James Bond

The James Bond franchise has evolved significantly between the releases of The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) and No Time to Die (2021), reflecting broader shifts in social, cultural, and industrial contexts.

The Man with the Golden Gun, starring Roger Moore, was produced during the 1973 global energy crisis, a theme integrated into the film’s narrative and poster iconography. To reflect the era's Martial Arts craze, the film was shot in Asia and featured Kung Fu sequences. The 1974 poster utilizes traditional illustrations and reinforces historical masculine stereotypes, depicting Bond as a suave, heterosexual hero. Female characters are largely sexualised in bikinis, conforming to Laura Mulvey’s "male gaze" theory, which relegates women to objects for physical admiration.

Conversely, No Time to Die represents a contemporary reimagining of the franchise. Starring Daniel Craig in his final performance, the film portrays a more vulnerable and thoughtful Bond. The production actively sought to challenge "flimsy" gender and racial stereotypes by hiring Phoebe Waller-Bridge to develop more convincing female characters. This is evidenced by Nomi, a black female 00 agent, and Dr Madeleine Swann, who are given greater agency and independence compared to the "Bond Girls" of the past.

Industrially, the scale of production has grown immensely. While the 1974 film had a $7 million budget, No Time to Die was the most expensive Bond film at an estimated $250–301 million. The modern film also reflects media convergence, with distribution via Universal Pictures and streaming availability on Amazon Prime. Despite these changes, both films maintain iconic conventions, such as exotic locations (Italy, Jamaica, Thailand) and the central "hero vs villain" narrative to ensure global mainstream appeal