Skyfall and Global Casino Culture

Abstract

This chapter analyzes the signifying potential of gambling and casino culture as a seminal feature of James Bond-ness and the 007-universe. It argues that gambling and casinos, both of which are updated with every new outing of James Bond, have important cultural, political and economic ramifications. In particular, the chapter asks how and what casino gambling signifies as it is updated in Skyfall (2012), in terms of the film’s mise-en-scène as well as its geopolitical configuration as a colonizing industry in a global economy that is increasingly dependent on various forms of gambling. Finally, the chapter connects various aspects of what has been referred to as “cinematic revisionism” to the politics and economics of neoliberalization, 007, and global casino culture.