tired to kill M with a gas gun
Stay cool under fire is the main theme of James Bond. No many of us can do that
SMERSH is NOT a fictional organization. It's the name of the Soviet Military Intel during WWII. Then it merged with the MGB I believe.
Thank you for bringing this up. SMERSH was the real deal.
You can have only a few parts of psychopathy and not have all of it. That's why there's the term full blown psychopath. Some individuals can have both psychopathic traits and empathic traits.
true I think dexter morgan is a good example of that he calls himself a psychopath in the show but I dont really think he is one or at least not a full blown psychopath
All the Bond villians understand Bond very well since he is just like them but working for exorbitant pay for the opposition in this case which is the Monarchy which grants him a license to kill without penalties as a added bonus.
I got my minor in rhetoric and composition. Your analysis is incredibly detailed. I feel like I was in class again. That you for the wonderful content!
No charge!
Bond definitely has behavior and personality attributes of the "Dark Triad". Which encompasses
Psychopathy, Sociopathy, and Machiavellianism. He has some traits of all of these ..... However, he is not specifically any one of these. He is more of a combination of traits from each.
Its narciccism, sociopathy, and machiavellianism
@@Mikailiklaussen Hey Dank Mann, (really like that moniker!)
Thanks for the feedback. Agreed, Narcissism is indeed part of the Dark Triad. I'm actually on the fence as to whether Bond is a true Narcissist.
(If He is a Narcissist it's definitely at the sub-clinical level)
He is definitely confident, arrogant, and has quite an EGO issue, but I'm not sure if he is overly filled with "self love". It appears at times he actually exhibits signs of "self loathing" .?
I realize that Bond being a fictional character, is a creature that might never exist "in the wild" so he's likely none and all of these things at any given time depending on the particular direction the plot of the story needs to move in. But, it's a fun thought experiment.
Any thoughts or ideas on this?
Unfortunately we need people like this. Could be a very good friend and a much worse enemy. We need big mean dogs at the gate!
In the quiet words of Slavoj Zizek: "This is pure ideology." Great video essay, thank you for uploading it.
I'm not sure how a psychological balance person could do what James bond does. Oh yeah, they couldn't. Does anyone really think the people who fill the ranks of special forces and clandestine operations are the picture of psychological health? I thought it was assumed that anyone who would willingly plunge themselves into high risk and very dangerous situations isn't the most adjusted person.
Send a psychopath to stop a psychopath. That's why Bond is so good at his job.
The difference between "Bond" and the antagonists is personality trait of Openness.
Some people have no moral qualms about killing for a cause they believe in. Soldiers and law enforcement officers (not all of them but many) are examples you see every day. Not everyone who kills has a mental breakdown, many accept it as part of life. Watch some interviews with Tim Kennedy and see how normal and humorously he acts. In older times when more men had been through world wars, nobody called this behavior psychopathic. Now we have the luxury of peace so we look for people to condemn because they did something we were lucky enough to avoid.
A cause they believe in, or they simply enjoy having carte blanche to kill, a license, if you will.
@@pauljenkins6877 People who have never been in such a situation can only speculate.
SMERSH is not a fictional version of the KGB. SMERSH was a real organization that predates the KGB. While Fleming obviously fictionalized elements of this Soviet organization, much is accurate. Fictional characters like Rosa Klebb were actually based on real SMERSH operatives. Fleming extended SMERSH's operation by a few years, since they were basically a wartime operation that ceased at the endof WW2.
Possibly Fleming himself characterized James Bond as the sort of man, who if ordered by a superior, or if he thought himself it was needed for the mission, would, and without any hesitation, saw a live kitten in half. He wouldn't feel any pleasure in it, but its unlikely he would experience any remorse, either.
Great video! I have a fondness for fun psychological assessments of fictional characters. It would be interesting to compare the different versions of Bond and where they fall on the scale of psychopathy.
