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Go ahead, make my day

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Go ahead, make my day.
CharacterHarry Callahan
ActorClint Eastwood
First used inSudden Impact
Voted #6 in AFI's 100 Movie Quotes poll

"Go ahead, make my day" is a catchphrase written by Joseph C. Stinson and spoken by the character Harry Callahan from the 1983 film Sudden Impact. In 2005, it was chosen as #6 on the American Film Institute list, AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes.[1] The "Make My Day Law" passed in most U.S. states, derives its name from this phrase.[2]

Origins

The phrase "go ahead, make my day" was written by Charles B. Pierce, an independent filmmaker who is credited with "story by" in the film "Sudden Impact. The actual origins of the phrase came from Pierce's father Mack, who used to tell him as a child, "Just let me come home one more day, without you mowing that lawn, son just go ahead.....make my day".[citation needed]

In the beginning of the movie, Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) goes into a diner for a morning cup of coffee. When Callahan discovers a robbery in the diner, he kills the robbers in a shootout. However, a surviving robber grabs the fleeing waitress Loretta (Mara Corday), holds his gun to her head, and threatens to shoot. Instead of backing off, Harry points his .44 Magnum revolver into the man's face and dares him to shoot, saying with clenched teeth and in his characteristic rough grumble, "Go ahead, make my day," meaning that if the robber attempts to harm Loretta in any way, Harry would be happy to dispatch the robber. At the end of the film, Harry, again, says "Come on, make my day" just before shooting Mick the Rapist, who aims his stolen shotgun at Jennifer Spencer.

Influence

When speaking out against taxes at the 1985 American Business Conference, President Ronald Reagan stated "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."[3]

Pierce reacted to this saying that his proudest moment was telling his father, "Tonight the President Ronald Reagan of the United States just quoted you."[citation needed]

The movie Sudden Impact became popular in Kenya in the early 1990s. Kenyan kids pronounced 'make my day' as "Makmende" probably due to influence of the local dialects. Over time, Makmende came to be used by children to refer to a those who behaved in a conceited manner.[citation needed] In 2010, Makmende was turned into an Internet sensation all over Kenya's Internet community when Just a Band created a superhero character in the music video of their song "Ha He."[4][5]

During his speech at the 2012 Republican National Convention, Eastwood ended by referencing the line.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Frankly, My Dear, I Don't Give A Damn", AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes, American Film Institute.
  2. ^ "How the 'Make My Day' law cut epidemic of violent burglary", Sunday Telegraph, London, October 31, 2004
  3. ^ Church, George J.; Sam Allis; Barrett Seaman (Mar. 25, 1985). "Go Ahead - Make My Day". Time. Retrieved 18 June 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ ""Ha-He"". Music Video. Just a Band.
  5. ^ Zuckerman, Ethan. ""Makende's So Big He Can't Fit Into Wikipedia"". "Makende's So Big He Can't Fit Into Wikipedia".
  6. ^ http://www.npr.org/2012/08/30/160358091/transcript-clint-eastwoods-convention-remarks

See also

External links

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