inmunitas said:
We've already had a female Bond-esque video game series that did quite well, or are you specifically meaning altering the existing Bond franchise?
I think people are more taking issue to making James Bond into Jane Bond rather than just the "Bond-esque" style or even a spinoff within the same universe but using a female character as the main protagonist.
Bond as a character is designed specifically as a male fantasy; an obvious iconic male. So gender flipping him bastardizes the character and the entire spirit of Bond.
But making a movie from another character's perspective within the universe? That would be fine. However, that also wouldn't be a Bond movie. It may be set in the same universe but if it isn't Bond then how is that different from any other "spy" universe?
So you might as well make a new IP or dabble with any number of already existing female spy characters. Because this ISN'T breaking new grounds. People already find female spies in sexy leather to be watchable. No one is succeeding in making any statement in trying to encourage this other than giving credence to the idea that some feminists just want to take things away from men rather than gaining equality. Like when Sarkeesian complained about Dishonored 2 despite it having a positive female protagonist just because there was also an option to play as a male too. [https://archive.is/WChAA] That kind of intentional deprivation of an entire demographic just to take away from their enjoyment when both options are already present really diminishes the cause in this area and starts going towards superiority rather than equality which is just the other side of the coin which is sexism. It's deplorable bigotry under the guise of inclusivity in an particular market where inclusiveness is already a thing and will continue to be so as long as female spies are seen as sexy and agile in contrast to the male's strength and prowess.
I will also point out that the viewing demographic of action films is also not equivalent and varies greatly by age and gender. Young males are by far the majority viewership of violent action films. [http://web.calstatela.edu/faculty/sfischo/media3.html] Women and 26+ year old men prefer dramatic films over violence packed action flicks. So when you look at the demographic viewership of the highest grossing films you're going to see men making up 60% or more of the viewing audience whereas women make up the slight majority of non-violent movies like Despicable me but usually in the low 50% rather and gap as extreme as 60%. That's because males do eventually come around to enjoying and even preferring those movies whereas women (on average, of course) never come around to preferring action flicks more. This is also generally true regardless of the gender of the protagonist. For example, Salt and Tomb Raider were still disproportionately viewed by males and did perform well even if they didn't make as much as some people may have wanted (generally making a little less than 3x the budget each which I would call a resounding financial success).
However, you also have exceptions like the Hunger Games which was viewed more by women. The split was 46% male and 54% female. [http://www.mpaa.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/MPAA-Theatrical-Market-Statistics-2013_032514-v2.pdf] The thing is, you cannot get an action flick that is more marketed towards women than that. I mean, you can't beat the marketing of books kids grew up with and especially books that were made as something specifically designed to get the intention of that highly profitable tween female category in literature (the social networking it produces is a desirable target). Compare that with Despicable Me whose demographics were 47%/53% male/female. Not that big of a difference.
So when designing an action flick, your primary audience is going to be men. This is exactly the same as how women are the primary demographics of most dramas and romance films even though males prefer dramas as our favorite films at a higher rate than women (though perhaps because women are divided on romance films being their favorite).
So please understand, women are directly catered to in several genres of film. Demanding they be catered to in the one that is primarily catered towards men is not progressive anymore than demanding romance movies start catering to men (because that would be called porn or drama).
