Dachshynddawg
Verified User
Lots of people who read this forum and post on it are, I think, young millennials. They will be too young to remember the iconic, American action film, "Dirty Harry", that came out in 1971, though they probably will be familiar with a catch phrase from the movie which is: "Go ahead - make my day" It is a warning; you say this to someone who you believe is seriously considering doing something that you have explicitly told them NOT to do. You are telling them that if they flout your wishes and proceed to do what you have told them not to do, that's fine by you because it will give you an excuse to retaliate. Moreover, you will absolutely enjoy doing that, because you do not particularly like this person for a start, and seeing them suffer will give you great satisfaction.
Former President Ronald Reagan, who had a great sense of humour, used this "Dirty Harry" catchphrase in a speech he made in 1985 to the American Business Conference when he promised to veto any tax rises and challenged those who wanted them as follows...
"I have my veto pen drawn and ready for any tax increase that Congress might even think of sending up. And I have only one thing to say to the tax-increasers: GO AHEAD - MAKE MY DAY".
There is a political dimension to the film "Dirty Harry", because the character "Dirty" Harry Callaghan ( who was played by actor Clint Eastwood) is an UNCONVENTIONAL HERO just like Donald Trump. To explain, I'll need to provide a brief precis of the film...
In "Dirty Harry", Clint Eastwood plays the role of Harry Callahan, an Inspector with the San Francisco Police Department. Harry is attached to the Homicide division of the Department. The film pits "Dirty" Harry Callaghan against an evil villain called "Scorpio" (this name was chosen because in 1971 when "Dirty Harry" came out, the notorious "Zodiac" serial killer was still at large and active in the San Francisco Bay region of California). "Scorpio" is a sadistic, cowardly, psychopath who tortures murders children and "Dirty Harry" is assigned to the case by the San Francisco PD. The PD knows that Harry Callahan is likely to cause lots of headaches for them due to his habit of taking the law into his own hands and failing to comply with any the Homicide departments official rules and regulations. But Harry's bosses, and put on the case regardless because "Scorpio" must be taken down as a matter of urgency and although he is unorthodox in his methods "Dirty Harry" gets results
"Dirty" Harry Callaghan is a maverick and a law-enforcement anachronism. He guns down bad guys like John Wayne did when he was playing the role of Sheriff of some town in the "Wild West" and bad guys - "gun- slingers" - killers like Jack Palance came riding in looking for trouble. It was all "shoot- first - ask- questions- later" stuff. "Dirty Harry" still has this same, old-fashioned conservative attitude, but law-enforcement in the modern America of 1971 is very different to what it was back in the "good old days" of lawmen like Butch Cassidy and Wyatt Earp. Harry's brash "shoot from the hip" approach to the delivery of justice and law-enforcement generally brings him into continual conflict with his superiors in the Police Department, who chastise him for not doing things "by the book." But Harry and is very stubborn ignores them, he resents the liberal values, obstructive "red tape" and inefficiency of the bureaucratic judicial process (this is probably a dig at the fact that California was and still is notable, to say the least, for its liberal - progressive sentiments), "Dirty Harry", thinks that the law has become too lenient and cannot believe, for example, that murders who are caught red-handed have to be read their "Miranda Rights." Despite the fact he causes a lot of trouble for his Superiors in the San Francisco Police Department by stubbornly refusing to follow the Homicide Department's official rules and regulations when he is in the field, it is Harry they choose to put on the toughest and most urgent cases, because they know that one thing Harry is very good at is getting results and it is imperative that "Scorpio" is taken out of circulation as quickly as possible.
Much is made of Harry's mastery of handguns, and one of Harry Callahan's hallmarks is his favourite weapon the Smith and Wesson .44 Magnum revolver. One of the most famous scenes in the film "Dirty Harry" shows Harry in a street exchanging gunfire with a mob of armed villains ("Scorpio" is not involved in this fracas), as he does, chaos is unleashed all around; there are loud alarms bells ringing in shops, handgun and shotgun blasts, glass windows smashed by bullets, a car crashes into a streetlight pole and flips onto its hood as Harry shoots and kills the bad guy driving it, in the background is the sound of terrified women screaming hysterically. Because of his expertise with handguns, Harry manages to kill all of the villains, except one. This remaining one is wounded and lying on the sidewalk. We see an unruffled Harry walking calmly towards him with his Magnum .44 in hand. When Harry gets to where the villain is lying we see there is a shotgun on the pavement beside that is within his reach. "Dirty Harry" stands above the wounded baddie and coolly aims his Magnum .44 at his head. Then as he notices the wounded gunman's trembling right hand starting to inch ever so stealthily towards the shotgun on the pavement beside him, Harry he says to the guy ...
