The playboy and James Bond: 007, Ian Fleming and <i>Playboy</i> magazine

The Playboy magazine has always reminded its readership of the Playboy-Bond connection by commenting on its longevity and significance, especially in relation to times past. Among other things that James Bond and Playboy have in common is the fact that they are both strongly associated with the sixties. They were launched at about the same time in 1953, and are still around. This book is primarily organised around the story of the relationship between them, played out in popular culture as part of wider cultural relations. Though the chapters outline the emergence of the Playboy-Bond relationship, they also draw on relevant historical and theoretical concerns. The research presented focuses on the public version of the Playboy-Bond relationship as mediated by Bond and Playboy magazine and evident within the shifting realms of culture and the media. It also discusses how the close relationship between Ian Fleming and Playboy was publicised in print with some form of commentary. How Fleming and the Bond novels endorsed Playboy, and how Playboy endorsed Ian Fleming and Bond novels, against the backdrop of American popular culture, is discussed. After discussing Connery's Bond, the book presents some illustrative examples of this connection, especially in terms of consumer preferences, style and taste. It draws together arguments on male fantasy of 'strategic and selective "liberation" of women in order to discuss the women in Bond and Playboy. Finally, the book considers how the two remain interconnected, and as long-standing cultural icons representing the playboy lifestyle fantasy. 'This is the first book-length study to focus on James Bond's relationship to the playboy ideal during the sixties, and beyond. This book examines aspects of the Bond phenomenon and the playboy lifestyle, best represented in the pages of Playboy magazine, and considers how they are interconnected especially in terms of gender and consumption, to construct and reflect a powerful male fantasy in the post-war era onwards. This analysis of the close association and relations between the emerging cultural icons of James Bond and the playboy is particularly concerned with Sean Connery's definitive Bond as seen in the films and promoted and used by the media. By exploring the connections that developed between Bond and Playboy in the context of relevant debates and within a historical framework this book offers new insights into them as related phenomena and their enduring legacy in popular culture. Throughout, the book traces and analyses key aspects of the development of James Bond's connections to the lifestyle fantasy and image of the playboy. These connections are rooted in the fifties and are formalised in Playboy during the 1960s with the help of Ian Fleming and his Bond novels, followed by the rising popularity of the big screen character first played by Connery, when other associations become established that still remain influential today. This book will contribute to the growing area of Bond studies as well as to the study of popular culture and will interest scholars and students in these and other fields of research' --Back cover This is the first book to focus on James Bond's relationship to the playboy ideal through the sixties and beyond. Examining aspects of the Bond phenomenon and the playboy lifestyle, it considers how ideas of gender and consumption were manipulated to construct and reflect a powerful male fantasy in the post-war era. This analysis of the close association and relations between the emerging cultural icons of James Bond and the playboy is particularly concerned with Sean Connery's definitive Bond as he was promoted and used by the media. By exploring the connections that developed between Bond and Playboy magazine within a historical framework, the book offers new insights into these related phenomena and their enduring legacy in popular culture. Front matter Contents List of illustrations Acknowledgements Select timeline Introduction Before the bond The literary Bond The Connery Bond The consumer bond The Bond women The bond beyond Select bibliography Index