Rush Limbaugh says a black man cannot play James Bond

[Machiavelli]

Rush Limbaugh says a black man cannot play James Bond

Among the recently leaked Sony emails, it was revealed that Sony co-chairman Amy Pascal wanted Idris Elba, a black British actor, should be the next man to play James Bond.

This past Tuesday, December 23, 2014, Rush Limbaugh weighed in on it. Needless to say, Rush's comments brought the predictable reactions from the Left.

If you want to read those reactions - which excerpt some of Rush's quotes - you can find plenty of articles with your favorite search engine.

However, for a more objective picture, let's look at Rush's comments in context.

Audio:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4D_EKWXo6I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4D_EKWXo6I

Transcript:

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT ...

RUSH: Back to the lighthearted Stack.  One of the e-mails that leaked in the hack of Sony, Amy Pascal, the cochairman of Sony Pictures, in an e-mail thread back and forth, I forget who it was, she suggested that when Daniel Craig's run as James Bond is over -- and this is it, this is contractually his last film -- she suggested a new James Bond.  I'm not sure how you pronounce the guy's name.  Idris Elba is what it looks like.  Idris Elba, which is -- I can't say African-American, 'cause he's British.  African English.  African Brit.  He's black. He's from Great Britain. He was on The Wire, and he was in a British cop drama, procedural called Luther.

Do you watch Luther?  Luther on Netflix?  I have it, I just didn't watch it.  Here's the thing, though.  James Bond is a fictional character, obviously.  James Bond was invented, created by Ian Fleming, a former spy, MI6, and James Bond is a total concept put together by Ian Fleming.  He was white and Scottish, period.  That is who James Bond is.  But now Sony is suggesting that the next James Bond should be Idris Elba, a black Briton rather than a white from Scotland.  But that's not who James Bond is, and I know it's racist to probably even point this out.

But the franchise needs to get with it, right?  The franchise needs to get hip. The franchise needs to get with the 21st century.  That's right.  We had 50 years of white Bonds because Bond is white.  Bond was never black.  Ian Fleming never created a black Brit to play James Bond.  The character was always white. He was always Scottish.  He always drank vodka shaken not stirred and all that.

Okay, so we're not supposed to have a problem with this.  I mean, it's the movies.  Come on, we've had 50 years of white James Bonds.  We need to spread it out.  We need to be equal.  We need to be fair about this.  Okay, fine, let's play a little game.  (interruption) Jay-Z's favorite drink?  How would I know what Jay-Z's favorite drink is?  Ah, what would that be, Cristal?  Yeah.

How about in the movie about the Obamas, 'cause there's gonna be one, how about George Clooney play Obama and Kate Hudson play Michelle (My Belle) Obama?  How would that do?  I mean, if we're gonna do this, let's imagine it.  Nelson Mandela movie, Idris Elba played Nelson Mandela and Nelson Mandela was black.  The movies can do whatever.  Kelsey Grammer as Nelson Mandela.  How about that?  We're just playing here, ladies and gentlemen.

Al Sharpton.  There will be a movie, The Al Sharpton Story.  Who do we get to play Al Sharpton?  'Cause they need two or three of 'em at various -- how about Rob Reiner to play the early Al Sharpton with the bullhorn and megaphone and all that.  General Colin Powell, Colonel Colin Powell.  You know there's gonna be a series of TV documentaries or movies.  Who will it be?  How about George C. Scott.  He played Patton.  I know he's dead, but what does that matter?  We could reproduce him cinemagraphically.

How about, let's see, let's see, Condoleezza Rice?  We do a movie on Condoleezza Rice.  You might be thinking that we would have Halle Berry.  No, no, no.  Scarlett Johansson.  Scarlett Johansson, all she's have to do is take some piano lessons, she's got it.  Scarlett Johansson is Condoleezza Rice.  Michael Sam.  You know there's gonna a movie on Michael Sam.  And if Idris Elba is going to play James Bond and if that's a natural hit and that's the only way we can go and then let's see, how about Hugh Grant as Michael Sam?