"I know what you're thinking. 'Did he fire six shots or only five ?' Well to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I kind of lost track myself. But seeing that this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you gotta ask yourself one question. "Do I feel lucky? Well do ya, punk?"( Harry's says these last two sentences through clenched teeth in a hateful "snarling" tone of voice)
The villain decides not to try his luck and gives up. Harry turns and starts to walk away. After he's gone a few yards, the wounded bad guy yells out, "Hey, I gots to know-were you out !?" Harry walks back to where the villain is lying and aims his .44 Magnum directly between his eyes then he slowly squeezes the trigger back, t a look of mortal terror contorts the villain's face, and then, after what seems an eternity we hear a benign "click" issue from Harry's gun - it was empty.
In the film we see that "Dirty Harry" is noble but he is an extreme badass at the same time. He is a very dark "White Knight" - an antihero. As long as any innocents are safe, Harry, will ruthlessly brutally beat, torture and kill his enemies. Harry performs a great service for the community, keeping everyone safe from the predations of violent outlaw and they are thankful, but all the same they would be very reluctant to invite him to Sunday dinner, because he's a very violent and downright "spooky"dude. Interestingly, Harry does have flaws and foibles like every human being; although he is extremely righteous when it comes to blowing away evil-doers like "Scorpio" (who he eventually kills at the end of the movie) Harry is not morally perfect, and we are bemused to discover during the movie that he has a penchant for using his binoculars to spy on naked women in their bathrooms.
Harry is not interested in at all in any promotion or pension within the Police Department, all he wants to do is be out on the streets hunting down and killing the most violent and dangerous criminals. In this regard he is a radical and an outsider; he scorns the dominant (liberal) culture of official law-enforcement in California and does things his own way. "Dirty Harry" basically has a dualistic Manichean worldview insofar as he sees the morality of individuals who make up human society. In his view people are neatly and clearly divided into two groups those who are good and those who are evil. Manichean philosophy teaches that throughout all of human history the Good and the Evil have been locked in a constant struggle. Similarly, Harry's outlook is not nuanced in any way. For him, Good is pure Good and must be defended, and Evil, likewise, is pure Evil and must it be urgently destroyed by whatever means necessary. Moreover, nuance leads to ambivalence and ambivalence can lead to inaction, Harry seems to have has an intuitive appreciation of this, and he believes that when it comes to dealing with utterly evil villains like "Scorpio" there is only one way to resolve the problem and that is with his .44 Magnum - with ruthless, high-powered ACTION. Former President, George W Bush, once said to then Senator Joe Biden, "I don't do nuance" which was a neat encapsulation of US Neoconservative foreign policy at the same. I think "Dirty Harry" would find many aspects of American neo-conservative political philosophy that were adopted by George "Dubbya" Bush's administration very commendable.
THE TRAGIC HERO
The concept of the "Tragic Hero" dates back to classical antiquity where it first appears in the works of Aristotle Aristotle set down quite strict criteria for his notion of the Tragic Hero, and over time the idea has evolved into a less prescriptive form. The modern-era Tragic Hero can be defined as a type of character (usually the protagonist) who has has heroic traits or a set of special skills that s/he uses to bring about morally good or virtuous ends in the community or society in which they live. They earn the praise and respect of others for their deeds, BUT, sadly, they are also fated to have innate character/moral flaws or make mistakes that ultimately lead to their down fall. Tragic Heroes are not only found in works of fiction, be also exist in real life; Lady Dianna Spencer the Princess of Wales is an example that comes readily to mind. likewise the remarkable American War hero General George Patton.
TRUMP, THE "DIRTY HARRY" PRESIDENT OF THE USA
So what has "Dirty Harry" Callahan got to do with Donald Trump ? Well, to begin with I interpret the film "Dirty Harry" as being a political allegory. Because all politics is grounded in questions of morality.
.
The character "Dirty Harry" played by Clint Eastwood cannot serve as the official face of the San Francisco Police Department any more than Donald Trump could appear Presidential in the fashion of Barack Obama. Buy, "Dirty Harry" has the the skills, fearlessness and ruthlessness to ensure that the bad guy - a sadistic, psychopathic serial child murderer, "Scorpio" will never harm the innocent again.
Donald Trump is: crass and uncouth; divisive; offensive; a bully; belligerent; vainglorious; boastful; uncivilised; rude; graceless; boorish; unrefined and so on. Being an Australian who possesses many of these traits naturally as a part of his cultural inheritance, I find them to be perfectly congenial and respectable ! However, many members of the forum (mostly English and American snobs) do not, and are forever venting bitter criticisms of Donald Trump's vulgarity and lack of Presidential decorum and propriety.
History teaches us that Western (consensual) societies reach periods of crisis wherein the conventional established norms and protocols cannot marshall themselves against an existential threat. When these crises afflict societies, within their ranks, people they would never consult in times of leisure, peace and affluence come forward and "step up to the plate."
