In 1952, Ian Fleming penned the first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, at Goldeneye, his winter home in Jamaica. Each successive Bond novel was written at Goldeneye, and several of the most memorable and exciting novels were set in Jamaica.
2018 marks the sixtieth anniversary of the publication of Ian Fleming’s fifth James Bond novel, Dr No, (1958) which was set on the Caribbean island and would be the basis for the first EON film in 1962.
It is also the 45th anniversary of the film of Live and Let Die (1973)—the first to star Roger Moore in the title role—which was set in the fictional Caribbean island of San Monique, based on Jamaica (where the novel was set).
This anniversary gives us the opportunity to consider the significance of Jamaica under the Conference theme of “Fighters from the Margins” —considering that Jamaica was viewed as relatively marginal to Britain and the USA in the Cold War era of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Yet Jamaica became cemented by Fleming’s work in the popular imagination as a key exotic location for international intrigue and Cold War espionage.
The panel welcomes readings of texts featuring Bond in the Caribbean, especially those focusing on either novel and film versions of Dr No and Live and Let Die. Papers might address Fleming and Bond’s attitudes to British colonialism in Jamaica; the racialized politics and representations of the Jamaican-based villains (Dr No, Mr Big, Dr Kananga); the exoticization of the Caribbean through portrayals of indigenous cultural practices (eg voodoo), sexuality, and cuisine; the displacement of Jamaica by the fictional Caribbean location of San Monique in the film of Live and Let Die; or the significance of the films of Dr No and Live and Let Die as the cinematic debuts of Sean Connery and Roger Moore, respectively, as 007.
Please send abstracts of 250 words and brief bios to Oliver Buckton (obuckton@fau.edu) by May 15, 2018.
[Featured photo credit: Alan Tong]
Artistic Licence Renewed 