Now, what is your reaction to -- (interruption) Oh, no.  I can see on Snerdley's face he's laughing, he gets it, but, no, no, no, this would never fly.  Of course not, it wouldn't fly.  Now, admittedly, all these characters I've mentioned are real-life characters, and James Bond has never lived, per se, he's a fictional character.  But he was white and Scottish.  Oh, I know they're doing it with comic books.  There's now the African-American version of Annie, of Captain America coming up.

They did it with Whitney Houston.  There was a movie in 1947 called The Bishop's wife, and it was remade for Whitney Houston called The Preacher's Wife.  Sometimes a story is just a story, but we can always make it better. We can always be more fair.  We can always be more equal about it.  So, fine and dandy.  George Clooney and Kate Hudson as Barack and Michelle Obama, and you can have Idris Elba as James Bond.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH:  Seriously, in one of those hacked e-mails, somebody responded to Amy Pascal when she suggested Idris Elba to play James Bond, somebody said, "No, we couldn't do that. We can't have black stars in a lead in the James Bond because foreign markets would not exhibit the movie."  The Sony exec said that Bond has to be white for international distribution.  They simply will not accept an African-American or a black guy as James Bond, a Sony exec responding to Amy Pascal.

END TRANSCRIPT

Source

[ABX]

I think everyone completely missed the lead in to this when Rush was discussing the other Sony emails regarding not hiring Denzel to play the Equalizer because black men don't sell overseas. He was media tweaking, saying the exact same thing the Sony execs were saying, just with a different character. He closed out the segment pretty much saying this but the controversy makes it look like it wasn't mocking Sony.

On the Bond issue though, I think Idris would be brilliant. Very edgy and would continue the more realistic, less campy Bond the franchise has moved to.

[rangerrebew]

What would people say if Daniel Craig played Martin Luther King?  There would be riots in the streets because "no honkey should be playing someone like King."  Anyone who thinks at all knows I'm correct.

[truth_seeker]

What would people say if Daniel Craig played Martin Luther King?  There would be riots in the streets because "no honkey should be playing someone like King."  Anyone who thinks at all knows I'm correct.

I'd say King was NOT a fictional character, but Bond IS a fictional character.

[ABX]

I'd say King was NOT a fictional character, but Bond IS a fictional character.

Bingo. Fiction is fiction. The characters represent the imagination of the author of the time. I should point out that in the Bond franchise, other major characters have been played by folks from different races including Moneypenny and Felix Leiter.

I think there must be a big generational difference. I see Baby Boomers and older make a big deal about things like this. Gen X and younger don't care, we want a good actor with a good story. Melanin content doesn't matter.

[Oceander]

Bingo. Fiction is fiction. The characters represent the imagination of the author of the time. I should point out that in the Bond franchise, other major characters have been played by folks from different races including Moneypenny and Felix Leiter.

I think there must be a big generational difference. I see Baby Boomers and older make a big deal about things like this. Gen X and younger don't care, we want a good actor with a good story. Melanin content doesn't matter.

Agreed.

[truth_seeker]

Bingo. Fiction is fiction. The characters represent the imagination of the author of the time. I should point out that in the Bond franchise, other major characters have been played by folks from different races including Moneypenny and Felix Leiter.

I think there must be a big generational difference. I see Baby Boomers and older make a big deal about things like this. Gen X and younger don't care, we want a good actor with a good story. Melanin content doesn't matter.

There is a very good 3 or 4 part series on Netflix called "Fleming" with aspects of Ian Fleming's real life.

When I watch Denzel Washington or Idris Elba (or a few others) play roles, I forget about race and watch the piece of fiction for what it is. Watch Elba play "Luther" of Netflix or on Amazon Prime.

[WAYNE]

  This was tried before. John Sandfords Lucas Davenport was portrayed by Laurence Fishburne in a made for TV movie . It went over like a fart in a punch bowl.

[ABX]

I wonder if there was this much controversy when Sir Laurence Olivier was cast as Othello.



...or Ben Kingsly playing Ghandi?

[jmyrlefuller]

The idea of casting Idris Elba as James Bond goes against both Fleming's original premise and 50 years of film evidence. Elba might very well make a good secret agent in the style of Bond. But he cannot be Bond.

