Dial 'M' for Metonym: Universal Exports, M's Office Space and Empire

ISSN： 1469-9907

Source： National Identities, Vol.2, Iss.1, 2000-03, pp. : 35-47

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Abstract

For James Bond, Britishness is most often realised outside the British Isles, within the old Empire. Whenever physically located in Britain proper, he is most likely to be found in the offices of Universal Exports otherwise known as the British Secret Service. M's office is a metonym for England, a stable point of departure for Bond's adventures, and a site from which to theorise the relationship between M (England) and Bond (Britain); ideology, iconography and office fittings; changes and challenges to that 'office space'; cognitive mapping and the resonance of a British signifier on the margins of empire.