No longer bond’s girl: Historical displacements of the top female spy in 1960s taiyupian

Abstract

When the 1960s Bond craze reached Taiwan, the taiyupian produced a hugely popular new archetype: the female 007. Although the films in this sub-genre evoked Bond’s code name of 007, Bond gadgets, and high-stakes espionage, they reversed the gender of the top spy. This was dramatized in the narrative through the hidden identity of 007, who is often a glamorous female figure embedded in enemy ranks and swoops in in masked attire to save her team of agents. Meanwhile, the top male spy remains in the dark and believes it is his role to take responsibility for the team. Often 007’s lover, he is ultimately proved incompetent and dependent upon her prowess as top spy; his role, too, is a reversal of gender and agency. This paper explores the cinematic history and context for this gender irony. With close readings of 1964’s Female Agent No.7 and The Best Secret Agent, I argue that the female action lead had a radically different meaning in taiyupian as compared to British and American cinemas, or even other Sinophone and East Asian cinemas, due to its resonance with a specifically Taiwanese narrative of historical redemption. Furthermore, the reversal of 007’s gender points to the taiyupian’s sense of irony regarding its marginal status among other cinemas, and its embrace of the element of surprise inherent in the outsider’s role.