Ian Fleming’s James Bond and this blogger have something in common: we’re both 50 years old. Since I grew up as Bond’s brother, for all practical purposes, I have a unique view of why the character is popular: James Bond represents the Western Industrialized idea of what a man should be.
Confident, decisive, intelligent, stylish. A connoisseur of fine wine, cars, and women. An owner of the latest gadgets. The man who has the answer. The man who’s not afraid. For better or worse, that’s Bond’s gift to popular culture.
It’s a gift that more black men should embrace, because too often I hear, even today, some of us say there are “different rules” for Brothers. Well, bust through them. Be a man and don’t let others lead you.
James Bond would agree.