Donald Trump is very like "Dirty Harry" in a number of ways. To begin with, when he decided to run an a
Republican candidate for the Presidency in the 2016 election, he was an OUTSIDER with no political or military experience. Never before in American history had any candidate without either political or military experience been elected POTUS.
Former President Ronald Reagan, who had a great sense of humour, used this "Dirty Harry" catchphrase in a speech he made in 1985 to the American Business Conference when he promised to veto any tax rises and challenged those who wanted them as follows...
"I have my veto pen drawn and ready for any tax increase that Congress might even think of sending up. And I have only one thing to say to the tax-increasers: GO AHEAD - MAKE MY DAY".
There is a political dimension to the film "Dirty Harry", because the character "Dirty" Harry Callaghan ( who was played by actor Clint Eastwood) is an UNCONVENTIONAL HERO just like Donald Trump. To explain, I'll need to provide a brief precis of the film...
In "Dirty Harry", Clint Eastwood plays the role of Harry Callahan, an Inspector with the San Francisco Police Department. Harry is attached to the Homicide division of the Department. The film pits "Dirty" Harry Callaghan against an evil villain called "Scorpio" (this name was chosen because in 1971 when "Dirty Harry" came out, the notorious "Zodiac" serial killer was still at large and active in the San Francisco Bay region of California). "Scorpio" is a sadistic, cowardly, psychopath who tortures murders children and "Dirty Harry" is assigned to the case by the San Francisco PD. The PD knows that Harry Callahan is likely to cause lots of headaches for them due to his habit of taking the law into his own hands and failing to comply with any the Homicide departments official rules and regulations. But Harry's bosses, and put on the case regardless because "Scorpio" must be taken down as a matter of urgency and although he is unorthodox in his methods "Dirty Harry" gets results
"Dirty" Harry Callaghan is a maverick and a law-enforcement anachronism. He guns down bad guys like John Wayne did when he was playing the role of Sheriff of some town in the "Wild West" and bad guys - "gun- slingers" - killers like Jack Palance came riding in looking for trouble. It was all "shoot- first - ask- questions- later" stuff. "Dirty Harry" still has this same, old-fashioned conservative attitude, but law-enforcement in the modern America of 1971 is very different to what it was back in the "good old days" of lawmen like Butch Cassidy and Wyatt Earp. Harry's brash "shoot from the hip" approach to the delivery of justice and law-enforcement generally brings him into continual conflict with his superiors in the Police Department, who chastise him for not doing things "by the book." But Harry and is very stubborn ignores them, he resents the liberal values, obstructive "red tape" and inefficiency of the bureaucratic judicial process (this is probably a dig at the fact that California was and still is notable, to say the least, for its liberal - progressive sentiments), "Dirty Harry", thinks that the law has become too lenient and cannot believe, for example, that murders who are caught red-handed have to be read their "Miranda Rights." Despite the fact he causes a lot of trouble for his Superiors in the San Francisco Police Department by stubbornly refusing to follow the Homicide Department's official rules and regulations when he is in the field, it is Harry they choose to put on the toughest and most urgent cases, because they know that one thing Harry is very good at is getting results and it is imperative that "Scorpio" is taken out of circulation as quickly as possible.
Much is made of Harry's mastery of handguns, and one of Harry Callahan's hallmarks is his favourite weapon the Smith and Wesson .44 Magnum revolver. One of the most famous scenes in the film "Dirty Harry" shows Harry in a street exchanging gunfire with a mob of armed villains ("Scorpio" is not involved in this fracas), as he does, chaos is unleashed all around; there are loud alarms bells ringing in shops, handgun and shotgun blasts, glass windows smashed by bullets, a car crashes into a streetlight pole and flips onto its hood as Harry shoots and kills the bad guy driving it, in the background is the sound of terrified women screaming hysterically. Because of his expertise with handguns, Harry manages to kill all of the villains, except one. This remaining one is wounded and lying on the sidewalk. We see an unruffled Harry walking calmly towards him with his Magnum .44 in hand. When Harry gets to where the villain is lying we see there is a shotgun on the pavement beside that is within his reach. "Dirty Harry" stands above the wounded baddie and coolly aims his Magnum .44 at his head. Then as he notices the wounded gunman's trembling right hand starting to inch ever so stealthily towards the shotgun on the pavement beside him, Harry he says to the guy ...
"I know what you're thinking. 'Did he fire six shots or only five ?' Well to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I kind of lost track myself. But seeing that this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you gotta ask yourself one question. "Do I feel lucky? Well do ya, punk?"( Harry's says these last two sentences through clenched teeth in a hateful "snarling" tone of voice)
The villain decides not to try his luck and gives up. Harry turns and starts to walk away. After he's gone a few yards, the wounded bad guy yells out, "Hey, I gots to know-were you out !?" Harry walks back to where the villain is lying and aims his .44 Magnum directly between his eyes then he slowly squeezes the trigger back, t a look of mortal terror contorts the villain's face, and then, after what seems an eternity we hear a benign "click" issue from Harry's gun - it was empty.
