When did the overhand flashlight hold become dominant in film and television?

In winter 2015, I taught ANTH 381 at McGill University. As a class project, we studied the evolution of flashlight holding in film and television. We started from the observation that in contemporary film and television, flashlights tend to be held in an overhand style, but that in older productions, they tend to be held in an underhand style. Most of the group (perhaps all, my memory is fuzzy) strongly associated the rise of overhand flashlight holding with the crime series CSI, which debuted in 2000. The students that semester may already have been a bit too young to connect the phenomenon with the 90s series X-Files, which I remember as already featuring some overhand flashlight holding.

To prepare for an eventual cultural evolution study of flashlight holding in film, we decided to establish a clear timeline of the change from the dominance of the underhand hold to the dominance of the overhand hold.

Context

Starting in the early 2000s, online debates on flashlight holding note that there was a shift in flashlight holding technique and that “somewhere in the 80’s everyone started holding flashlights overhanded”. One observer notes that “holding the flashlight in front of you [i.e. underhand] is so 20th Century”.

The earliest real-world instance of the overhand hold we found is the Harries Technique, developed in the early 1970s for combat shooting. While it is not uncontroversial, it seems to have have been adopted by a number of law enforcement agencies. Reasons given for the shift from underhand to overhand flashlight holding by law enforcement in the real world range from tactical to ergonomic. But when did the shift start to be reflected in film and television?

Data and Methods

We focused on the period from 1970 to 2010, restricting ourselves to US based drama and crime films, and television series. We queried the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) to produce lists of films and television shows by decade. Using the Excel rand() function, we randomly selected 20 films and 20 television show episodes from each decade from 1970-2010 (see appendix 1 for list). When a production in the sample was unavailable, we replaced it with another random selection.

We watched each film or television show, and recorded each instance of flashlight holding. For each instance, we recorded whether it was underhand, overhand, or other (two handed, between the teeth, under the arm, etc). We summed each type of instance for each half decade and graphed the results. For television shows, we reviewed randomly selected episodes until we found one in which there was an instance of flashlight holding.

For pragmatic reasons, we ended up with uneven coverage of the decades. Since we had a limited time for data collection during the semester, and since not all productions in our sample were readily available, we didn’t have time to complete the sample. The data on films from 1980-84 and television shows from 1995-99 are especially deficient (Table 1). Still, our data paint an interesting picture of the transition from underhand to overhand flashlight holding in American film and television productions from the 1970s to the 2000s.

Results

The earliest instances of overhand flashlight holding in our sample occur in films from 1970-74 (Figure 1). There is a sharp rise in the proportion of overhand holding in television from 29% in the late 1980s to 75% in the early 1990s, to 100% of our sample in the late 1990s. The rise of overhand holding in film is more gradual and reaches a maximum of 76% in the late 2000s.

Overall, combined film and television incidence of overhand flashlight holding in our sample (Figure 2) increases fairly steadily from 7% in the early 1970s to 76% in the late 2000s.

Discussion

We were surprised to find that the earliest instances of overhand flashlight holding went back as far the early 1970s for film. Early instances include an overhand hold in M*A*S*H The Movie as early as 1970 and 4 instances in Airport 77. However, the spread of the overhand technique was fairly slow and uneven.  In Alien (1979), for example, only 2 of 13 recorded flashlight holds are overhand, and none in the sampled episode of CHiPs, the central theme of which is the daily operations of motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol. The iconic chase sequence in E.T. The Extraterrestrial (Figure 3, not included in our sample), in which flashlight beams shine up through the fog, would have been impossible with the use of an overhand technique.

Figure 3: Underhand flashlight holding in ET: The Extraterrestrial (1982)

The Harries technique was developed in the early 1970s, and these observations suggest there might have been some precursors that had an impact on film and television. We were even more surprised to see that the dominance of the overhand hold was well established in television by the early 1990s, a full decade before the launch of CSI. The combined proportion of overhand holding actually drops in the early 2000s, the decade in which we expected it to dominate because of the launch of CSI.

It is interesting to note that while the overhand hold occurs first in film, it grows much faster in television. There are also indications of a peak in overhand hold in television during the late 1990s, followed by a decline in the 2000s. However, while our sample included 9 television shows (our target was 10) from 2000-04, it only includes 2 for 2005-10. The decline in the early 2000s might very well be real, but there is very little we can currently say about whether it actually continues in the late 2000s.

In film, the dominance of the overhand hold seems slower to become established, but also seems more durable. From 1985 until 2000, the proportion of overhand holds in film grows only from 30% to 50%. However, it continues to grow and reaches 76% in the late 2000s.