Great comment. I’d say that Roger Moore’s version is the most psychopathic, because he’s so “charming” as well as being completely callous at times. But they’re all only one half of a psychopath - without the delusional, power-hungry and erratic side that you see in Bond’s villains. 007 is really a literary version of psychopathic split thinking.
@DonaId J Trump Interesting take. Personally I would rate Craig's Bond as one of the least if not the least sociopathic of the bunch: we see in Casino Royale that killing people really upsets him at first, and he displays empathy for Vesper in the shower scene. He's also genuinely remorseful about the hurt he's caused to Madeleine Swann in No Time To Die. I think he's just a guy with serious abandonment and trust issues who compartmentalizes his emotions in order to do his job.
@@narcology2215 I agree with you on Moore's Bond. I think I'd put Brosnan or Connery second.
@DonaId J Trump I agree with you about Connery's Bond having the glib charm down pat. There's also the confounding variable of different writers and directors, which means the character can be inconsistent even with the same actor.
Bond isn’t fictional. John Dee was a spy/consult of queen Victoria, this character is deeply occult. 007 is a symbol for theatre glasses that the Queen wore and Dee’s signature. Please do your research. This is merely surface horseshit analysis.
Crazy is such a subjective judgement. It is fair to say that James Bond would be at the far end of the Bell curve regarding his lack of timidity to take action. I would think a week of that lifestyle would leave most of us needing long-term therapy just to cope. Certainly it would take an unusual individual to stand the psychological strain of being in perpetual fight or flight scenarios.
What's a bell curve?
@@mammamiapizzeria4911 A Bell-shaped graph that typically shows a spectrum, with the average much higher in the middle, with it tapering off at both ends. Bond would be at one extreme end of the Bell curve, since his behavior is very unusual.
@@wendelllecroy214 I see. Thanks for the reply. Most people here just speak but really don't engage. Btw I shall look further into it. Thanks again.
I don't think Bond is a psycho. He's a soldier on a mission and will do whatever is necessary to succeed. He doesn't go around randomly killing people.
My father was a Green Beret, he had to take a psych eval to get the hat. "You have to be exactly this crazy to enter" sort of thing. You can't get in if you're a complete psycho, but you have to be willing to do what is needed.
High functioning psychopaths do not go around killing random people. Its not just his ability to kill enemies or be a good soldier that makes him a psychopath. Its the other attributes like his lack of fear for example. Psychopaths are physiologically incapable of feeling fear. The part of the brain that makes you feel fear does not function in a psychopath.
@@cartesian_doubt6230 Not exactly true. They handle fear and anxiety differently than most people and often show a great deal of control under stress.
There are good psychopaths as well as bad. I have a book by Andy McNab, former SAS soldier on this very subject.
@@cartesian_doubt6230 I know they are incapable of empathy but didn’t know about the lack of fear. I hope they can assess situations well enough to know not to put themselves in a position to be harmed.
Bond is not a psychopath
Check what Dr. Kevin Dutton says on it.... he's obsessed with the topic.
I agree. He's only one half of a psychopath.
He's meant to be flawed and dangerous. That said, I really like what they did in Skyfall. They showed a broken man, haunted by his past, and losing his edge. It really humanised him.
I saw the title and immediately thought "Absolutely! James Bond is definitely crazy af."
Cycle paths are useful, keeps you out of the mainstream traffic.
psychopaths do it for self-righteousness.
bond does it for altruism.
So you say, now prove it with facts, logic and argument.
@@BillOweninOttawa why? the video did the work for him, and when does bond do it for himself, well real bond, not 006, as when do you ever see him go ballistic or abuse his privileges his job gives him? a psychopath wouldnt show control, he, real bond, not Daniel Craig's 006 does.
@@kavinskysmith4094 You have an uninformed, cartoonish view of psychopathy. My point, which you missed, was all about providing evidence for assertions. Thanks.
@@gary7vn the evidence is in the video he and you both watched, you just had different conclusions.
