Quantum of greenness

James Bond a not-so-secret green agent 9

Daniel Craig

The new James Bond flick Quantum of Solace, which opens this weekend, has an eco-theme. I wrote about it in April:

Quantum of Solace continues the storyline that began with Casino Royale and finds Bond shaken (not stirred) by the death and betrayal of a loved one.

He wants revenge, and he points a (Gold)finger at "eco-entrepreneur" Dominic Greene (the man with the green gun?). Played by Mathieu Amalric, the French star of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Greene is the owner of an eco-hotel in the Chilean desert -- an oasis aimed at luring rich and powerful folk with fancy environmental technology.

But could this Bond villain really be who he seems? (Dr.) No! In fact, the hotel and "Save the Earth" shtick is just a front for Greene's plan to seize part of South America's water supply.

Aha! A brilliant plot twist: Mr. Greene is Greenewashing! I hope Bond can figure it out in time. After all, you only live twice.

Check out the trailer:

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  1. Glauke Posted 5:27 pm
    13 Nov 2008

    Moral of the StoryI wasn't too impressed by QoS, but I loved the moral of the story
    Never trust the guy that says he cares about the environment, but drives around in a huge Landrover. There's something wrong there...
  2. Annimal Posted 6:03 pm
    13 Nov 2008

    Quantum of GreenessGlauke ,
    Just love that comment!
  3. Juliettelucie Posted 8:14 pm
    13 Nov 2008

    CoalfingerFor the real eco-villain fighting, look beyond James Bond, towards Coalfinger: http://coalfinger.com/
  4. Emily Gertz's avatar

    Emily Gertz Posted 2:06 am
    14 Nov 2008

    Greene is the New BlackGreat catch, Sarah!  
    Next film, we'll see James throwing his empty bottles of Dom Perignon and Scottish whiskey into the recycling.

    Emily Gertz

    Journalist & Editor

    emily AT change DOT org

    http://globalwarming.change.org
  5. Delay And Deny's avatar

    Delay And Deny Posted 3:56 am
    14 Nov 2008

    Where Are the Bond Girls?

    Seems like every advertisement has Bond with his shirt off.
    Where's the Bond girls...I mean, that's why everyone goes to see these movies...right?

  6. caniscandida Posted 7:20 am
    14 Nov 2008

    Male Sexuality 101No special permission needed; fulfills Boringness requirement.
    Very many men, apparently, crave competition, and winning, especially in a physical, corporeal context (Who is fastest?; Who is strongest?; Who can cause the most destruction?; Who is deadliest?).
    It is a doubly astonishing bizarrerie of our civilization, that we so normally conjoin three totally independent kinds of male behavior, as if they were somehow all interconnected aspects of the same underlying unity -- 1. warfare/fighting; 2. athletics/game-playing; 3. sexuality/sexual attractiveness -- , and then, so rarely question why in the world we accept that conjunction.
    Hence, in our popular entertainment, we are fed a constant diet of stories about men who get to behave with deadly violence, and who are heroized for doing so, whether because that is their profession (e.g., law enforcement, the military), or because they are champions of justice ("green" or otherwise), exacting a just revenge.
    Male fans of James Bond movies, wishing to identify with James Bond and living vicariously through his on-screen experiences, expect to see him not only excelling at destructiveness and enforcing justice, but also being sexually desirable.  Hence, both the actor's occasional shirtless state and the presence of the appreciative Bond-girls are all part of the big picture.

    Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.
  7. Pangolin's avatar

    Pangolin Posted 7:50 am
    14 Nov 2008

    Why Human's went Extinct Vol. IViolence was equated with mating success in mass media. It's a nasty little problem without a good solution in sight. Any ideas?

    Put the Carbon Back
  8. hansona5 Posted 12:51 am
    17 Nov 2008

    Eco themedI think that it was a good idea to have the movie some what eco themed. Because of the popularity of to bond movies, it might show others that there is more they could be doing. If bond can take the time to recycle, can you?
  9. GreenFunk Posted 10:40 am
    18 Nov 2008

    Great Green conspiracyI can't wait to see the film. I love 007 movies and all things Green (not just Eva...) so the idea of a greewashing sub-plot is excellent.
    Remember the great Green conspiracy in Ben Elton's "Stark"  - was that his first novel?
    It came out in about 1989 I think.
    Stark is worth a read if you like the high tech conspiracy, but be warned, the greenies take Low-Fi to a new level!

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