10 James Bond Screenwriting Lessons You Can Learn From Spectre

8. Reference Current Events Without Taking A Stance

Spectre touches upon the controversial issues of government surveillance and drone warfare and brings to mind real-world figures like Julian Assange and Eric Snowden. However, by tying these issues to a terrorist organisation like SPECTRE the movie avoids taking an actual stance on those issues €“ of course this sort of surveillance is wrong when a madman like Blofeld is behind it, but Bond isn't perfect. The audience never considers the legitimate applications of such a system since the organisation behind it is wholly illegitimate. In that way Spectre avoids taking a real stance on these issues, which might otherwise alienate audiences or draw criticism for being €œtoo political.€ Yet, at the same time, it still touches on these current issues familiar to most viewers and makes the movie seem more topical. As as a result, Spectre balances between current events and timeless Bond action. The screenwriters found a way to be topical, but not political, which means they could use Blofeld and Spectre in a modern context without having to resort to some of the more outlandish plots of the 1960s and 1970s Bond movies.