SKYFALL, 007, and A Woman's Perspective

Poster from imdb.com

I don’t get it. I really don’t.

Why in the world is James Bond so appealing to men?

As a female, that’s a question I’ve wondered for years, especially when each Bond movie became the next mega-hit. I eventually just chalked it up to worldliness and told myself, "only worldly guys would be interested in a hero who sleeps with every woman and somehow wins every fight."

But then I got married. And I didn’t marry that guy. You know what I mean by "that guy": the guy who’ll take every chance to prove he is the manliest guy alive, the guy who’ll flirt with women just to show how appealing he is, the guy who has to be doing those cliche “manly” things in order to feel like he’s worth something. No, I married a God-fearing, loving, loyal, sweet guy who loves to help others (and who just happens to be able to do one-armed pull-ups using only the tips of his fingers). In my mind, he was the exact opposite of the kind of guy I had pictured as the James-Bond-loving type--in a good way.

So the surprise of the century came when I learned that not only did he like James Bond, but he would get downright giddy when he’d see a preview for the next Bond film SkyFall. Wait a minute--I thought only womanizers liked James Bond! Confusion and panic ensued. "What have I done?! How could I have misjudged this man so thoroughly?! What can possibly be done? Maybe he needs counseling!"

Ok, ok, maybe I wasn’t that bad, but for a girl who grew up with two sisters and never had to deal with brothers, it was a little disconcerting.

That is, until I realized my folly. You see, I had somehow become prey to the idea that Christian men aren’t supposed to be men. They’re not supposed to like fishing, hunting, guns, and risk (and, God forbid, burping and farting!); they’re supposed to smell like roses, love bubble baths, and watch The Bachelor. In essence, I had subconsciously begun to believe that Christian men were just Christian women with facial hair and bigger muscles.

Maybe part of me was scared of the things that define men; after all, their strength, if misused or misdirected, can be a very scary thing for a woman (especially one who is 5’4” and has never been able to do a single pull up in her life). But that’s not the point. Whether or not men misuse their strength, God created men with strength and power and the willingness to take big risks for a reason. If He wanted men to be like women, then He would’ve created only women. But, as we all know, He didn’t.

The things that make men uniquely male should be celebrated and cultivated by the women in their lives. We need to help them use those attributes in ways that glorify God, not try to make them more like us.

But as I watched the newest Bond movie, Skyfall, this week, I realized something else. 

The reason that men, including Christian men, love the James Bond character is because he isn’t trying to be a woman. He embraces his masculinity then uses it to make the world a better place (in some ways, at least). To some degree, all men want to be like him.

But let’s not overlook Bond’s flaws here. He may be using his masculinity to protect others from the “bad guys,” but he also misuses it over and over again by using women, seeking revenge, and keeping others from ever getting close to him. All in all, I’d say he’s got more strikes against him than for him in terms of being a worthy role model for the men and boys of America.

Yet, by and large, he is their role model. And hence we return to Christian women like me freaking out and questioning their entire existences. “How can this be?! Our husbands and sons must not love Jesus! We must teach them to be the exact opposite of Bond!”

Wrong. Wrong reaction, Self (and moms and sisters and wives). Rather than running as far away from Bond as possible, we should be helping them to see the good that Bond does, like embracing his masculinity and using it for good, while also helping them to see why the other things he does, like using women, are actually abuses of his masculinity. We need to help them see that when men seek after God’s heart, like King David did, He helps them become the best possible men they can be. And the clincher: we need to help them see that God's way is more exciting and fulfilling than any movie can make James Bond’s life look.

Obviously, I am coming from a woman’s perspective. I am thinking about how we women can encourage Godly manliness in the men in our lives. But the men who understand this concept also need to step up and be the examples that other men, and more importantly our boys, need. Maybe the men of America love Bond so much because they aren't living out their masculinity and we haven’t given them better examples of truly GOOD manly men. Maybe we’ve stripped Jesus, David, and Abraham of their manliness. And maybe we’ve been too afraid of the way God designed men to be.

So maybe it’s a good idea to let your sons see a Bond film when they’re old enough. It opens the door for conversation about true manhood and how men can glorify God in ways that no woman can. It also makes it possible to compare and contrast his life with the life of King David or Jesus or other biblical men who loved God well. That is how raising a generation of men who stand up for the right things and love what God loves begins.

What do you think? Do you agree? You may comment below...

Written by: Melanie Mudge