Next steps

We selected 1970 as a starting point because we initially expected the overhand hold to be introduced later, perhaps at some point in the 1980s, after a period of development and application in the real world. Now that we know that it originated much earlier, it would be interesting to extend our sample back in time to see if there are precursors that pre-date the introduction of the Harries technique. It would also be interesting to extend the time frame to 2015 to see whether the dominance of the overhand hold continues, especially in television, where it appeared to be declining.

We also need to study the forces that favoured the change from underhand to overhand hold. While tactical and ergonomic factors related (literally) to survival affect the overhand hold’s success in real-world law-enforcement, we expect that different factors are at work in film and television. The students in the class proposed a number of possible avenues for this. We could, for example, look at box office numbers (or film reviews) and ratings of lead actors to see if the spread is an instance of prestige, or perhaps success based copying. It would be interesting to do a network analysis of the people involved in the earliest productions that feature overhand holds and what role they might have played in its dissemination over time through different productions. Some students suggested that factors related to film production, such as ease of lighting, might have favoured the spread of the overhand hold. This should be evaluated by interviewing film professionals. We need to include a closer study of training manuals to determine to what extent the prominence of overhand holds in film and television mirrors its development in law enforcement training and practice, beyond the simple correlation between the development of the Harries Technique and the introduction of the overhand hold in 1970s film.

Conclusion

The transition from mainly underhand to mainly overhand flashlight holding in American crime dramas began in the early 1970s. By the mid-1990s, the overhand hold was dominant in television and widespread in film.

Note: This was a collective work. If student participants wish to be identified by name, please contact me.

 

