Taxi Driver - The Perfect Antihero

Travis Bickle is known as one the greatest characters in film history, but why? Why is he so compelling? Because he is the perfect antihero.
I explore the moral ambiguity in Taxi Driver in this video essay. If you like it, please hit like and subscribe to my channel! More video essays to come!
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Check out my newest essay "The Blair Witch Project - Perfecting Psychological Horror" @ • The Blair Witch Projec...
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[@gilligan80]

People make several assumptions based on his inner dialogue.... im sure EVERYONE has some inner dialogue that would freak others out

[@FilthyNobeard]

Yeah, that's if you just stop in someone's brain for a hot second and leave soon after without getting any context. There wasn't a director deliberately parsing out our thoughts and feelings for the general consumption of other people. Huge huge difference between those two things. You gotta conclude that all those thoughts that we're privy to are especially relevant and helpful in interpreting who the protagonist is and what they're doing.

[@gilligan80]

@@FilthyNobeard so wait.... you're saying its different.... or what.... way too long winded

[@channingparker9431]

There are a few individuals who have the tech to actually see what youre thinks. If you ask me, thats reason enough to kill a few people and not feel bad about it.

[@inhumanfilth681]

@@ButchersNailsEnjoyer can confirm

[@giannispilarinos4552]

@@ButchersNailsEnjoyer im sorry for you dude. Dont listen to those ignorant psycho fucks

[@damducttape8403]

If Travis was a billionaire with a compassionate butler, Taxi Driver would have been the best Batman movie ever made

[@gc3k]

American Psycho

[@vanlalkimhangsing4250]

Y'know something eerie? Warner Bros. was making a Batman origin story reboot directed by Darren Aronofsky in the early 2000's, with the original concept seeing Bruce Wayne being a penniless drifter after the deaths of his parents, who becomes frustrated with the societal disarray in Gotham City and eventually becomes a brutal and violent vigilante. Sound familiar, yet?

[@j.clementec.m.1558]

@@vanlalkimhangsing4250 bruh moment

[@evanbeaty9735]

It also would’ve been the first

[@Leon-zu1wp]

Batman is a hero, a real hero who can see the good in his city and good in everyone including someone like the Joker. Travis is a war veteran who hates everybody in his city and is broke. He has a journey to protect his 12 year old niece from degenerates by murdering them in cold blood. He's the Punisher.

[@absolutegarbage3654]

"We inhabit a community"-The Jester

[@waldinipanini6379]

Crazy how the hotline Miami series is so similar to taxi driver and it’s vibe

[@redlord1660]

@@waldinipanini6379 I didn't think of it like that. Cool

[@anonymousmobster2444]

"Art thou attempting communication with me?" -Travus Bicklus

[@safeyorange2206]

I feel like nobody talks about how godly the score is

[@davidkrebs1853]

Everyone sees Scorcece sitting in the background when Betsy walks by right?

[@RedFlagSaid]

sure, the guy was bummed out about his wife.

[@historiadelaciencia6860]

Scorsese*

[@Brytons_Thoughts]

I was watching that clip in this video and I didn't notice that until now. Pure brilliance.

[@gc3k]

Nobody's ever noticed that in 43 years

[@paulorlando5877]

He's in the movie twice back of cab and sitting at. Pallantines headquarters.

[@christiannewaye7306]

fun fact the cashier at the theater was Robert De Niro's girlfriend

[@fmellish71]

and also his love interest in the king of comedy

[@Suave121]

@@fmellish71 oh shit I was wondering where I saw her from

[@lukebradley4660]

And later his wife

[@randywhite3947]

Luke Bradley and then his ex wife

[@oscarleon4183]

@@lukebradley4660 that's nice

[@paulorlando5877]

I used to drive a cab in Brooklyn at night, you would be amazed the things you see.

[@rmorton8281]

Is it any better now?

[@SwiftyEmpire]

What would you see?

