Maridel C.

Ducusin BSN III-1

One of the greatest artistic films of all time is none other than Martin Scorseses Taxi Driver. The film is less a realistic drama than it is turmoil of the unconscious. The events depicted in the film could not haven take place in our modern world. Scorsese shows us a Hell on Earth environment, and by taking us out of our world of conventions; the film depicts a seemingly all too real depiction of the human mind, and the potential of its limits. The main aspect of the film captivating story is its exquisite development of the character, Travis Bickle. This man represents every man in his loneliness and potential for violence. His inner psyche is in no way real, but rather a nightmare. By constantly reinforcing the dreamlike nature of the story, the director makes it seem that we are floating in Bickles mind, and everything we see we realize is not the way it really is, but the way he sees it. The narratology of this film makes it no less a documentary of the human mind than it is a story. The method of narration of Taxi Driver is more art cinema. This is shown through the main protagonist, Travis, a quintessential anti-hero, who is psychologically unstable. Bickle is obviously a bad character as he murders with no sign of conscience, and his attitudes towards others throughout the film are disturbing. In Hollywood, films have basic characters that are either good or bad. The audience like the good and hate the bad. Art cinema crosses over and has characters that are both good and bad, who we equally like and dislike. We like Bickle because the film is viewed through his point of view. The good and bad are prominent as Bickle truly believes that his plans to kill Palentine and Sport are for the best. Every individual in society has a set of values that influences others way of thinking. The movie Taxi Driver challenges those values and zooms in on a culturally specific part -the druggies, gangs and prostitutes. The ideological theory can be applied to Taxi Driver to show violence as the ultimate means of cleaning up the filth and bad parts of society. Taxi Driver, directed by Martin Scorcese is a modern day classic movie. It deals with the subject of alienation. The movie is also somewhat disturbing. It is so because of the time period it takes place in. It takes place during a disturbing time for Americans. It is some time after the Vietnam War as well as Nixon's Watergate scandal. It takes place in an urban region. The movie focuses on Denero's character, Travis Bickle. This particular movie focuses more on the psychological craziness of his character. His character is a taxi driver who happens to be a war vet. He is a sort of anti hero type of guy. As a result of his alienation, Bickle lashes out against the world, his enemy. This movie only reminds viewers of DeNero's talent. It resurfaces his talent to truly become the character. It is hard for anyone to tell that he is acting rather than just being himself. He is just so convincing. He takes the roll of his characters so well. The movie does a good job of using visuals to portray what is going on in Travis' mind. There is one scene where he kills a pimp and, let me tell you, it is very bloody. I think that it was necessary, however. It was necessary to depict exactly what state of mind Travis was coping with. It definitely showed the psychological mess going on in Travis' mind. I love the fact that this movie shows how certain things happen for a reason. In other words, if one thing doesn't happen, it may not be followed by what it really is followed by. One example of this is the psychological state of Travis after being dumped. The viewer naturally feels bad for him. Then he meets another man with some sort of psychotically problem. This man wants to kill his cheating wife. This, in a way, is the tip of the ice berg. This is what starts it all in Travis' mind. I love how this use of characters is used.

Scorsese's subtle devices permit the audience to identify the irony associated with Travis's diseased mind because Taxi Driver is not about lowly, disenfranchised street dwellers, but about a man being driven insane by his perceptions. One of those distinct perceptions is Travis's skewed vision of race: he sees every black man as a potential threat to his safety. Scorsese illustrates every black man in the film as a dark figure who appears ready for a confrontation. Ironically, Travis sees himself as a kind of white minority who is being absorbed by a growing criminal class of non-whites. As such, Travis cannot seem to gain the respect of people on the street who view him as a misfit easily intimidated by violence. It is important to note that Travis's racism is indicative of much of the racism in this country where people of color who are victims of economic discrimination are often blamed for the problems that occur in the inner cities. It is critical to recognize the irony here because people of color are usually most at risk of retaliations for violent inner-city crime. Racism is an indelible part of Travis's makeup, but it is important to acknowledge that this is a film about a racist rather than a racist film. Accordingly, this revelation furthers the indictment of the capitalist notion of rugged individualism because the very entrepreneurs of the street drug dealers, pimps, and loan sharks are constantly under the purview of the local police and subject to incarceration. Travis regularly uses narcotics but excoriates "junkies" in his rants. He also employs clichs about women even when he himself is an avid viewer of pornography but feels compelled to come to their aid advancing platitudes about American masculinity in the process.