Make My Day

[lunatica]

10. The Dirty Harry movies were Clint Eastwood's reaction to

the progressive laws of the time that actually gave criminals some rights. For example the Miranda Right to be informed that they can keep silent until they get a lawyer and that they can incriminate themselves. The Right hated that. So his movies always had the bad guys, who were portrayed as irredeemable, vicious sadists getting off on technicalities and going on to terrorize more victims. His character became the true justice that the Right loves so much. The hard nosed righteous 'good guy' who could blow them away in cold blood to protect society. The type like Governor Perry who is proud of Texas being the state that puts more people to death for crimes. George Bush liked that about Texas too.

It helps to know what the genesis of the Dirty Harry movies is. It puts things in perspective. Everyone who liked his movies felt something satisfying about the lone antihero doling out some harsh justice to the worst of the criminals so the rest of us can sleep. We still see it today. Eastwood just put it in movies. The so-called 'action heroes' since the Dirty Harry movies are sad imitations and they devolved from political and societal statements of substance into more and more impossible chase scenes with plenty of bodies to count along the way. Clint Eastwood's movies were a real statement and perfect for the times as a genuine reaction to liberalism. It's not something I agree with, but I appreciated the movies because there was more than just mindless violence in them. There was a message.