As you might have noticed, October 2021 saw the long-awaited 25th James Bond film stagger, at last, into theaters, a full 18 months after it was originally slated to premiere. No Time To Die, whose title probably felt less macabre before COVID-19 hit, marks several interesting firsts for the franchise's treatment of women. I'd like to tell you all about them, but be warned:
Just don't.
9 years ago I returned to my college dorm after seeing Skyfall, and my roommate said to me, "Who do you think has more dead girlfriends, Sam Winchester or James Bond?" That sentence - and our ensuing futile attempts to Google the answer - kicked off the project that eventually evolved into this blog. Now that I've answered her original question, therefore, I'd like to reflect on what I've learned.
Welcome back to the #DFGRR's signature discussion of the gender-based violence in popular media. Today's target is Supernatural, our first contestant franchise to to incorporate God and Lucifer as characters (although unlike Bonanza, it has no sign of either Jesus or the Easter bunny.)
Content Warning: Like all of our contestants, Supernatural has a lot of violence against women. In addition, it makes many references to sexualized violence. If that's disturbing for you, feel free to skip the parts marked out below.
In November of 2020, the world witnessed an amazing and historic development out of the USA: Supernatural finally aired its last episode.
Its passing is mourned by legions of fans, but celebrated by us here at the #DFGRR, because it means we can finally analyze it.
Content warning: sexualized violence
On Halloween 2020, a retired actor named Sir Sean Connery went to meet the great casting director in the sky, at the ripe old age of 90. His passing has been mourned by most fans of James Bond, our current lead for both number and percentage of dead girlfriends. For it was Sean Connery, rest his soul, who originated James Bond on-screen, way back in the halcyon days of 1962.
Yes, it was Connery who first whirled to fire at the camera in an opening sequence:
My Dear Readers,
Hi! I know it's been a while since we talked. I also know that you may be sick unto death of hearing about politics. I know I am. In fact, I have channeled my frustration into this special 2020-themed version of Female Cause of Death BINGO.