There are lots of great surgeons who are psychopaths. They save lives, and are almost never accused of taking lives deliberately and maliciously. Surgeons, like all doctors, are quite often viewed as altruistic. But quite a few of them are psychopaths nonetheless.
Surgeons, CEOs etc. Quite a few high flying professions with far more psychopathic representation than in the average population.
Are we talking about the books or the films here? I went through a phase of listening to all the book in lockdown and you did get a good look into his head.
I wonder how much he compares to the original 007, John Dee.
I don't think he is a psychopath, but I feel I do feel like you have to realize that his actions are of those of a man who has been "stung" by his mistakes. Most of his training is designed to allow him to make split second life and death decisions. But he's kinda colder than most because of the things that have happened to him. So it seems like he's brutal. But really, he just knows what needs to be done and doesn't give a crap if anyone likes it.
That's psychopathy
@@majeedmamah7457 No it isn't.
Waitaminit, a UnionJack parachute? Isn't that Austin Powers with Tom Cruise playing Austin?
A noble question.
Not a shrink, but I would diagnose Bond as a narcissist rather than a psychopath. He has feelings, but only for himself. He has a code of honor, which he follows scrupulously, but it's for his own sake and not for others. He kills out of necessity and not for pleasure, and he has sex for pleasure and not for love. These are the traits of a narcissist, not a psychopath.
@King of Nothing But why did he choose the job? We tend to associate certain traits with certain jobs, but the traits actually come first.
Why do some people think SMERSH was fictional?
As always, diagnosing strangers is always inaccurate
James Bond is not a Psychopath but Raoul Silva in Skyfall is definitely one
As a Flemming fan this and From Russia with Love is the closest to the books and my favorite Bond's
1:30 when they pulled up the map of the Hereclese virus targets I was expecting Q to remark “James they are using the virus to kill your bastard offspring, my god there are ten million of them.”
And that is why I love sterling archer haha
bond is a blunt instrument not a scalpel
Daniel Craigs bond shows the most vulnerability and emotions out of all the past bonds, it made him more human and relatable.
It made him a crybaby
I'm of two minds about this. It broke the illusion of the perfect man/soldier/spy and therefore there is some disappointment there.
From the words of a y generation pussy
@@lesslycarthan4963 watch your mouth lady
Yeah, which is lame because a professional assassin shouldn't be relatable on an emotional level to an audience of regular people. He could have always resigned from 00 status, so it's now the story of a mentally unbalanced idiot in the wrong job. The way he acted in the last four films, he would have been reassigned, if not resigned by any agency for mental unfitness.
I have an acquaintanceI who inherited a bursary at Fettes: he likes to stress the fictionality of his fellow ‘old boy’. I think he’s missing the point. Fleming fictionalised what he knew about. It might be interesting to investigate who might have been an original for that aspect of the character
Japanese loved and love you only live twice. They don’t share the Frankfurt school of racial identity. They are secure enough to celebrate stereotypes like a rich lawyer loves lawyer jokes.
The general concept of psycho is really unfirgiving in culture. What would we do with a society that only has non-threatening people? we wouldn't exist. Psychosis can happen to anyone.
Psycho = psychosis.
This is not the same as a psychopath...films use the word psycho incorrectly thanks to the movie Psycho...
Psychosis refers to delusions, hallucinations, aka a break from reality, they believe only their own reality..schizophrenia, etc..Cluster A personality disorders
Psychopathy refers to lack of empathy, manipulative, grandiose ideas, superficial charm, there is no break from reality..they understand right vs wrong, they just choose to do wrong..this is anti social personality disorder, a Cluster B personality disorder.
Bullshit.
Well.. when you when you do battle with monsters be careful not to become a monster your self
Tip add a sinple compressor and de-esser on your vocals and you'll sound so much better also try to breath away from 🎤
5:35 SMERSH was an actual soviet organization during the 1940s which goal was to capture spies.
thats the type of men we need to do the dirty work.. not surprised
the man is supposed to be a government-sanctioned assassin, he cants afford to be a nice guy....
