It is interesting to compare Bond with Smiley. While Bond is whom the salesman aspired to be, Smiley is whom he would actually become.
The expense account is a reptile fund over drafted by senior management for spurious expenses, he travels, but to cold and boring places, usually on a budget and staying out of sight in cramped hotels and safe houses.
Instead of sleeping with beautiful women, he spends most of his time working, and being cheated on by his detached wife.
And when he actually makes it to the top, he just finds himself overburden with political machinations, stakeholder management, and longing for the time when he'd actually get something done.
I watched a fascinating interview with a former MI6 manager. This was probably about 10 years ago. The interviewer made some comment about the men she had to manage: the agents. She said, effectively 'men?'.
The Grey Man principle is a good one, as far as it goes, except maybe the gender.
Fictional spies are interesting reflections of social angst, but I think we're about ready now for a fictional Valerie Plame.
What does gender truly have to do with the "Grey Man" idea? The core idea as I see it is to blend in with your surroundings, be "boring grey" instead standing out. Sure, "Grey Man" has the word "Man" in it, but I think the operative word in it is "Grey."
Oh, I wasn't trying to make a massive point on gender, beyond pointing to the fact that fictional spies tend to be male. My interpretation of 'grey man' is not so much blending in, as not being the kind of person one would expect to be a spy. A person who 'looks like they can handle themselves' is probably less useful than an inconspicuous office intern. It would be interesting to see a fictional spy that was believable in that way.
I'm trying to remember where. It was a TV program in the UK, and I think the interview took place in an unused london underground station, I think. Sorry. ...
[edit 1:] Was it some kind of show where they trained people to be spies for the camera? I seem to also remember footage of someone having to plant a letter in their mother's handbag without being seen by them. Sorry for not being helpful. Like I said I wasn't trying to make a significant point: the discussion of spies just reminded me.
[edit 2:] Can't find a YT clip of that bit, but the show was 'Spymaster', or 'Spy'. I hope I'm not remembering it too wrongly.
Very perceptive. Introducing a third data point helps to clarify that there is more to the story of how we went from Bond to Bourne than just millennial job anxiety. There was quiet desperation back in the Bond era too.
The expense account is a reptile fund over drafted by senior management for spurious expenses, he travels, but to cold and boring places, usually on a budget and staying out of sight in cramped hotels and safe houses.
Instead of sleeping with beautiful women, he spends most of his time working, and being cheated on by his detached wife.
And when he actually makes it to the top, he just finds himself overburden with political machinations, stakeholder management, and longing for the time when he'd actually get something done.