think we all need at least one really nice positive thing about the
entertainment business every single day of the year, including weekends.
Sometimes it may be something simple, like a video that showcases
something fun and sometimes it may be a movie poster that embraces the
aesthetic we all want Hollywood to aspire to. Sometimes it may be a
long-winded diatribe. Sometimes it’ll be from the staff and extended
family of CHUD.com. Maybe even you readers can get in on it. So, take
this to the bank. Every day, you will get a little bit of positivity
from one column a day here. Take it with you. Maybe it’ll help you
through a bad day or give folks some fun things to hunt down in their
busy celluloid digesting day. 10.25.10 By Elisabeth Rappe Author Page Twitter Page Facebook Page What I’m Thankful For: Clint Eastwood, Dirty Harry, and its effect on my dating life
I’m often asked (and I mean this without a trace of ego) if a movie has changed my life. I have an answer for this that I’ve used a dozen times, but there’s a dark skeleton of a confession lurking in my closet. I’m also asked “What the fuck is it with you and Clint Eastwood?”
Well, I’ve got the answer to both: Dirty Harry changed my life. Clint Eastwood saved me from dating losers. I’m forever thankful to both.
A few years ago, I was feeling especially lonely and desperate. I’d left college, and with it went my entire social circle. I took off and spent a month in England. I came home, expecting certain people in my life to say “Oh, you’re back! Let’s meet up for dinner! Gosh I’ve missed you!” Six months later, I heard through the grapevine that they were unaware I was even home. “Oh, she’s been back? Huh. Thought she was still in London or whatever.” For all they knew or cared, I had drowned in the Thames. Makes a girl’s heart soar, really.
By then I was working online, an avenue which doesn’t exactly help you meet new people, so I decided to suck it up and make an online dating profile. I’d done this before with appalling results, but I was older, wiser, and tougher now. I started emailing back and forth with a few local guys, and immediately found myself terrified by the responses. These guys were, to put it mildly, intense. They were planning for third and fourth dates before we’d gotten to a third email. I remember talking about movies with one guy in particular. He hadn’t seen anything I was talking about, and he got cute with it. “You can lend it to me when we meet!” And lose my collector’s edition forever because I hate you? Just what kind of dating game was this, anyway? Are you naming our children now? Is this normal? Have I been out of it too long?
As I was wondering whether I was just being too harsh or if they were being too needy, Dirty Harry arrived from Netflix. I hadn’t seen it since I was a preteen, when I was utterly unimpressed with Eastwood’s canon, and he was someone that I felt I needed to give another shot.
The timing couldn’t have been better. I put it on and simply said “Holy shit. So this is what a man is.”
I immediately filed it away as a barometer test. I shut off the dating profile. “No way Callahan would be on a site like this!” I was similarly critical when asked out by the wreckage of my social circle. Guys I would have normally been friendly and fair to in the interests of geekdom (“Let’s not be shallow, Elisabeth!”), I refused to go out with. I recognized silly, slobby, and laziness for what they were. The jokesters I convinced myself were Peter Venkman types were just masking a void of personality. When you can’t stop cracking wise long enough to talk to me, you’re not Venkman, you’re a trainwreck. I could see them from a mile away now. I recognized the pattern of complacency that I’d fallen into.
But Eastwood, well, he summed it up. He ain’t perfect, but he knows the score: “I don’t like the wimp syndrome. No
matter how ardent a feminist may be, if she is a heterosexual female,
she wants the strength of a male companion as well as the sensitivity.
The most gentle people in the world are macho males, people who are
confident in their masculinity and have a feeling of well-being in
themselves. They don’t have to kick in doors, mistreat women, or make
fun of gays.“
Confidence, well being, strength. These are traits the “Hey-YO! HA HA!” types at the coffee shop didn’t have. Guys who told me, post-graduation, they would have asked me out “but you were just too intimidating, isn’t it that sad?” couldn’t even comprehend the meaning of the words. Eastwood wouldn’t blame a lady for his lack of gumption. He’d blame himself for his lack of balls. But he wouldn’t have to, because he never lacked a set, so we really don’t even need to go there.
So, yeah. Dirty Harry changed my dating life. I won’t settle for less than a sturdy Eastwood type, no matter how barren the landscape might be. I find he’s the perfect reference point. There are guys who get it, do their best to emulate it, and are found worthy. Those who don’t (“What? You want a guy who shoots you?”) are kicked to the curb, too ignorant in the finer points of the unflappable strut to even be a friend. Yes, it’s a high ideal and not 100% attainable, but you have to have a template, especially in this awful new world of lowered standards.
I shudder to think what would have happened if I hadn’t managed to rediscover the paragon of 1970s cool when I did. Who knows how many days and nights I’d have wasted on some jackass? I might even be dead from some sinister online stalker! I can’t help but be thankful.
27 comments
Well, when you're old and alone, just remember – dogs are better companions than cats. Good luck finding Harry Callahan, you twit.
Damn, Ms. Rappe, strong emotional stuff to be putting out here in the land of kneejerk cynics.
Well, I try. Plus I like watching guys like "unknown user" squirm and reach for his hand lotion, knowing I won't ever fuck him
He's gotta ask himself if he's feeling lucky.
