{"id":234,"date":"2018-05-21T13:49:31","date_gmt":"2018-05-21T18:49:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/academics.winona.edu\/povwinona\/?p=234"},"modified":"2018-05-21T13:49:31","modified_gmt":"2018-05-21T18:49:31","slug":"dirty-harry-the-changing-masculine-ideal-of-1970s-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/academics.winona.edu\/povwinona\/dirty-harry-the-changing-masculine-ideal-of-1970s-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Dirty Harry: The Changing Masculine Ideal of 1970s America"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since their inception, film noirs have provided a running commentary on American masculinity\u2014more specifically, American society\u2019s ideal of masculinity.\u00a0 From The Maltese Falcon<\/em>\u2019s Sam Spade and his one-punch knock-out of the effeminate Joel Cairo to Laura\u2019s <\/em>Mark McPherson saving the titular character from the bookish, possibly gay Waldo Lydecker, film noirs have sent a very clear message that the ideal man is strong, straight, and ready to beat anyone up at a moment\u2019s notice.<\/p>\n

It is within this same vein that Don Siegel\u2019s 1971 Dirty Harry <\/em>presents a tough, no-nonsense male ideal in the form of Clint Eastwood\u2019s eponymous character, who wants nothing more than to carry the biggest gun, solve the case, and perhaps look at some nude women along the way.\u00a0 While the film is largely a celebratory romp within this ideal, it does show hints of self-consciousness, as expressed through the film\u2019s slightly tongue-in-cheek nature with supporting characters apologizing for or explaining away Harry Callahan\u2019s behavior.\u00a0 It is in this way that Dirty Harry <\/em>establishes itself as a neo-noir by representing a period of change where 1970\u2019s audiences reveled in the masculine ideals of film noirs past, all the while knowing that the times were changing, and these ideals could not last.<\/p>\n

Originally a story written by husband and wife team Harry Julian Fink and Rita M. Fink, the screenplay underwent several rewrites with work from Dean Reisner and uncredited work from Terrence Malick, Jo Heims, and John Milius.\u00a0 Clint Eastwood became Harry Callahan only after several actors including Frank Sinatra, Burt Lancaster, and Steve McQueen turned down the role.\u00a0 Eastwood then insisted that Don Siegel be brought on as director.<\/p>\n

\"Clint

Clint Eastwood as Harry Callahan in the title sequence from Dirty Harry.<\/p><\/div>\n

Opening with a female rooftop swimmer dying from sniper-fire, Dirty Harry<\/em> quickly establishes itself as, at the very least, a cop film.\u00a0 As Eastwood\u2019s police inspector Callahan enters the mix, the film quickly transitions from the investigation of a woman\u2019s murder to a wild shoot-out in the streets as Callahan single-handedly stops a bank robbery with his own violent methods.\u00a0 It is at this point that the lines begin to blur between cop and criminal and the film begins to feel more like a noir with a morally ambiguous protagonist.<\/p>\n

While much of the film\u2019s action occurs in high-key daylight sequences, more characteristically dark night scenes later appear, using low-key lighting and chiaroscuro effects.\u00a0 One such scene that works particularly effectively is the rooftop shootout sequence featuring Callahan and his partner, Chico Gonzalez, as played by Reni Santoni, against the serial killer Scorpio, who is loosely based on the real-life Zodiac Killer and portrayed by Andy Robinson.\u00a0 The sequence employs extremely minimal diegetic lighting, including creative uses of rim and colored lights.<\/p>\n