A cryptic message from the past sends James Bond on a rogue mission in the 24th Bond film. He infiltrates a secret meeting and uncovers the existence of the sinister organisation, ‘Spectre’. As Bond ventures towards the heart of Spectre, he learns a chilling connection between himself and the enemy he seeks.
Spectre continues the trend of Bond being shown as a real human being, indeed you’ll only really understand this film if you’ve sat through the other Daniel Craig films. But after Skyfall wrapped things up so nicely for Bond as a character, is there really any more the super spy can do? Apparently so, as a message from the grave soon alerts Bond to the idea that perhaps all of his missions so far (in the Craig era) have been connected and that there has been a higher power pulling all of the strings in the background. With MI6 under intense scrutiny from the new head of national security, M can’t offer Bond any help so it’s up to Moneypenny and Q to help Bond as he attempts to bring down Spectre.
In the clip, Bond is in the middle of his investigation. He’s tracked down Mr White, a character responsible for the death of Bond’s previous partner in Casino Royale. When talking to Mr White, Bond learns more about Spectre and he promises to keep Mr White’s daughter safe, a promise that has great impact later in the film. M and C debate the tension between spying on people to keep them safe versus the idea of an agent in the field doing a 007 job. (Be aware: this clip does include someone committing suicide off screen.) After the clip, discuss:
- What is your impression of Bond as a hero - is he completely good?
- Do you agree with what M believes about the necessity of agents killing people?
- Is it right for a democratically elected government to spy on its own people to keep them safe?
- Do you think that the Christian idea of God is similar to what C wants to do, and what Mr White alludes to: someone behind the scenes pulling the strings
Read Psalm 139 and discuss:
- This psalm seems to have a lot of different themes - what do you think they are?
- What sort of impression does this psalm give about God and surveillance - does he have a right to know everything about us?
- Should it change your behaviour and thoughts if God knows everything about you?
- If God knows everything about us, why wouldn’t he step in to stop certain actions?
Spectre is a great film with many fan-pleasing moments. It’s also nice to see that Bond has developed as a character. The clip in this session will work well for creating discussion, but why not watch the whole film with your youth group so that you can see the clip in context.
Tom Wade is head of religious education at Samuel Ryder in St Albans
