Stakes and Conflict as Mechanisms of Creating Narrative Suspense in James Bond Movies. Research Report

Abstract

The stakes play an important role in intensifying the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist, and thus, the emotional reaction of the target audience. The James Bond film series often follow a plot pattern of „preventing atrocity”, in which the main character is supposed to stop the villain from implementing a morally evil plan. Stakes modification is done through various techniques: by masking the actual stakes, by increasing the negative consequences of a failure, by increasing the positive consequences of winning and by reducing the possibility of achieving the goal. Moreover, these films are characterized by the global nature of the conflict, which is emphasized on two levels. At the level of the threat scale, where public goals (political, economic, social, humanitarian consequences) are more important than private goals (emotional, moral consequences). And at the level of the form of the threat, where the stakes of the conflict are embedded in fantastic fear. The absurdity and caricatural nature of threats is realized by presenting them in the context of a conflict of values (e.g. good versus evil).