Although it barely scrapes the surface of the issue, I think this is a welcome article from the beeb. Much is currently being said about the modernisation of the James Bond character in the next film: is he a misogynist, imperialist anachronism in need of modernisation to stay relevant, or might an attempt to update 007 to twenty-first century values change him too much? i’m not sure I can answer that. Bond, as created by Ian Fleming, is a horrible, despicable person; the idea that there are people like him running around protecting the country, licensed to kill, should be deeply troubling. Yet we seem to find this fantasy incredibly appealing, so much so that he fronts cinema’s most successful, longest-running franchise. The question is, is it now time to bring this character into line with modern, democratic values, or would doing so remove that essence of the character – the idea of this suave, rebellious spy who does things his own way – which makes him so enduring?