Dirty Harry local and federal police committing offences and overstepping their authority by entrapment and obstruction of justice. Author McGilligan, argued that America needed a hero, a winner at a time when the authorities were losing the battle against crime. The box-office success of "Dirty Harry" led to the production of four sequels. In the 2007 film "Zodiac", also set in San Francisco and inspired by the Zodiac Killer, cartoonist Robert Graysmith approaches police detective Dave Toschi at the cinema, where he is watching "Dirty Harry" with his wife. When Graysmith tells Toschi he is going to catch the Zodiac killer, Toschi
Dirty Harry controversy when it was released, sparking debate over issues ranging from police brutality to victims' rights and the nature of law enforcement. Feminists in particular were outraged by the film and at the 44th Academy Awards protested outside the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, holding up banners which read messages such as "Dirty Harry is a Rotten Pig". Jay Cocks of "Time" praised Eastwood's performance as Dirty Harry, describing him as "giving his best performance so far, tense, tough, full of implicit identification with his character". Neal Gabler also praised Eastwood's performance in the film: "There's an incredible pleasure in watching Clint