Now, Elba's defenders (or should I say, those seeking to cry racist) note that Bond, in Fleming's original books, was Scottish, and that only one of the actors to play Bond (Sean Connery, of course) fit that bill. I also note that Connery is generally considered to be the best-received of the many actors to play Bond, and the Englishmen who have since played the role have typically been considered too camp, especially Roger Moore.

Casting Elba as Bond makes about as much sense as casting me as John Shaft. It would be a naked attempt to diversify a character that was never intended to be diversified. There is a certain continuity that has to be followed: to a certain extent, Sean Connery's Bond is the same character as Pierce Brosnan's or Daniel Craig's. To all of a sudden change him to a black man would be way too much of a cognitive dissonance.

The only way it might work is if Elba's character somehow managed to assume Bond's identity, which would make for an interesting movie in and of itself.

[Luis Gonzalez]

If Nick Fury can darken and four white actors can play the leads in Gods and Kings, why  can't Bond be black?

OK... "Twerked not shaken" could be awkward.

[massadvj]

I wonder if there was this much controversy when Sir Laurence Olivier was cast as Othello.



...or Ben Kingsly playing Ghandi?

In Kingsley's case, he played Ghandi as distinctly Indian.  Olivier did it in black face, so he did not attempt to redefine the role to suit the actor.  I think Rush's point is that they would have to change the essence of the character in order to accomodate their politically correct casting.

I remember when these two guys played Amos N Andy:



Obviously, that is a move that would not be made today.

[ABX]

In Kingsley's case, he played Ghandi as distinctly Indian.  Olivier did it in black face, so he did not attempt to redefine the role to suit the actor.  I think Rush's point is that they would have to change the essence of the character in order to accomodate their politically correct casting.

I remember when these two guys played Amos N Andy:



Obviously, that is a move that would not be made today.

But Bond's role isn't a 'racial' stereotype but a class stereotype. He doesn't play a white character, he plays a society character. It is one of the things that makes Bond's character so universally appealing across the world. Everyone can understand the character, not because they may be high class sipping martinis but that high class types across all racial boundaries fit into that role.

One other thing about Bond is that in many of the side-storyline mythos is, he isn't an actual person but a code name. Orphans are taken in a young age and groomed for the 00 role, each given an identity that is implanted. They believe they are Bond, they remember the castle, they remember growing up with the parents, but it is all part of the implanted memory. (see Jeffry Deaver and Charlie Higson's novels).

Anyone properly groomed could be Bond.

If people want racism, they'll see it in anything. Too many have to look for offense instead of just enjoying something at face value.

[jmyrlefuller]

One other thing about Bond is that in many of the side-storyline mythos is, he isn't an actual person but a code name. Orphans are taken in a young age and groomed for the 00 role, each given an identity that is implanted. They believe they are Bond, they remember the castle, they remember growing up with the parents, but it is all part of the implanted memory. (see Jeffry Deaver and Charlie Higson's novels).

Anyone properly groomed could be Bond.

As I said before, that would be the only way to make it work, and you'd have to make the transition clear so that it would not, physically, be the same James Bond we've seen the past 50 years, but a man who has taken on the Bond identity. (Of course, implanting memory might be a little too “sci-fi” for the film franchise. If I were the screenwriter, I would use more conventional methods, maybe with some hypnosis involved: the original Bond is killed off and this man is chosen, and after some mostly off-screen “training,” he is anointed the next 007, knowing he fills the shoes of a predecessor.)

[massadvj]

One other thing about Bond is that in many of the side-storyline mythos is, he isn't an actual person but a code name. Orphans are taken in a young age and groomed for the 00 role, each given an identity that is implanted. They believe they are Bond, they remember the castle, they remember growing up with the parents, but it is all part of the implanted memory. (see Jeffry Deaver and Charlie Higson's novels).

Anyone properly groomed could be Bond.

If people want racism, they'll see it in anything. Too many have to look for offense instead of just enjoying something at face value.

