To what extent do both ‘Casino Royale’ and ‘Spooks’ rely on racial and other stereotypes?

Casino Royale is a typical British action drama which follows a group of spy’s who work for the British government. The plots usually contain someone from another country who is involved in some kind of misconduct which is mostly circulating around recreational drugs or terrorism. The protagonists that are followed in the episode are British whereas the characters of opposition are usually of another nationality. Although the British spy’s e.g. James Bond, use weapons and dangerous techniques and also kill in this particular episode, they are portrayed to be heroes. The creators do this by using a protagonist who is also a sex symbol.

Spooks is a very similar drama which doesn’t incorporate as much action as Casino Royale. It follows the British Security Service in their tasks to keep the country safe. In this particular episode wealthy businessman are held hostage by individuals of a different ethnicity. The story suggests that the wealthy British have harmed those in poorer communities because of their greediness.

These episodes both rely on racial stereotypes in particular as the plots are about other nationalities breaking the law in some way. In comparison to Britain the other countries or characters are shown to be unstable and less economically developed which gives denotations that Britain is a much more economically developed and stable country. The episodes are also nostalgic as they show Britain in a positive light. Although most characters within Spooks are White, there is also an Asian character who works alongside them. This represents the Britain today as a country who are able to work with other nationalities and also suggests London itself is a very culturally diverse place; which it is.

Other stereotypes are used in the Spooks episode but some are also subverted. In Spooks, countertypes are used; Blonde, attractive women are also part of the security service. Women with these attributes would usually be stereotyped as sexual and dumb, however in this episode they are extremely intelligent, they dress smart and are the complete opposite to the traditional stereotype. Casino Royale shows women for sex appeal too, one female is portrayed as only being useful as a girlfriend as her partner is rude to her and speaks down to her as if she is not as good as he is. Also Bonds interactions with her are sexual, again suggesting that women are only good at the stereotypical role. However this is also true for the female colleague Bond works with until the audience realizes she was playing Bond along and betrays him, suggesting women should not be underestimated.

Cultural identity in these episodes is of a high social class. This is visible as in particular the language used is of an intellectual and higher class. Their jobs are also very high profile and the employees of security service jobs are usually ex university students from Cambridge or Oxford and so are therefore highly academic. This also suggests Britain as an academic country suggesting most individual in this country attend university and have Academic qualifications.

In Casino Royale, women are just as equal in job roles as men or if not better. James Bonds’ female colleague is a lot older than he is and is shown to have a higher ranking in her job role. Although this suggests women can now have equal opportunities, it also shows that women have the same role as they always have as she only seems to sit around whereas Bond does a lot more physical tasks and puts himself in danger; which is characteristic of men. Therefore although cultural identity has changed in the way we view males and females, the job roles aren’t very different at all.