[@ismanismun5736]

I saw manything here 😎

[@dbeaus]

I drove a Yellow and Checker in Chicago in 73-74. My wife said I should write a book but I said no one would believe it. You hear a million stories and have many experiences, some good, most not. The difference between nights and days is unbelievable. It is true, we used to say everything that crawls comes out after 8PM. The longer you went into the night, the worse it got. Most night drivers quit around midnight, after that it got too weird. Almost every night driver carried a gun. Some of them used it. I never worked past 10, it wasn't worth it.

[@JG-dt3of]

Daniel Batitsas somthing like this would get big on reddit you should make a post about it. Plus am also interested.

[@GearZenChannel]

Uh, you left out the whole part about his planning to assasinate a presidential candidate.

[@Lospollos24]

Gear Zen and being racist

[@johnrife7134]

Porn addict, pill addict, violent,

[@TheAlmightyLoli]

@@johnrife7134 Add to that homophobic, possessive of women, short tempered, Travis is kind of a massive piece of shit. 😂

[@Jose-se9pu]

Really, I was watching this video and thinking "did this guy even see the movie?"

[@jemperdiller]

@@Lospollos24 He shot the armed robber! Dats raycist!

[@cartoonvandal]

As Dostoevsky asked, we're his actions driven by his rejection of the world or the world's rejection of him?

[@CinemaWizardBoy]

Funny that you mention Dostoevsky. I just recently started reading Crime and Punishment and there are definitely some parallels to this film. I feel like if Taxi Driver were two hours longer Bickle would become more like Raskolnikov by contemplating the psychological effects of murdering pimps and drug dealers. Maybe a sequel is in order with Taxi Driver: THE RETURN. De Niro will be playing a 30 year old in some scenes of The Irishman so hopefully it's not too much to ask :)

[@cartoonvandal]

Absolutely, I'm currently re-reading the novel for perhaps the fifth time and the parallels are certainly there - which, of course, is why I was drawn to your video. I would be interested to know if Schrader or even Scorsese had Crime and Punishment in mind when working on the film. I've long been fascinated by the moral ambiguity associated with the killing of what Raskolnikov would call a 'louse' or evem 'less than a louse' if that one murder directly benefited countless other individuals - not that I would ever act upon such an idea :)

[@zippyacid5969]

Emerald City I get the thinking regarding Crime and Punishment but I’ve always thought it was more Dostoyevsky’s Notes From Underground - which I’ve seen Paul Schrader mention as well.

[@malikvaljevac1355]

Dostoyevsky is the best ;).

[@Kherian888]

You are so right

[@vilentman111]

Taxi driver is simply about a man suffering from shell shock. You know it’s funny people hardly bring up the fact that Travis was in Vietnam, and it actually makes perfect sense he’s suffering from some kind of ptsd throughout the movie. There’s a lot to talk about, but essentially he can’t sleep, gets headaches, day drinks, constantly pushes everyone away from him and you tell me that it doesn’t explain why Travis is so transfixed on the bubbling glass of water. It’s basically a horror/drama about how war can change a mans life, and how many soldiers after Vietnam were not given the proper mental help that they needed to come back into society. Fuck even the way he sleeps, with his combat jacket on just lying facing the wall. He’s always on edge, and he projects his feelings onto the City of New York

[@bertramwinslowiii2119]

Yes, it could be shell shock (these days called PTSD) or it could be a number of other things, including major depression, alienation, paranoia...

[@Mf-xk7tm]

@@bertramwinslowiii2119i think he has schizophrenia or bipolar that was either caused by or extremely worsened by his ptsd from vietnam

[@paul_eau]

My interpretation is that Travis was lonely before going to vietnam and volentiered to be in the marines just so he can get a sense of purpose and belonging, similar to the beginning of the movie when he applies to be a taxi driver. The "movie restart" interpretation does confirm this interpretation.

[@gw9226]

Travis is not a hero, antihero or villan He is a... "Walking contradiction"

[@muhammaddawood4382]

He hates the "Filth" around him, yet he takes Betsy to Porn Theatre and watches Pornographic movies on a daily basis. He hates the pimps but he has no problem with watching the act on a daily basis. He is a walking contradiction

[@miloandot]

@@muhammaddawood4382 Were all walking contradictions.

[@Brandonhayhew]

The walking contradiction is a representation of Travis

[@ProjectRevoltNow]

Nah he's just an Anti-Hero

[@goldendoodlegaming480]

A prophet and a pusher

[@mightquinnable]

What people worried about in the “Joker” is what was established in the “taxi driver”

[@user-wo1hg3vi7b]

finally someone with a hunter x hunter icon not saying some stupid shit

[@mightquinnable]

κοιλιόδουλος 🤣🤣🤣

[@pheunithpsychic-watertype9881]

Except they had a better sense of a movie's just a movie then compared to modern pearl clutchers. Not saying they didnt exist then but they were easier to ignore

[@mightquinnable]

Pheunith: Psychic-Water Type this also brings up 1993’s falling down.

[@monkeyslug5521]

GOON epic gon profile picture

[@stephenwarhurst6615]

Taxi Driver shows how the governments spend money to train a man to be and live as a soldier at war but after they return from war they never get train to go back to live normal civil life

[@NonnysHouse]

I agree. Same with prison... there should be some attempt to help people find ways to live that don't involve harm to self or others. This is how we fail as a nation.

[@yourbro8906]

@@NonnysHouse this is how we fail as a world

[@johnfkennedy8281]

@@NonnysHouse theirs plenty of re entry programs for inmates. After doing my time in prison, before i could go home i was sent to a 90 day program to help inmates back into society. A lot of inmates would fail cause they were to excited to return to a life style that led them to prison to begin with. It was a good program. Taught us to take accountability, to seel help when we know we have a problem to get involved in more productive activity and all over all to change our thinking patterns. Unfortunately a lot of inmates would return to prison just weeks after being released from the program due to like i said. To excited to return to the life style of fast women, getting high and making quick money. They failed to see that was what begin their slow journey to prison, a world where primitive behavior ruled.

[@schizoidboy]

There isn't much explained about Travis's time in Vietnam so that is open to wide speculation. Some veterans commented that his character most likely would have came into the military with issues which is possible because at one point the education and health standards of some draftees was lowered to a level under normal circumstances they wouldn't have been enlisted. Travis could have been one of these soldiers, we don't know; again all we know is he served in the Marines and said his discharge was honorable. For all we know they just had him drive officers around all day. Like the ending it is open for speculation.

[@KB4QAA]

@@schizoidboy I discussed 'homeless vets situation" with a VA psychiatrist. He finally opened up and discussed that a fair number of people go into the military because they can't succeed in life, often have latent mental problems or vulnerabilities and can only function in the structured environment. Put them in combat and its' not a surprise they are more likely to have increased mental problems.

[@anatolearakelian8454]

I always took his desire to work long hours as him trying to stay busy to escape his thoughts

[@NASkeywest]

The scene when Travis is watching couples dance on American Bandstand, alone, with his gun was amazing. No dialogue but just the look he gave was awesome.

[@kendrinawaskoro3031]

he's a ticking time bomb...but aren't we all? you right.

[@damianstarks3338]

Couldn't agree more.

[@gadellomagnollo1810]

I. Wynn Wynn yes, but men try to change the world, for the better or the worse, far more than women, wouldn’t you say?

[@Cj-xt6tv]

I. Wynn Wynn Shut your face, you are stupid

[@nefariouscritter2436]

@I. Wynn Wynn nice bait

[@leachy.mp4969]

Kendri Nawaskoro thay was so cheesy and cliche

[@cynical_serb6172]

I like to think the ending is literal and the part where he looks into the mirror is just to show that he is just as mentally ill as before and that he isn't finished with his crusade against what he perceives as evil.

[@Bymyself100]

@mydeathwish6998spot on, thats why he talk’s and looks at the politicians and pimps with digust. They are at the top

[@DrJ-hx7wv]

It's not perception.

[@wojakthecrusader1410]

Not perception but realism. It's fact most of these degenerates pimp are the reason he would do such thing in the first place. What would you do if you are in his shoe? Call the police? Yeah good luck with that, keep in mind this was back in 70 when pedophilia wasn't talked alot unlike nowaday.

[@dsbiddle]

Seems Betsy didn’t get in that cab by accident. I thought that Betsy was interested in possibly resuming the relationship now that Travis is a hero but Travis does not take the opportunity. In a classy way, he doesn’t charge her for the fare, says goodbye, and politely drives off in a way of showing his anger at Betsy and that situation is resolved.

[@ubcroel4022]

Any reasoning for your hypothesis?

[@dsbiddle]

@@ubcroel4022 it’s been a while since Insaw the movie now but it’s just the way the movie seemed to imply it. She seemed interested in Travis when she got in that cab and didn’t seem like she was surprised to see him. As much as he was into her before, he seemed over it. He made some polite chit chat and didn’t charge her the fare. Seemed his way of showing he is that he’s over it and in control of those feelings. I forget why he was angry with her earlier. She was seeing some guy, right?

[@roshansreedhar4727]

That's a good interpretation. Alternatively, Betsy actually doesn't care about Travis beyond what she read "in the papers", but Travis thinks she does so he acts distant to "get back at her". Another real reaction to an imagined slight.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

A small book about the film I read published in Britain described Betsy as a "star-f&&ker". It was more damning about her than this review but it gave some credence to the idea that she was interested in re-starting a relationship with Travis now he was a "hero".

[@Sheriffwoodie860]

Travis is the hero in HIS story, but the villain in Scorsese's.

[@ThaqtRamone]

perspective is what it all comes down to at the end of the day...

[@anonymousmobster2444]

He is the noble hero like all the rest on the surface and a twisted demon underneath. A walking contradiction.

[@judsongaiden9878]

Kirk Douglas's description of Michael Douglas's character, Bill "D-FENS" Foster from Falling Down, also fits Travis: "He's both the victim and the villain."

[@elijahaitaok8624]

He’s a villain to pimps

[@silversnail1413]

Scorsese doesn't depict Travis as either hero or villain. That's too simplistic. He depicts him as a victim. The ending was left somewhat open and inconclusive for a reason, and that's because they wanted the audience to draw their own conclusions. In my opinion, the real villain of the film is NYC itself.

[@TheJasonCombee76]

One of greatest films ever.

[@MandenTV]

Never understood how some people can get upset about him killing the guys exploiting and hurting Iris. He didn't do anything wrong by killing them and freeing her.

[@gtas321]

If you don't see anything wrong with killing someone then you've got mental issues.

[@pgmlivegameur]

Throw communists out of helicopters people are upset at him because he isn’t solving anything. Hell, he probably just gave iris ptsd and all the girls were back to selling themselves the next day because they have to survive. Then again, your username is good indicator that you probably won’t understand

[@pgmlivegameur]

@Mr. Man ofc her prostitution is horrible and unforgivable, but his action probably changed nothing for her. She probably was back to selling herself not long after, he didn't improve her life, he just killed these pimps because it made him feel good about himself.

[@nectarinedreams7208]

It's not what he does but why and how he does it. He doesn't do it to save her. He never gave a fuck about her. He uses her to feel better about himself. She pleads with him not to kill those guys, yet he blows their head off right in front of her. If you think that's noble, you're a bit fucked in the head.

[@MandenTV]

@@nectarinedreams7208 Lot of crying, not a lot of critical thought.

[@crist388]

I think if you truly relate to the character, you don't see his journey as a descent into madness, but rather as someone who breaks free from the meaningless and mundane to become a hero. Bickle is not insane, but he sees both the beauty and ugliness of reality for what it is. He doesn't snap and become mentally ill. "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation", but Travis Bickle refuses to do so. He took action and changed the world in a small way. He didn't end all prostitution and crime in the city, but he saved one girl, and that alone was enough to justify the risk to himself; it was enough to justify killing.

[@awithers7]

T C Travis is not a hero, nor is he an evil person. Travis is the epitome of mentally ill. He is isolated, unstable, and constantly looking for acceptance from society. He looks down on the world only because it will not accept him, and this causes him to lash out and hate that which does not love him. Travis is not a man who refuses to conform, he is a man who fails to conform. If Travis trained with the sole purpose of killing Sport and saving Iris, then perhaps we could say that he is a hero, but this is only Travis’ plan B. His original intent was to assassinate Palantine, which proves that Travis was not driven by a desire for heroism, but by a need to jealously dominate an icon of masculinity. Travis is deeply jealous of both Sport and Palantine because they are both men who have the admiration of the women he knows and cannot relate to. In his mind there is no difference between the pimp and the presidential candidate. His envy grows like a cancer and eventually manifest itself in a bitter attack against that which he failed to become. His first choice was to kill Palantine, an act which would’ve made him the most hated man in America, but when he fails he instead kills Sport. To Travis both options are morally equivalent, but to everyone else they are complete opposites. Ironically, just because his original plan didn’t work out, Travis becomes a hero instead of a villain. Travis never intended to make it out alive, but he did, and although it coincidentally left him with the respect of the two women he could not relate to, he renters society just as lost and alone as he was before, having stumbled across heroism merely by chance.

[@MarqueeMoon2990]

Well said. Through most interpretations of the film I like yours most.

[@extrastout1111]

He only shot the pimps because he first failed to kill palentine.. I think these actions more so driven by a desire to avenge his insignificance and failures as a man than by any moral obligations

[@CinemaWizardBoy]

Great discussion here guys, thanks for the great comments. Was very interesting to read the points from you.

[@henryteccsi1114]

Aaron Withers great analysis my guy

[@ssssssstssssssss]

Paul Schrader has created some of the most interesting characters in cinema.

[@Sigmamale1289]

And Travis Is Actually based on a time in Schrader’s life where he was isolated and homeless.He eventually took a job as a delivery driver and spent long days in his car, just like Travis. And Iris is based on a Girl he took to his house one night, he found out she was Underage and a Junkie.

[@larrypemberton5064]

Excellent analysis, I've always felt that films with straight up likable protagonists are usually geared more for standard moviegoers, but those who are interested in the darker elements of the human psyche usually make better movies.

[@JohnDoe-id1es]

Larry Pemberton like fake laugh track machines designed to cue the audience when to laugh in sitcoms. I agree, this is way more complex, and therefore realistic...

[@KennethKetchum]

straight up likable protagonists perpetuate the myth of white male dominance. I lOVE Travis and how he saved Jodi Foster. the only difference between me and Bickel is that my target would have been the corporate execs of the major polluting companies and oil companies that pollute our environment instead of pimps.

[@KennethKetchum]

unfortunately, travis WAS a hypocrite watching porn but against the pimps doing the same thing.

[@darrylbowman8369]

the scary part is i relate to this guy

[@KennethKetchum]

@BIGGZ FAN brother. I am a born again Christian so on you can keep your sick comments to yourself because this world is controlled by the devil.

[@shawntoh]

"The whole conviction of my life now rests upon the belief that loneliness, far from being a rare and curious phenomenon, peculiar to myself and to a few other solitary men, is the central and inevitable fact of human existence. When we examine the moments, acts, and statements of all kinds of people -- not only the grief and ecstasy of the greatest poets, but also the huge unhappiness of the average soul…we find, I think, that they are all suffering from the same thing. The final cause of their complaint is loneliness." -- Thomas Wolfe, from the essay, God's Lonely Man, privately printed, 1947.

[@yeboy2347]

He’s literally me

[@wezzlyn]

Travis wasn't insane; the world was.

[@GreedAndSelfishness]

World IS.

[@georgejpg]

'im 14 and this is deep'

[@joeroganofficial5433]

George what’s deep bout this

[@georgejpg]

It's supposed to be thought provoking but it's really just a meaningless statement. If you think the world is the problem and not you, you're wrong.

[@wezzlyn]

George I'm of the world, and I accept it. But we're talking about movie here. Don't take it as an autobiographical comment.

[@caironerf5986]

Another argument for the last scene being real, is the noticeable scar we see on Travis's neck from where Matthew shot him. If this was a dream sequence, he likely would have no scar.

[@peladohdp8304]

Scorsese confirmed that Travis survived. Check it

[@ExcellaRE5fan]

I feel that Travis' racism wasn't for the sake of being racist; it was rather culture vs. culture.

[@anaalkuusk949]

@Luis D. as in welcome to today. the culture clashes. especially in massimmigration areas. atleast i rekon thats what he thought

[@hithere5553]

Luis D. It means muh culture war that white nationalists and their sympathizers use to disguise their racism.

[@outsidethepyramid]

I can't see Travis as racist unless the word "spooks" is a racist term. He looks a the pimps in a hateful way, does this make him racist? He shoots the robber who points a gun at him, is this racist? Perhaps its you lot who are inaccurate. So, in some peoples eyes, if a black person is doing a bad thing you should not be able to look at him negatively or you are a racist. How fucked up is that.

[@marshallzane7735]

Bonnie No he’s racist. If you can’t see that then you’re probably racist too. And this whole “culture vs culture” thing is a way to try and make racist ideology seem reasonable.

[@outsidethepyramid]

@@marshallzane7735 This is your big moment Marshall to prove he is racist. So prove it. We're all ears.

[@thegodfather1907]

I love the conversation he has with Wizard.

[@paulorlando5877]

Haven't seen joker yet, but im sure its alot similar DeNiro's is even in it.

[@anonymousstout4759]

Not similar at all

[@FormulaVase-kp3dc]

It's inspired by king of comedy too.

[@johnfkennedy8281]

Taxi driver is about a vet who is thrown back into society after seeing how society really acts towards conflict. Joker is about a mentally ill loner who thrown into society and sees how cruel people really are after being told his life "smile and put on a happy face"

[@befthug3601]

Travis is a true hero. Most people walk through all the filth and evil their entire life, and do shit about it. As long as they can watch shit on their tv and eat cheap hamburgers they are happy. Fuck the world and all the fake people living in it.

[@comradestefan7244]

Finally somebody with a mind

[@saberbo89]

​@@tru3boc Self improve 😂😂

[@itsiwhatitsi]

Nice comment 👌

[@damianstarks3338]

I like anti heroes they are my favorite type of heroes.

[@NonnysHouse]

Wonderful examination of this important film. Travis Bickle is a uniquely modern antihero, just as relevant today as in 1976 when the film came out. Thank you for this discussion!

[@Mason-ig3du]

Love the soundtrack playing in the background!

[@ferociousgumby]

4:36 note the guy leaning against the wall in the background. It's our old pal, Marty.

[@untakencareofdeath_4117]

He's Chaotic Neutral.

[@fellowgoyimwhite7630]

Tyler Durden too

[@socialisingsigma1532]

Is it just me? Or is it getting crazier out there?

[@jacobstevens8519]

I get what you're saying about how there is something to be said about Travis' moral character when he's attracted to Betsy, but at the same time I feel like Travis would have been just as attached and dedicated to the first woman he came across to 'let him in' and be show patience and kindness like Betsy did

[@aesthetically4386]

I didn’t realize he a Vietnam veteran. I’m looking at the whole movie differently now

[@bishopjackfrost]

I thought he lied about being a vet

[@shrimpflea]

@@bishopjackfrost why would you think that?