Very thoughtful and interesting. Most guys will never measure up to Clint, but I'd like to think I'm in the same wheelhouse every now and again. I would argue that this kind of article is the perfect kind for this site. I come here to read opinion and get a personality. Any website can report the facts. Only a select few present them from an interesting, hopefully positive, perspective.
Very nice article. I'm glad Clint helped you figure out what too many people never figure out, which was drilled into my head by the wife of an old boss of mine. Figure out what you want in a partner, and don't settle. Clint is awesome, and great that he inspired you in this way.
I think I might love you. Would you accept an Every Which Way But Loose Eastwood?
As the president of the local chapter of 'Rappt Attention', the nationwide fan club devoted to Elizabeth Rappe, I find the forthcoming criticism hard to state. However, I cannot let the "I hadn't seen it since I was a preteen, when I was utterly unimpressed with Eastwood's canon" statement pass without comment. So, you as a PRETEEN went around talking about how you were "unimpressed with Eastwood's canon"? You do understand that comes off as sounding ridiculously pretentious and makes my job of recruiting new members that much harder, right? Work with us here, so that we may achieve our ultimate goal of reinserting you back into the monarchy of Latveria.
Great, honest post. As a guy, being more like Clint is always a good thing. Unfortunately I think that ideal is slowing dying, but there are still good people out there. The internet just makes it easier for the jerks to make themselves known (or post anonymously).
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Look, I'm using the hand lotion right now and I know I'll never hump you but still Liz, you gotta give us geeks a break. Dressing up as Lara croft and looking somewhat decent doing so makes you seem some what unattainable to the average geek. Incidently I know a lady who is 35 and has a similar attitude to the one in this article. She had a bad break up in her early twenties and now she only wants to be with "the perfect man" for her. She's still single, plows through men weekly (who plow her happily) and she's still unhappy and can't get over her bad break up from 15 years ago.
#10, go through my articles. There's probably 3 out of the entire bunch that refers to being a girl. If I wrote under my initials, you couldn't tell me from a dude. And how many articles here are by men, and about being men? Get over it, or find a site that is 100% male (there's plenty of them) so you're not bothered by it. But eventually, you're going to have to come in contact with girl things … or you're gonna have to love men in all respects. Decide.
And thanks, #11, every girl likes being "somewhat decent" to keep her warm at night. This is why I don't give geek guys much of a break anymore. It's too often just shorthand for "not bothering to try."
Liz honey, you are overreacting. What did you want me to say? That you looked exactly like angelina Jolie in a tomb raider outfit? That you looked even better? I was just trying to be modest. You looked pretty damn good. Like I said, the hand lotions out and I know have no chance, but I don't want you to think I'm a total asshole either. Either please keep keeping warm at night and keep these articles coming
Bravo Ms. Rappe. You got balls. Keep up the great writing.
And there's my Girl Tip of the week. With any luck, you'll get it, and someday you won't have to rely on hand lotion.
What I meant to say AS that Girl Tip (thanks, wonky coding) was that I'm perfectly aware I looked like shit in that outfit. It didn't need to be brought up here. At all. Unless you WANT to be a passive-aggressive jerk with a backhanded compliment. What you COULD have done was merely restrict your comments to the piece, and say something positive or negative. Again, take a fucking stand. Don't say anything you can't stand behind 100% — good or bad. And that goes for compliments or criticism.
THAT is my Girl Tip.
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You are awesome. This article is awesome. Don't respond to the trolls. Would Clint Eastwood post in the comments section to these jackasses?
Nice try, Oh Snap Chemicals but she's not going to fuck you either.
Every time Elisabeth Rappe posts an article on CHUD, I buy stock in all the major hand lotion companies.
Nor should she, I am a depressed gelatinous ham monster. My point stands.
…Lis, great artical! Keep up the good work.
Hey Lis, I am right there with you. Being a female in you age group, I know exactly what you mean. Of course, in my case it isn't so much Clint Eastwood as it is Jason Statham but yeah, I think no matter how much of a feminist a woman may claim to be, we like our guys knowing what they want and reaching a point where maybe cats might be preferable than some jerk you settled for because you're afraid to die alone.
Keep the faith Lis!
GREAT ARTICLE, YOU CAN USE MY OFFICE AND AFTERWARDS, MAYBE WE CAN GO TO LUNCH.
Clint Eastwood is a timeless model and could only be accompanied by the likes of James Dean and Brad Pitt. For me personally (a 24 year old military dude), these guys are the embodiment of cool and composed. Now in reference to the article, it read fine and it was refreshing to get a different perspective on an all too common topic – not relationships, but the way cinema permeates our lives. I remember my senior year, when this guy wanted to fight me, I planned on taking the hits and cackling like Tyler Durden – maniacal and without reservation. It was stupid, and the fight never happened, but I couldn't forget how cool Brad Pitt was in that movie – even when Lou was beating the shit out of him.
Nothing more embarrasing than a bunch of internet nerds fawning over a girl on the internert
Nice article Elisabeth. By launching it near a nerd hive you've drawn several clueless knock-kneed dipshits out into the light to witlessly act as contrast to your idea of what makes a man. These negative comments may be lamely passive aggressive or dork-ugly, but on the plus side they only make your points stronger. The haters are impotent. Rise above.
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