Aspects of Movie Taxi Driver - Essay Example

Taxi Driver Introduction Taxi Driver depicts a scenario that describes the emotional and psychological struggles of Vietnam war veterans who face social isolation and identity crisis in 1970s American society. The film can be defined as a film that deals with the issue of returning Vietnam veterans and their reaction to the social ignorance and decay. Indeed, this essay follow Steven Ross who argues, “Military movies of the seventies and eighties need to be read, first, in the context of the national debate over Vietnam, and, secondly, in the context of the post-Vietnam syndrome” (Ross 282). While one might not initially consider Taxi Driver a military movie, this essay examines the 1970s historiography in asserting that its underlining concerns relate to and are motivated by the Vietnam War. In an overall perspective, the film provides a hard hitting treatment of the state of 1970s American society. The fact that the hero feels for the ills in the society is in itself a clear message to the citizens to awake and free themselves of the increasing social ignorance that sidelines moral responsibility and rightful conduct in that society. Ultimately, these times and lifestyles are a big impact on life changing decisions. These decisions may not become clear after they are extracted. This essay will examine these historical perspectives from the perspective of the protagonist, Travis Bickle. Historiography: Travis Bickle In Taxi Driver Martin Scorsese highlights many occurrences in 1970s American society that motivate Travis Bickle. A retired war veteran, Travis Bickle returns to his home town only to witness the decadence of the society and the lack of values that seems to plague it. Here we see the veteran who cannot integrate himself back into society, and so feels socially alienated. We see that he finds himself in a no mans land where he seems to be quite lonely and distraught over the changes that have happened to the society that he left a few years before. The values that he fought for, the ideals that he stood for and the dreams that he hoped to fulfill on returning to America from the treacherous valleys where he fought a daily war, seems so distant and alien to him. He is mentally agonized to see that the world around him has transformed so rapidly that he seems to be a total misfit in a place that does not seem to hold any values or scruples. He sees that the values for which he had fought for so long is almost non-existent and that the world is run by a different set of rules: a different game altogether. We doubt whether the main protagonist is weary of the lack of opportunities that came his way in Vietnam or whether he is totally disgusted with the pace of change that has gripped his land. He is so much angered at the loss of values and social propriety that he is prompted to take to violence and implement justice all by himself. The Vietnam War was thrust on the people of America and nobody wanted the veterans of a war that in the end caused the superpower to beat a retreat. Similarly, the society was changing to the whims and fancies of a few who could exercise control over the whole population. In integrating the war into the prevalent social maladies, Travis Bickle comes in as a loner who is totally delineated from his surroundings. He is as a separate entity who watches the mad rush of the society with a nonchalant eye. Travis Bickle is cast as a witness to the happening in the society. We see that he observes, decides and then goes in to mete out justice for what he thinks could have been a gross violation of the human dignity. Famiglietti (1995) argues that the character exemplifies the awakening of the consciousness in a decayed and spent body (alias, the society) that is seeking to recover itself from the years of injustice and torture committed on it. When considering this claim within psychoanalytic perspectives, one is drawn to Wood (2003) who argues in Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan that, “Relevant here is Freuds scarcely disputable contention that civilization is built on repression which accounts for the fundamental dualism of all art: the urge to reaffirm and justify that repression, and the urge of rebellion, the desire to subvert, combat, overthrow” (Wood 42). Indeed, it seems that a great deal of Bickles motivations can be identified as a repressive element of society, lashing out at Travis runs amuck through the underworlds of America killing and implementing his own style of justice: a pointer that the society needs to react, fast and hard. In this perspective, the hero typifies the angry face of the society, which seeks to fulfill its inner urge for justice. Travis represents the pent up emotions of the society that is constrained to follow the dictates of a few self concerned people. We see the disillusionment with freedom and opulence, which has caused people to veer away from morality and right conduct. In fact, the whole film is set in the perspective of a rebel who