In the film we see that "Dirty Harry" is noble but he is an extreme badass at the same time. He is a very dark "White Knight" - an antihero. As long as any innocents are safe, Harry, will ruthlessly brutally beat, torture and kill his enemies. Harry performs a great service for the community, keeping everyone safe from the predations of violent outlaw and they are thankful, but all the same they would be very reluctant to invite him to Sunday dinner, because he's a very violent and downright "spooky"dude. Interestingly, Harry does have flaws and foibles like every human being; although he is extremely righteous when it comes to blowing away evil-doers like "Scorpio" (who he eventually kills at the end of the movie) Harry is not morally perfect, and we are bemused to discover during the movie that he has a penchant for using his binoculars to spy on naked women in their bathrooms.
Harry is not interested in at all in any promotion or pension within the Police Department, all he wants to do is be out on the streets hunting down and killing the most violent and dangerous criminals. In this regard he is a radical and an outsider; he scorns the dominant (liberal) culture of official law-enforcement in California and does things his own way. "Dirty Harry" basically has a dualistic Manichean worldview insofar as he sees the morality of individuals who make up human society. In his view people are neatly and clearly divided into two groups those who are good and those who are evil. Manichean philosophy teaches that throughout all of human history the Good and the Evil have been locked in a constant struggle. Similarly, Harry's outlook is not nuanced in any way. For him, Good is pure Good and must be defended, and Evil, likewise, is pure Evil and must it be urgently destroyed by whatever means necessary. Moreover, nuance leads to ambivalence and ambivalence can lead to inaction, Harry seems to have has an intuitive appreciation of this, and he believes that when it comes to dealing with utterly evil villains like "Scorpio" there is only one way to resolve the problem and that is with his .44 Magnum - with ruthless, high-powered ACTION. Former President, George W Bush, once said to then Senator Joe Biden, "I don't do nuance" which was a neat encapsulation of US Neoconservative foreign policy at the same. I think "Dirty Harry" would find many aspects of American neo-conservative political philosophy that were adopted by George "Dubbya" Bush's administration very commendable.
THE TRAGIC HERO
The concept of the "Tragic Hero" dates back to classical antiquity where it first appears in the works of Aristotle Aristotle set down quite strict criteria for his notion of the Tragic Hero, and over time the idea has evolved into a less prescriptive form. The modern-era Tragic Hero can be defined as a type of character (usually the protagonist) who has has heroic traits or a set of special skills that s/he uses to bring about morally good or virtuous ends in the community or society in which they live. They earn the praise and respect of others for their deeds, BUT, sadly, they are also fated to have innate character/moral flaws or make mistakes that ultimately lead to their down fall. Tragic Heroes are not only found in works of fiction, be also exist in real life; Lady Dianna Spencer the Princess of Wales is an example that comes readily to mind. likewise the remarkable American War hero General George Patton.
TRUMP, THE "DIRTY HARRY" PRESIDENT OF THE USA
So what has "Dirty Harry" Callahan got to do with Donald Trump ? Well, to begin with I interpret the film "Dirty Harry" as being a political allegory. Because all politics is grounded in questions of morality.
.
The character "Dirty Harry" played by Clint Eastwood cannot serve as the official face of the San Francisco Police Department any more than Donald Trump could appear Presidential in the fashion of Barack Obama. Buy, "Dirty Harry" has the the skills, fearlessness and ruthlessness to ensure that the bad guy - a sadistic, psychopathic serial child murderer, "Scorpio" will never harm the innocent again.
Donald Trump is: crass and uncouth; divisive; offensive; a bully; belligerent; vainglorious; boastful; uncivilised; rude; graceless; boorish; unrefined and so on. Being an Australian who possesses many of these traits naturally as a part of his cultural inheritance, I find them to be perfectly congenial and respectable ! However, many members of the forum (mostly English and American snobs) do not, and are forever venting bitter criticisms of Donald Trump's vulgarity and lack of Presidential decorum and propriety.
History teaches us that Western (consensual) societies reach periods of crisis wherein the conventional established norms and protocols cannot marshall themselves against an existential threat. When these crises afflict societies, within their ranks, people they would never consult in times of leisure, peace and affluence come forward and "step up to the plate."
Donald Trump is very like "Dirty Harry" in a number of ways. To begin with, when he decided to run an a
Republican candidate for the Presidency in the 2016 election, he was an OUTSIDER with no political or military experience. Never before in American history had any candidate without either political or military experience been elected POTUS.
Last edited:
