Not to depoliticize a fascist subgenre of film (which I admittedly happen to love), but I think a lot of the appeal of movies like these were because, inherently, people had no idea what cops did or how they kept the peace and enforced justice. It's likely they thought police left HQ every morning and got into one day-long chase with a drug dealer -- a notion movies and shows have never bothered to disprove.
Don't get me wrong, I like a good vigilante cop movie as much as the next man - they're basically urban Westerns - but I do struggle with the "policeman's lot is a lonely one" schtick as an excuse for rampant bigotry. I like my hero cops like Glenn Ford, dammit!
Not to depoliticize a fascist subgenre of film (which I admittedly happen to love), but I think a lot of the appeal of movies like these were because, inherently, people had no idea what cops did or how they kept the peace and enforced justice. It's likely they thought police left HQ every morning and got into one day-long chase with a drug dealer -- a notion movies and shows have never bothered to disprove.
Fromtheyardtothearthouse.substack.com
Don't get me wrong, I like a good vigilante cop movie as much as the next man - they're basically urban Westerns - but I do struggle with the "policeman's lot is a lonely one" schtick as an excuse for rampant bigotry. I like my hero cops like Glenn Ford, dammit!