fights to establish order and justice in society. We feel that the Travis is slowly falling into a trap, which he may not be able to break and set himself free. ""Ive got all these thoughts, you know bad thoughts... I feel like Im gonna do something bad" (Famiglietti, 1995). We see a person who wants a patient ear to listen to his woes and tensions. This is motivated by the falling standards of 1970s America, which does not even care to understand the inner feelings of a person who is forced to confront the society. Travis, who is a hardened war veteran, is not in a position to handle the rejection that he faces at home and destroys himself by subjecting his body to alcohol, drugs and junk food: all symbols of this new America. However, his inner self constantly yearns to be the old strong and reliable soldier, who is strong in body, mind and spirit. The fact that these goals are not achieved by Travis signifies the failing battle of the people who are tormented psychologically due to rejection. Nicole Rafter states in Shots in the Mirror: Crime Films and Society, "Travis Bickle, a Vietnam Vet turned cabdriver, cant stand the ‘filth of New York City … Here the state has failed completely: By sending Travis to Vietnam, it turned this man into a pathological monster" (Rafter 212). Back home after his stint in the killing fields at Vietnam, Travis yearns to become someone with an identity, but ultimately ends up as a deranged psychotic person who seeks to correct the wrongs of the society in his own style. That Travis considers the society responsible for the problems in his life corresponds with the thought processes of thousands of post war veterans who still feel that the society has not been sympathetic to their efforts at war. Perhaps it is the defeat at the hands of inexperienced and hugely inferior army that urges Travis to prove himself as something that he can be proud of, unlike his countrys performance in Vietnam, which drew much flak from the public. Travis belongs to a social group that has failed, and failure is a crime that the society does not pardon. "Travis looks at himself in the mirror and utters the most frequently quoted lines in the film: You talking to me? You talking to me? You talking to me...Well Im the only one here." Travis practices the role of the type of man he would like to be and calls to mind the anxiety embedded in the process of striving for this masculine ideal in the American post-Vietnam era.” (Gale, 2002) It must be noted that Travis comes back to the society after enduring a war that took a heavy toll of lives. However, we see that he ultimately takes to arms and decides that only violence can solve important issues of the society. The film talks about the alienation of people whose contributions may have been forgotten and their response to it. We see alienation and rejection of people as an important theme of the film, and the way in which they set out to solve these problems in their own impetuous fashion is also dissected in detail. Travis blood bath only proves that punishment in the form of violence will only alienate the aggressor from the mainstream of the society even though his excuses for committing violence may be justified. In this aspect, the film evokes sympathy but does not provide concrete solutions to the issues at hand. Conclusion Taxi Driver talks about the mental struggles of a war veteran who has returned to America only to be alienated by his own people. The film highlights the aversion and loneliness that people unwanted by the society feels. The film raises an aversion to war in the viewers, because of the social compulsions that it causes. High sounding and patriotic words are analyzed in a new light, when the post war scenario is vividly shown in screen. The life of the hero in his nasty surroundings with its despicable conditions is enough to elicit criticism against social decadence and lack of values. The personal torture and disillusionment which Travis faces is particularly sympathetic. Films that depict actual life situations have been always popular with the American people, particularly if they have hard hitting content in them. These films depict the life of celebrated people, whose lives are masked in a veil of propaganda and deceit. The film Taxi Driver truly describes the emotional and psychological struggles of desperate war veterans who face social isolation and identity crisis in the American society. References Famiglietti, Ben (1995), "The Western Revisited in Martin Scorseses Taxi Driver", retrieved from http://www.film.queensu.ca/Critical/Famiglietti.html on March 3, 2010. Gale, (2002), "Taxi Driver", St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, 2002 Gale Group, 2002 3. Rafter, Nicole. Shots in the Mirror: Crime Films and Society. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000, 212. Ross, Steven. ed. (2002). Movies and American Society. MA: Blackwell Publishers. Wood, Robin. (2003). Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan. Columbia University Press. Read More