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Kit and I have returned to Human Bondage. This is a bit of a reboot to put distance between ourselves and past recordings. We have James Slater-Murphy on the show to talk You Only Live Twice, a truly bizarre work of sinophobia that sets the tone for many later Bond films. Obvious trigger warnings for discussions of anti-Japanese racism and misogyny. 

The show begins with a public statement on the conduct of our former co-host Sam Maleski, who we cut ties with after learning of several emotional abuse and sexual harassment allegations against them. The segment is only 10 minutes long, but it's obviously somber and upsetting. Trigger warnings abound. EDIT: Have made some corrections regarding the use of the word "sinophobia" to describe anti-Japanese racism. My sincerest apologies for the error.

Comments

Paul Mason

How many Chinese characters are there in You Only Live Twice? I don't remember any. I'm well aware of the oft-encountered sinophobia here in Japan (ably parodied by half-Japanese Will Sharpe in the episode of Flowers I watched last night), but I don't remember any in You Only Live Twice. But I'll dig in to your MP3 and see if you managed to unearth any. I REALLY hope you didn't manage the awful feat of complaining about anti-Japanese racism while apparently being unable to distinguish Japan and China...

Paul Mason

I've listened. It was indeed a long time since I'd seen it and I'd forgotten that he's in Hong Kong at the beginning (running with your comments about forgettability here). But I'd still be wary of flinging out the word 'sinophobia' as if it somehow covers Japan. I'll fling in the oddness that the film is fairly well-liked in Japan. But that is a whole different complex of racial politics. Fun listening to you all trash the movie, though. I haven't watched it since I was a kid, and had no plans to, since the few minutes I caught of Dr No five years ago convinced me never to watch any old Bonds ever again.

Sean Dillon

With regards to turning a Bond film into a Godzilla film, Toho actually, kinda did that with Ebirah, Horror of the Deep. A bunch of regular Japanese men steal a boat (and a bank robber) in order to find a missing brother and end up getting embroiled in a James Bond plot.

Christine Kelley

Thank you so much for the correction. I'll talk to my friends about editing the podcast accordingly.