[@bishopjackfrost]

@@shrimpflea i dunno. He just seemed like the lying sort

[@shrimpflea]

@@bishopjackfrost Fair enough.

[@joshtoal8654]

@@bishopjackfrost his jacket was from the marines though. And in Vietnam they used to shave their heads into a Mohawk to symbolise them going on a suicide mission

[@ferociousgumby]

Best part of this movie is the musical score. The composer Bernard Herrmann dropped dead right after he wrote it.

[@StanAlter]

Travis is not insane. He's supposed to be what could become of any of us. I mean if the world craps on someone enough.

[@StanAlter]

@Nature and Physics everyone has crapped on themselves.

[@pongo1342]

Bickle puts himself in situations that make the world crap on him. He puts this on himself in order to feed the hatred

[@pongo1342]

Nature and Physics exactly

[@pongo1342]

Nature and Physics well thats the beauty of the movie, we dont know! Everyone has their own theories and none of them are correct

[@zeltzamer4010]

Travis is insane. He is not meant as a representation of “what could become of any of us”, he is meant to show the danger caused by alienation and the self-destruction that comes with it. His downfall is his own fault.

[@mymasteriwanttoserveyouand9903]

The scene with a glass of water always seemed to me as a metaphor for his miserable existence. The tablet dissolves in the water just like him in the night and just like his mind disintegrates towards the end

[@johnsullivan6020]

Travis as an outsider thinks outside the box, he becomes motivated to free himself from the shackles of a self-centred, uncaring society to do what he deems morally right. Travis assumes a sense of grandiose and intentionally radicalises himself to sooth the agonising sense of loneliness and rejection in his heart. To call him a nutcase is ignorant, judgemental and typical of the cold, distant society that Travis hates. Socially inept and detached as he may be, Travis is a good man.

[@hicks727]

ohh so precious ...excuses for a sociopath . you really think martin made this for you to feel sympathy for travis..the school shooter was bullied..lol

[@cubemoment9402]

It's a sad world for people like him, trapped by his solitude, his only vengeance was he saved her from that world.

[@richardsantanna5398]

@@hicks727 That comment just makes you sound like an idiot

[@hicks727]

Scorsese and writer Paul Schrader append the perfect conclusion to Taxi Driver. STEEPED IN IRONY, the five-minute epilogue underscores the vagaries of fate. The media builds Bickle into a hero, when, had he been a little quicker drawing his gun against Senator Palantine, he would have been reviled as an assassin. As the film closes, the misanthrope has been embraced as the model citizen-someone who takes on pimps, drug dealers, and mobsters to save one little girl. Yes I did copy and paste that

[@richardsantanna5398]

@@hicks727 Ok...

[@edgregory1]

I see no mental illness in Travis at all. He is just a frustrated and angry young man in a hostile, provokingly indifferent and odiously decadent environment.

[@smc25701]

I disagree with the first sentence. He was totally isolated, worked 70-80 hour weeks, and longed for connection with someone. No way he couldn't have had mental health issues. His lifestyle was not good for him or for anyone

[@75aces97]

He has insomnia, self medicates, and struggles to relate to other people. He premeditates ways to threaten, harm, or kill others. He interacts with other violent, antisocial people--the passenger looking to murder his wife, storekeep--so he's not necessarily unique, but that's a little like saying the guy who only drank 6 beers is the least drunk of his buddies, so therefore okay to drive them home. It's not a given that he would be able to function all that well in a different environment. Whatever happened to him in the Corps, in Vietnam, or some other time in his past left him with unresolved issues.

