About
Shaken & Stirred: The Feminism of James Bond is the first full-scale academic book to trace the intersection of feminism, James Bond, and popular culture.
The unofficial story of the Bond Girl, Shaken & Stirred: The Feminism of James Bond explores how the Bond Girl is portrayed in print and on film. It addresses what her character says about our culture's conceptions of gender and femininity, and how she reflects the triumphs and shortcomings of the gender equality movement of the late twentieth century.
History
During the 1999-2000 academic year as a student at Boston University, author Robert A. Caplen formulated a research project that addressed a unique and unanswered question: what do the James Bond films say, if anything, about the portrayal of women in popular culture? His inquiry led him to develop an academic study bridging feminism and James Bond. Robert's thesis, "Shaken and Stirred: The Feminism of James Bond, 1962-1979," was submitted to the History Department faculty at Boston University in April 2001 in partial fulfillment of the requirements of his undergraduate and graduate degrees. The first edition of Shaken & Stirred: The Feminism of James Bond was published in 2010. A second edition was released in 2012.
Reviews
- I found your book extremely interesting . . . . As you have found, the march of feminism in Bond stories is fascinating and a contradiction of the intention of the author.
Honor Blackman, "Pussy Galore" in Goldfinger
- I enjoyed your analysis of the importance of the Bond girl icon as it relates to and reveals the changing culture.
Lois Chiles, "Dr. Holly Goodhead" in Moonraker
- A thorough feminism perspective.
Gloria Hendry, "Rose Carver" in Live and Let Die
- This book is an eye-opener for both Bond fans and Bond critics.
Bruce Scivally, co-author of James Bond: The Legacy
- This is an intelligent and entertaining book . . . .
Lee Pfeiffer, Cinema Retro vol. 8, no. 23 (2012)
- A must-have cultural history for 007 fans, cinema enthusiasts, and lovers of nonfiction.
Anders Frejdh, founder and editor of From Sweden With Love
- We finally have a detailed analysis of the complex evolution of the Bond Girl character. This book gives new insights into Bond's world and insures that you'll never look at Bond Girls the same way again!
Charles Helfenstein, author of The Making of On Her Majesty's Secret Service and The Making of The Living Daylights
Press
Television
"Talking Movies: Spectre Edition," BBC World News, November 2015 (Tom Brook reporting)
"Revolution in Pop Culture," Respekt, Aug. 2015 (Czech Republic)
"Dance Into the Fire: Remembering A View To A Kill On Its 30th Anniversary," The Digital Bits, May 2015
"All the Time in the World: Remembering On Her Majesty's Secret Service On Its 45th Anniversary," The Digital Bits, Dec. 2014
"The Midas Touch: Remembering Goldfinger on Its 50th Anniversary," The Digital Bits, Sept. 2014
"Interview with Robert Caplen on The Feminism of James Bond," Literary 007, May 2014
Joe Meumaier, "Penelope Cruz as the new Bond girl is the hot intelligence on Daniel Craig's next 007 film," N.Y. Daily News, Apr. 2014
Katerina Kalou, "James Bond is a feminist," Tovima, Nov. 2012 (Greece)
Jon Kelly, "James Bond: How his sex life compares with an average man," BBC News Magazine, Oct. 2012
Michael Marti, "Lethal Women," Tages Anzeiger, Oct. 2012 (Switzerland)
George Lukacsy, "Köszönőviszonyban a valósággal," Kommentar Magazine, May 2012 (Hungary)
Marc Rybicki, "Er hatte sie alle..." Frankfurter Neue Presse, May 2012 (Germany)
Craig D. Lindsey, "Women take 'Bond girls' in stride," News & Observer (N.C.), Jan. 2011