8yo DD's homework based on Bond films - WIBU to complain?

[QueenOfFeckingEverything]

DD's class are basing this term's work on 'Spies'.

She has come home today saying she doesn't know how to do her homework because she doesn't know who James Bond is. Apparently the homework is to find out about a villain from a Bond film and then write about them - she's left the sheet at school so is unsure of the details though.

Now I am Not Happy with that. Bond films are not suitable for 8yo children - aren't most of them 12 or 15 rated? Surely the school should not be basing homework round films the children should not have seen - obviously I am aware that most of them will have done but it shouldn't be assumed.

Plus as far as I am aware (not a film watcher myself really) they are somewhat sexist, or at least Bond's treatment of women is, and I don't really want the films and their messages given tacit approval by school tbh.

So I am thinking I might write and state my objections...

actually, I think it sounds great, imaginative and boy-centred. Perhaps the inherant sexism could be a discussion point with your DD?

Get her to do it on MI High from CBBC, the teacher will be fine about it I am sure.

Sounds like a great opportunity to teach her about feminism :)

No reason to not let her watch one of the earlier films and then help her understand the relevant issues.

I would check the sheet. My dd knows what a spy is through children's movies like Spy Kids so the spy theme is fine. I think that the homework is ok if it's about researching something that children know nothing about so everyone is starting at the same point (ie knowing nothing)

I bet they love you at school, Queen

seriously, I'd be proper pissed off with this. Sexist tosh with a bit of violence chucked in.

Write the letter!

Haha SpringHeeledJack [hollow]

School and me are, um, not seeing eye to eye of late

Makes me seriously doubt my decision to send DD at all tbh.

PanelMember - obviously I do not expect DD to only get homework on subjects with which she is already familiar . I just take issue with school setting homework based on a misogynist fictional character from films that are completely unsuitable for DD's age group.

DD2 who's 10 would probably wander off in a Bond film, no way would she have watched them when she was 8.
I probably did and enjoyed them, but I think we watched a lot more proper grown up films with our parents than my children do. Today they put on their videos and of course we watched what was on.

blimey you need to get a slight grip.

you could mention that most of the British secret service is made up of ex etonian and harrovians in real life too as a educational diversion

And that is of course your right but the homework is to select a Bond villain and write about him or her. Nobody is asking you to endorse Bond and what he stands for. You can do the homework (if you wish) without watching any of the films. Whether you watch a film or not, you can also take the opportunity (if you wish) to introduce your daughter to a feminist reading of the books, films or genre in general. In some of the films there's also a lot of cold war politics which you could (if you wish) deconstruct.

So, to answer your original question, I think you would be unreasonable to complain because there are better ways to convey your feelings about Bond - your dd will learn more from analysing the genre from a critical standpoint than she will from opting out. But it's your call.

Bond films - particularly the older ones - are sexist, yes. All of them are pretty daft. But they are not misogynisitic, imo.

I do think you need to see the sheet first, Queen. Your dd may well be missing out a vital "for example" before the "James Bond".

Ds enjoys them btw. We do talk about how ridiculous they are (as does his father).

my mum wouldn't let us watch James Bond, because she was a communist and a feminist

one summer holiday, she gave us a fiver and sent us to the pictures to watch Moonraker (?)

we must have really been getting on her tits

Although my DCs (6 and 8) haven't watched a whole one I think they've probably seen chunks here and there, because they're on TV most weekend afternoons. As others have said, the early ones are mostly PG (and ITV shows edited versions before the watershed where necessary).

I think you're overreacting and will look like a prat if you make a scene because a) not all the films are unsuitable for this age group b) there are other ways to find out about them than by watching them c) JB, for good or ill, is a huge figure in UK pop culture.

If you're not happy with the school then you need to pick your battles, and this is not a good one to pick.

Ds1(7) likes the baddies. He likes goldfinger, Mr scaramanger in Dr No, Jaws.
He likes the cave and when the car does techy things and when Bond has fab gadgets.
I had no idea that you all scorned upon it so much.

Charlie Higson has written a series of graphic novels about Bond as a young boy. The boys at our school love them - would you all be complaining about reading those in guided reading/borrowing them from the library?

No, Cat64, I didn't.

My dd is the same age as the OP's and she knows what sexism is and is pretty skilled at spotting it in books and magazines, in TV adverts and the like. I'm not suggesting that OP and her dd sit down and read Kate Millet, but it seems to me that there are a number of ways in which OP (if she chose, which I can see she probably won't, as is her prerogative) could engage with the homework in some way and turn it into an opportunity to discuss with her dd why she finds James Bond so objectionable. DilysPrice is right, in my view - there are some battles which are worth fighting with schools but this isn't one of them.

well i've looked at the sheet and it says to choose a bond villain and research them for a presentation on friday

looking on amazon, the recent films are mostly 12 with a couple of 15s. so totally not suitable for a child of 8.

dd will be basing her work round a villain from something age-appropriate and i will send in a covering letter

i am thinking maybe emil and the detectives if i can dig out the book - she's off school ill so plenty of time today to research an alternative villain

cor, you don't get long to do it, do you?

have you got Clarice Bean? in the first book (story, not picture), CB and her friend do a school project on a fictional girl spy. That's probably stretching it a bit, but more fun for an 8yo than Bond (for ds as well as my dds, at any rate)

oh, it was given out last friday but we spent the weekend hosting a gathering of 150 vegans so didn't even look at it until monday after school

I'd complain straight away, mainly becuase my DD has high anxiety and can't watch any films without getting very agitated, and that's stuff like Toy Story etc. She's on a blanket order at school not to be shown any DVDs/films which means when her friends are taken to the hall to watch Charlie and the Chocolate factory, she sits and reads a book or paints. So she would be unable to do this homework and I'd challenge it on those grounds. The books are jam packed full of sex so I wouldn't want her to read them.

However, we could probably do "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" as that's pretty unfathomable stuff.

a gathering of 150 vegans Blimey! What is the collective noun for vegans, I wonder?

Queenie - there was a really good dramatisation of Emil and the Detectives on R4 last Sunday. I listened to it whilst peeling the spuds, and even got so into it I started cleaning stuff in the kitchen so I had an excuse to stay in there. Should be on listen again.

Emil and the Detectives

This should work.

Back to the OP, I do like Bond movies. They are utterly daft. But I don't think it was a good HW for the teacher to set - they certainly shouldn't have specified James Bond villains. That's just odd.

Oh super dee doo thank you Jenai

I love a happy ending

Hi before you go complaining about the age issue you should get your facts right so as not to embarrass yourself. If you look at the Roger Moore set and Sean Connery set it appears (through ltd vision) that 12 out of the thirteen are actually PG rating. (Yellow triangles). Complain for the other reasons listed on here but do not stress the age one so much.
HTH Cheers

James bond at Amazon