Appendix 1

Type	Title	Date	Time period	Underhand	Overhand	Both	Other
movie	M*A*S*H*	1970	1970	2	1	0	0
movie	The Liberation of L.B. Jones	1971	1970	1	0	0	0
tv	Columbo season 1	1971	1970	1	0	0	0
tv	McMillan & Wife	1971	1970	4	0	0	0
movie	Super Fly	1972	1970	1	0	0	0
movie	Across 110th Street	1972	1970	1	0	0	0
tv	M*A*S*H* season 1	1972	1970	1	0	0	0
tv	Benacek season 1	1972	1970	0	0	1	0
tv	The Snoop Sisters	1972	1970	1	0	0	0
tv	The Streets of San Fransisco	1972	1970	2	0	0	0
movie	Papillon	1973	1970	4	0	0	0
movie	Badlands	1973	1970	1	0	0	0
tv	M*A*S*H* season 2	1973	1970	1	0	0	1
tv	Columbo season 2	1973	1970	1	0	0	0
movie	The Manhandlers	1974	1970	1	0	0	0
movie	The Sugarland Express	1974	1970	0	1	0	0
movie	Act of Vengeance	1974	1970	0	0	0	1
tv	Banacek season 2	1974	1970	1	0	0	0
tv	M*A*S*H* season 3	1974	1970	2	0	0	0
movie	Dog Day Afternoon	1975	1975	2	1	0	0
movie	All the President’s Men	1975	1975	2	0	0	0
tv	police story	1975	1975	3	3	2	0
movie	marathon man	1976	1975	1	0	0	0
tv	Police woman	1976	1975	3	1	0	0
tv	columbo	1976	1975	3	1	0	0
tv	quincy m.e.	1976	1975	1	0	0	0
movie	airport 77	1977	1975	6	4	0	0
tv	the incredible hulk	1977	1975	2	1	0	0
tv	CHiPS	1977	1975	2	0	0	0
movie	game of death	1978	1975	1	0	0	0
movie	midnight express	1978	1975	1	0	0	0
movie	Escape from Alcatraz	1979	1975	1	5	0	0
movie	Alien	1979	1975	11	2	0	0
movie	The Onion Field	1979	1975	4	1	1	0
movie	Apocalypse Now	1979	1975	0	1	0	0
tv	the rockford files	1979	1975	2	0	1	0
movie	The Blues Brothers	1980	1980	2	0	0	0
movie	An Eye for an Eye	1981	1980	1	0	0	0
movie	The Escape Artist	1982	1980	1	0	0	0
tv	Remington Steele S01	1982	1980	8	2	1	0
movie	Eddie Macon’s Run	1983	1980	1	0	0	0
tv	Philip Marlowe, Private Eye S01	1983	1980	0	1	0	0
tv	Hardcastle and McCormick S01	1983	1980	2	1	0	0
tv	Miami Vice S01	1984	1980	0	0	1	0
tv	Miami Vice S02	1984	1980	1	0	0	4
tv	Knight Rider S01	1984	1980	1	1	0	0
tv	Stingray S01E08	1985	1985	2	0	0	0
tv	Street Hawk S01E01	1985	1985	1	0	0	0
movie	Manhunter	1986	1985	2	0	0	1
movie	The Big Easy	1986	1985	2	0	0	0
movie	Cobra	1986	1985	1	0	0	0
movie	At Close Range	1986	1985	6	0	0	0
tv	Matlock S01E10	1986	1985	1	0	0	0
movie	Suspect	1987	1985	3	0	0	0
movie	Throw Momma from the Train	1987	1985	0	0	1	0
tv	21 Jump Street S01E04	1987	1985	1	0	0	0
tv	Jake and the Fatman S01E10	1987	1985	1	0	0	0
movie	Tequila Sunrise	1988	1985	5	4	0	0
movie	Colors	1988	1985	2	1	1	0
movie	Above the Law	1988	1985	0	1	0	0
movie	The Presidio	1988	1985	1	0	0	0
tv	Mission Impossible S01E15	1988	1985	1	2	0	0
tv	Alfred Hitchcock Presents S04E01	1988	1985	1	0	0	0
tv	Tales From the Crypt S01E02	1989	1985	1	0	0	0
tv	Deke Wilson’s Mini-Mysteries (Episode: Blind Man’s Bluff)	1989	1985	1	2	1	0
movie	The Hot Spot	1990	1990	0	1	0	0
tv	law and order season 1 episode 6	1990	1990	0	2	0	0
tv	Top Cops: Mike Eubanks and Bob Kurowski	1990	1990	0	1	0	0
movie	Keaton’s Cop	1990	1990	1	0	0	0
movie	Kindergarten Cop	1990	1990	2	0	0	0
movie	Homicide	1991	1990	3	0	0	0
movie	The Dream Machine	1991	1990	0	0	0
tv	Forever Knight season 1 episode6	1992	1990	1	0	0	0
tv	Silk Stalkings season 1 episode 20	1992	1990	0	1	0	0
tv	Mann & Machine episode 6	1992	1990	0	1	0	0
tv	The Hat Squad”Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous	1992	1990	0	1	0	0
movie	A Perfect World	1993	1990	1	1	0	0
tv	Diagnosis Murder season 1 episode 6	1993	1990	1	0	0	0
tv	Broken Badges season 1 epidosde 1	1993	1990	0	1	0	0
movie	One man Army	1994	1990	0	1	0	0
movie	Blink	1994	1990	1	0	0	0
movie	Shawshank Redemption	1994	1990	1	0	0	0
tv	Scales of Justice season 2 episode 3	1994	1990	0	1	0	1
tv	Due South season 1 episode 3	1994	1990	1	1	0	0
movie	Raw Justice	1994	1990	0	1	0	0
movie	Money Train	1995	1995	2	1	0	1
movie	Things to do in Denver When You’re Dead	1995	1995	0	1	0	0
tv	Millenium	1996	1995	0	4	0	0
movie	Incognito	1997	1995	1	0	0	0
movie	Traveller	1997	1995	2	0	0	0
movie	Body Count	1998	1995	1	1	0	0
movie	Fallen	1998	1995	0	1	1	0
movie	Desperate Measures	1998	1995	3	0	0	0
movie	The Siege	1998	1995	1	0	0	0
tv	Da Vinci’s Inquest	1998	1995	0	1	0	0
movie	Lethal Weapon 4	1998	1995	1	1	0	0
movie	Three Kings	1999	1995	0	1	0	0
movie	Our lips are sealed	2000	2000	0	1	0	0
tv	Arrest and Trial, S1	2000	2000	2	0	0	0
tv	Without A Trace, S.	2000	2000	0	0	0	2
movie	The fast and the furious	2001	2000	2	0	0	0
movie	Spy Game	2001	2000	1	0	0	0
movie	Paid in Full	2002	2000	0	1	0	0
tv	Trailer Park Boys, S2	2002	2000	1	0	0	0
tv	The District, S3	2002	2000	2	0	0	0
tv	The Shield, S.1	2002	2000	0	1	0	0
tv	Monk, S.1	2002	2000	2	0	0	0
movie	Tears of the Sun	2003	2000	0	1	0	0
movie	S.W.A.T	2003	2000	0	0	1	0
tv	Forensic Factor, S1	2003	2000	1	0	0	0
movie	Suspect Zero	2004	2000	0	0	1	0
tv	The Handler, S1	2004	2000	1	0	0	0
tv	Dog the Bounty Hunter, S.1	2004	2000	0	3	0	0
movie	Chasing Ghosts	2005	2005	0	3	0	1
movie	Hot Tamale	2006	2005	0	2	0	0
movie	Pineapple Express	2008	2005	2	0	0	0
movie	The Dark Knight	2008	2005	0	3	0	1
movie	Lakeview Terrace	2008	2005	1	4	0	0
movie	The Stepfather	2009	2005	1	1	0	0