Watching the 1971 cop thriller Dirty Harry at a time when feminism and anti-racism become increasingly mainstream is indeed a nerve-racking experience. Directed by the earlier B-movie director Don Siegel, the 102-minute film, which portrays the cat-and -mouse-chase of a San Francisco police detective and a serial killer, is almost an explicit celebration of police brutality and male dominance. Although wildly politically incorrect, it is hard to ignore the movie's immediate box office success and continued popularity.
As the first instalment of the Dirty Harry series, Dirty Harry successfully introduces the main protagonist, the 'dirty' cop Harry Callahan, to the audience. The character is played by Clint Eastwood, who enjoys the star image of a cynical, virile, and powerful 'man's man'. As is expected, Callahan is almost a caricature of this iconic screen persona of Eastwood. He follows his own code of honour, and is hardly bound by any rules or social traditions. More importantly, he is always prepared to take any measures against the criminals, including torture, abuse and other forms of violence, to protect the citizens in San Francisco. As extreme as these measures seem, they are very much justified, and even encouraged in Dirty Harry, especially as the film uses an extremely perverted,evil and one-dimensional villain and an outrageously ineffective government system, in sharp contrast with Callahan's toughness. The character's roguish charm is even more strengthened as the film uses a nearly five-minute shot of the police officer peeping into the houses of innocent people, purely out of voyeuristic pleasure. Lalo Schifrin's jazz score further adds to the dangerous and exotic atmosphere, giving the film a near-pornographic texture. These disturbing acts of extreme violence and female gaze are, however, normalised in the movie, and displayed as a celebration of masculinity.Lalo Schifrin's jazz score further adds to the dangerous and exotic atmosphere, giving the film a near-pornographic texture. These disturbing acts of extreme violence and female gaze are, however, normalised in the movie, and displayed as a celebration of masculinity.Lalo Schifrin's jazz score further adds to the dangerous and exotic atmosphere, giving the film a near-pornographic texture. These disturbing acts of extreme violence and female gaze are, however, normalised in the movie, and displayed as a celebration of masculinity.
Dirty Harry reflects the general sentiments experienced by most conservative Americans in the 1970s. They are deeply frustrated by the liberalist movements in the 1960s, and hopes to return to traditional American values, with an unbending, strong-willed, and hyper-masculine 'American ' hero standing up to fight against the hippy culture, corruption and moral decadence and to uphold established gender roles. These thoughts continue to stay central to the conservative political rhetoric in America even until nowadays, and form an inseparable part of the American culture, despite the growing popularity of #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements in the country.
There are often discussions on the internet arguing that Dirty Harry should be 'cancelled' due to its right-wing tendencies (Delingpole, 2020). However, from my perspective, it is definitely a film worth to revisit, especially for people with liberal views like me, as it could potentially help us jump out of our comfort zones and try to understand how conservative politics works in the 1970s and even nowadays. At the very least, it demonstrates to us why pushing forward filmmaking that intentionally challenges the patriarchal privilege in society is still, and will continue to be important.
Works Cited
Delingpole, J. (2020, June 16). 7 problematic films that are yet to be cancelled. Spectator Life . Retrieved April 11, 2021, from https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/7-problematic-films -that-are-yet-to-be-cancelled
Street, J. (2016). Dirty Harry's America: Clint Eastwood, Harry Callahan, and the Conservative Backlash. University Press of Florida.
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