Film semiotics has always fascinated me and I could talk for hours about the filmic references contained in any number of contemporary movies and those in Casino Royale; from the passing visual references to early black and white films, to some of the big 1980s and 1990s blockbusters, and not forgetting the really amusing little ‘in jokes’ that were liberally sprinkled throughout in order to entertain both the seasoned film fan and the Bond fanatic.
But instead of going on about that, the thing that really interested me was the inherent link between violence and sex. It’s something that I still haven’t quite sorted out in my own head – why is it that scenes which showed Daniel Craig belting hell out of some nasty bugger and getting covered in the resulting blood ended up being so arousing?
I would guess that what comes into play here is the whole mythology of the Bond character; it’s clearly set up throughout that women are drawn to this hard man – he’d show you a good time; he’s educated, interesting, well mannered, and can kill with his bare hands to boot. What’s not to like?
Undoubtedly as we come out of the whole ‘new man’ era women are looking for men who are quite simply, men. As wonderful as it may seem at first to have a man in your life that empathises with your PMS and period pains, is entirely in touch with his feminine side, can cry, and uses more beauty products than you do…..Erm….we still rather like the old un-reconstructed caveman who tells us what to do and can pick us up, throw us over his shoulder and carry us off to have his wicked way with us.
Mind you, it’s not actually as simple as all that…in reality we don’t want Neanderthal man, but neither do we want Metrosexual man.
I believe that Daniel Craig as the current incarnation of Bond pretty much shows just what women want from men today; intelligence – always a huge winner in my opinion; no point in spending time with a gorgeous gym-bunny if he’s an airhead and as fun as it is to play with his body, if he’s not got anything going on upstairs then the novelty of physical perfection will pall extremely quickly.
Average looks – Daniel Craig is striking but he’s no Brad Pitt; I have to admit I could spend days staring into Daniel Craig’s eyes, but he has got a fairly beaten up and rugged face and again that’s a big plus – this is a man who has lived, been outside, led an active life, had plenty of experiences and it all shows on his face. I know that many women believe that Leonardo di Caprio is the epitome of masculine beauty but he looks like an overfed baby to me; plump round faces are for girls and young boys, men should look like men – different to women.
Physically fit – and after seeing that torture scene, my god is he FIT!! In the Western world we do have a huge hang up about physical appearance and if the media is to be believed we’re all either obese or obsessed with the gym, either way we’re obsessed with food. But going back to the whole Bond thing, the point there is that whatever he’s eating is providing fuel for all of his exciting scrapes. He is the original Action Man and that’s what I believe is so attractive to both women and men alike; women all want to take Bond to bed and men want to be him. He’s not a man who appears to spend time in the gym, he’s too busy fighting off evil henchmen with some strange physical feature, in other words, he gets his exercise through real application. Women generally prefer men who play sports or take part in some sort of real action like mountain biking or surfing or climbing rather than hours spent in a hot stuffy gym building up Schwarzeneggeresque muscles which quite frankly look better suited to gay men.
Lack of fear is also an attractive trait – Bond is scared of nothing and no one, or at least he doesn’t display his fear. I suppose this is the element of Englishness appearing; stiff upper lip and all that. We women want our men to be fearless, tough and rugged but we also want them to display vulnerability but only when they are with us and then only very occasionally. The reasons for this are probably deeply ingrained in the female psyche from as far back as the cavemen times; it would have been foolhardy to involve yourself with a man who displayed fear readily as he would not have been able to protect you and your offspring. But we want our men to admit to us that they are scared because then we feel that we’ve got in under their protective shield; they trust us. Yet too much moaning about how scared or unworthy they are is going to be a huge turn off. On that score women and men are fairly alike – life is scary and even in today’s mollycoddled world there are still ample opportunities for death. We all know that but we don’t want to be reminded of it.
Another turn on is confidence, or is it arrogance? Ever wondered why the big-headed ugly git always manages to get a girl? Most people are so full of insecurities about their physical appearance and general desirability that they’re pleased when someone takes an interest in them. If that someone is self-assured then it implies that you, their chosen partner must be worthy and clearly attractive. Or is it just me that feels that way? Maybe that explains why I’m rarely without a man – I just don’t turn anyone down because I’m so flattered….
There you have it, women today want a man who is intelligent, brave, fit and active, confident and drives an Aston Martin…..Well, maybe the Aston Martin could go….
So what started out with me considering the link between sex and violence has ended up as a list of what’s desirable in men….
For what it's worth, I think the link between sex and violence is raw passion – and if that doesn’t turn you on then you’re probably dead.
