Bond films were my favorite growing up and played a part in my coming of age.  Later my interest in films turned elsewhere, my gaze shifted, and Bond became a thing of the past. With my newfound interest in poets, painters and thinkers, James faded away into oblivion. Now we are amidst a world pandemic, threating our safety in every corner of the world and with a “license to kill.” In this moment where the real erupts with fury, James returns in a dream, and from my place of isolation, I begin to watch all the Bond films-old and new. Bond classics such as: Dr No, Thunderball, You only Live Twice, Diamonds are Forever, Live and Let Die, License to Kill, The Spy who Loved me, A View to a Kill, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day and Skyfall.

Why do I dream of Bond now? James Bond with all his imaginary gadgets, modern technology and incredible missions! Only to realize the epic character is indeed a magnificent artist and most importantly will save a damsel in distress! Or will he? If art rescues, does Bond save? In a moment that we are all trying to decipher from a space of singularity…in this space of uncertainty, in this loss for words, and in this rupture of our everyday plays and illusions… the real appears suctioning existence and reminding us of our physical fragility. We need to make it through a difficult universal experience by way of a unique and singular journey. The unconscious leading in deciphering this universal real through our lenses of singularity.

The lyrics to the theme song of the film “Skyfall” come to mind…

“Skyfall is where we start

A thousand miles and poles apart

Where worlds collide and days are dark …

Let the sky fall

When it crumbles

We will stand tall

Face it all together

Let the sky fall

When it crumbles

We will stand tall

Face it all together at skyfall…”

If “diamonds are forever,” and desire is forever, then this could be a time for reflection, where desire leads the way. From chaos something comes into being. The invisible enemy, aiming at us as in the opening of the Bond films-the gun barrel scene. The scene is shot from the point of view of a presumed assassin. It features Bond walking, turning and then shooting directly at the camera, causing blood to run down the screen. As spectators, we wonder about “the view to the kill.”

Who will die? Who will survive?  We know from this angle, from where we are positioned, it will not be the viewer. We hold front seats, and we are going to “live and let die.” This Pandemic exposes us to a different angle. We are confronted with an encounter that turns the scene around. The blood no longer runs down the screen. The assassin has crossed over into the very horrific experience of the real. I also realize as I write that here, in this space, Bond is no longer Bond, and that something of the bond has been further severed…

This is a space and time for desire to speak. We need more than ever a listening space, even if it is to be a virtual space, to make this punctuation in time more bearable. Perhaps a space for the voice to speak like never before. It is a moment that calls out to the analyst. There has never been more of a need to rethink our position as analysts, and for psychoanalysis to be at the other side of the gun barrel, ready to take on the assassin, aiming at it like Bond, creating bonds, because nobody does it better, and nothing says it better than the title of the upcoming Bond film, “No Time to Die.”

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Skyfall (2012) song written by Adele and Paul Edworth, orchestration by J.A.C. Redford, first released October 5, 2012 (Columbia records). The theme song to the 23^rd James Bond film of the same name.