Bond was not really a spy, but rather a Counter Terrorism Operative.
SMERSH wasn't fictional, but a Soviet counter-intelligence agency during WW2. Although Fleming's depiction of them is a pure fiction
Really really good.... Thank you...
Thanks for watching!
Lool most people in espionage have a lot of issues.
James Bond is the ultimate male fantasy
He is really just a printed word that got into movies. When you have read one Bond book or seen one movie, you have seen them all.
Only for dumb idiots.
How can you not being crazy with a job like that?
The world has real psychopath bad guys that Need to be held in check. Cold blooded good guys due to monstrous childhoods are Needed to do so.
5:25 Wait, so you tell me there was equivalent to James Bond behind the other side of Iron curtain? And he even FOUGHT with Agent 007? Holly hell, I need to find the copy of this immediately!
If James Bond is a psychopath, then so is every soldier in history who has killed another human being, or even tried to kill.
Most soldiers who kill end up with PSTD, doubt Bond will ever suffer from that.
I don’t think Bond really is a psychopath, but he has the misfortune to exist in a world that forces him to behave like one, which is why he drinks so heavily.
The Bond is with the King James English Bible and English language. The Language is much like the horse in Animal Farms horse character that allowed the commen people to learn how to read and write. The films show the dangers of criminal empires againts the Church of Englands morality and legal system. I hope this simple explanition explains the link between Church and Monarchy in Britain.
Red wine with fish? What's wrong with that? Or what's so UNspecial about it?
It's HiS majesty's psychopath now
I'm off to attempt re-entry.......!
James bond going to an STD clinic is about as interesting as James Bond going to Pret A Manger for lunch.
can’t say about craig’s bond
to have empathy is not being a psycopath
I do wonder what you could do with Batman….
Batman is 100 percent a sociopath. Anti hero arch
Bond does not murder. His actions are sanctified by the Government. Murder is unlawful; Bond's killings are in defense of The UK and are "licensed."
This is really good!
Bond has Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder.
Imagine that killer from No Country For Old Men but is sanctioned by a government intelligence and given whatever he wants ☕️👀 sounds like a good movie
Is James Bond a psychopath? To paraphrase the man himself, he wouldn't be very good at his job, if he wasn't.
First 5 seconds: That's not how fair use works.
Ironically humanity need the likes of him in order to conduct politics and buss is safely
Wow good video wish you had more subs.
nah a psychopath would be an anti-hero. sorta Han Solo type of guy, if Solo didn't return to save Luke in Death Star battle. meaning a psychopath character (as a "good guy") seeks only objective value. Bond's motivation never included money, he is kinda selfless character who has some narcissism traits. Quite ESTP stereotype tbh.
Yeah, that was good food for thought. Good video. For myself, I've never gone as in depth as you but I only ever saw a soldier. Varies from Bond to Bond of course but he seems self aware enough to know he maybe a little damaged. Prepared to do dirty deeds for some notion of good. Prepared to be the one to die because he doesn't have anything to return to anyways. Filling a void living up life between jobs.
Daniel Craig reminds me of Edward Woodward on steroids
Okay, I want to defend Bond for one second. I'm pretty sure the British called headphones for your record player "earmuffs". He's not saying you have to muff your ears to protect from the bad sound of the Beatles, he's saying that you should listen to the Beatles with headphones to get the best quality sound. I think.
HEY HEY lock picking isn't necessarily illegal
Its a Movie
He’s like Martin Riggs from Lethal Weapon…good cop, good friend, tries to do the right thing, but can’t do his job at the best of his ability without being an unhinged lunatic at times.
He works in human intelligence; of course he’s a psychopath. What do you think they are selecting for with those psych evaluations in the background check?
It sounds like Ben Wishaw's Q is The narrator
Dexter/Bond crossover?
"No other hero in cinema places women on such a pedestal."
So, we're just gonna ignore the outright rape scene in Goldfinger where _he's_ the aggressor?