But that is rewriting the character far from the one Ian Fleming originally wrote in order to fit the round peg in the square hole, as it were.  Personally, I'd have no problem with it.  I think all fiction should be considered derivative.  Well, maybe not ALL fiction.  I don't think I'd take to the idea of a white Othello who thought he was black because he was programmed by extraterrestials, etc.  Or, maybe I would.  People have done worse to Hamlet, many times.

I once wrote a review of a college production of Hamlet in which the women played the men's roles and the men played the women's.  We were to imagine this was some sort of matriarchal society.  I wrote that it was worse than painting a mustache on the Mona Lisa.  And it was.  I still cringe when I think about it.  It was the kind of thing where the people in the audience were actually embarrassed for the performers having to do this garbage just to appease some liberal professorette with a "vision."

[Oceander]

The idea of casting Idris Elba as James Bond goes against both Fleming's original premise and 50 years of film evidence. Elba might very well make a good secret agent in the style of Bond. But he cannot be Bond.

Now, Elba's defenders (or should I say, those seeking to cry racist) note that Bond, in Fleming's original books, was Scottish, and that only one of the actors to play Bond (Sean Connery, of course) fit that bill. I also note that Connery is generally considered to be the best-received of the many actors to play Bond, and the Englishmen who have since played the role have typically been considered too camp, especially Roger Moore.

Casting Elba as Bond makes about as much sense as casting me as John Shaft. It would be a naked attempt to diversify a character that was never intended to be diversified. There is a certain continuity that has to be followed: to a certain extent, Sean Connery's Bond is the same character as Pierce Brosnan's or Daniel Craig's. To all of a sudden change him to a black man would be way too much of a cognitive dissonance.

The only way it might work is if Elba's character somehow managed to assume Bond's identity, which would make for an interesting movie in and of itself.

With all due respect, considering the number of different actors who took on the role of playing Bond, there is no particularly strong continuity there; each actor brought with him a very different take on the role.  Adding a non-caucasian to that crew is not that much of a stretch.

[Fishrrman]

I wouldn't pay to see a black James Bond. No way.

But then, I wouldn't pay to see a white one, either (anymore).

The last time I was in a movie theatre was 1992 (Brother's Keeper).

Haven't been back since.

[rangerrebew]

I'd say King was NOT a fictional character, but Bond IS a fictional character.

Bond isn't totally fictional.  He is actually based on the exploits of Ian Flemming himself who is white.

[GourmetDan]

The idea of casting Idris Elba as James Bond goes against both Fleming's original premise and 50 years of film evidence. Elba might very well make a good secret agent in the style of Bond. But he cannot be Bond.

Look at it this way.  When the film flops, the blacks will have yet another opportunity to play the race-card and be victims yet again.

"These racis honkeys just won't stop keepin the brother down..."

[aligncare]

That's what I was about to say, Dan. We can speculate, but it's all about the box office receipts. And for those of us who love Bond, the integrity of the concept. A movie lives and dies at the box office.

Also, remember as an integral part of the character, Bond must seduce Bond women. Will they be white? Black? Asian? A mix thereof? Must we stir cultural and political passions just to watch a spy flick? Will there be anything out of the reach of political correctness?

Why not a female Bond? Gay Bond? Disabled Bond? Where does it end?

I'll tell you why none of the above. Because that would not be James Bond.

[aligncare]

Afterthought. Why not a white Superfly?

Because it would be oxymoronic and ludicrous.

[jmyrlefuller]

That's what I was about to say, Dan. We can speculate, but it's all about the box office receipts. And for those of us who love Bond, the integrity of the concept. A movie lives and dies at the box office.

Also, remember as an integral part of the character, Bond must seduce Bond women. Will they be white? Black? Asian? A mix thereof? Must we stir cultural and political passions just to watch a spy flick? Will there be anything out of the reach of political correctness?

Why not a female Bond? Gay Bond? Disabled Bond? Where does it end?

I'll tell you why none of the above. Because that would not be James Bond.

Well, they've already had a number of multicultural Bond girls. Bond being the jetsetter that he is, he's been with all sorts of different ethnicities, from the French to Russian to Chinese.