[@1301407gl]

He tries to kill a candidate after endorsing him just because a woman working on his campaign dumped him after taking her to a porno.Ryw world isn't indifferent to him but he's hostile to everyone

[@advocatusconciliumtantrino3126]

great one

[@michaelhuerter1921]

He almost 100% suffer from PTSD

[@vespasianlegx11]

The more I watch this film the more I'm drawn in to it. De Nero at his best whilst scorcese director of the film is a genius.

[@lewarryldong]

Very well written essay, thank you!

[@gabboagonistes]

"Harrowing descent into madness" LOL it was a dark and stormy night.

[@icarenot1272]

"One day a rain will come and wash away all the scum and filth off the streets" I'm still waiting

[@Collateral0]

Whats great is many people see travis as a horrible person, but refuse to understand that he is losing his mind because of his trauma and depression. Just like the people around him the audience refuses to understand that Travis is unraveling. Which is what causes him to lose his mind even more.

[@datguy9408]

I love this movie, I never expected to but it's on my top favorite films forsure.

[@igorpirilo8295]

Travis had a gun the whole movie, pointing it all around, but in the end he could aim the gun in the right direction, discharging all his hatred he created in the whole film into a good deed (violent and hateful but good at the most people eyes)

[@tim3198]

Isn't that Scorsese at 4:34 ? I know he has a cameo later on in the film (Which is fantastic by the way)

[@WhyTho525]

That is Scorcese

[@zenoofcaledonia2439]

I was with you right until the corny "Aren't we all?" line.

[@360Roko]

Weren't we all ?

[@user-uo8ny1kj4c]

@@360Roko i just realized the similarity between travis and scarface/tony montana

[@clownduckkky9508]

The only person who has made a some what good break down of this film

[@Thewetsabateur]

The soundtrack is the best jazz I’ve heard

[@cinemastuffs7175]

Undoubtedly one of the best in world cinema 😍😍🔥🔥

[@psychxylo3432]

The role Robert deniro played reminds me of the role Mickey Rourke played in Sin City, so very similar to me.

[@oleblack]

I feel bad for travis cus I can relate to him probably more than anyone else can ( great video 👍)

[@fingersmcgee2762]

we all have our own issues time to time but what seperates a crazy person from a sane person is a sane person can control themselves

[@norm-fy5mo]

Who's here after watching Joker?

[@frankiestein8482]

yep u nailed it

[@schlomowazowski849]

Me

[@precogtyrant]

Taxi driver was a masterpiece. Joker was disappointing with so much overacting from Joaquin Phoenix.

[@stuff2z]

Bishal Adhikary joker wasn’t really disappointing it just isn’t comparable to taxi driver

[@RedPlaystationController]

Imagine seeing Joker before the movie that inspired it.

[@lolomgmetobavi]

Great analysis, thanks!

[@damianstarks3338]

Yep !

[@vitriol18]

Scorsese, other than interpreting the cuckold in the well known scene is also briefly appearing at 04:32 as the guy sitting in jeans and black shirt behind Betsy. I just discovered it

[@guns854]

Great job! Subscribed man!

[@CinemaWizardBoy]

guns854 Thank you so much!

[@makeit7579]

If you want to understand Taxi Driver read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitsgerald.

[@williamgallop9425]

In the begining the taxi drives past a movie theatre showing "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"...

[@limelightraver5690]

Travis Bickel, cultural Icon

[@markant9534]

I relate a lot to Bickle.

[@markant9534]

@Luis D. ✔

[@ferociousgumby]

4:03 simmering primal rage, or a major tummy upset?

[@ferociousgumby]

This was Alka-Selzer, made up of bicarbonate of soda which dissolved in water.

[@DrJ-hx7wv]

Travis has done nothing wrong in the film. The world was a slightly better place by the end of the movie. He's going crazy because he's the only sane one.

[@Fidozo15]

1:18 that smile... That fucking smile

[@bertramwinslowiii2119]

"He's a ticking time bomb. But aren't we all?" You had to end on a note of banality and inanity, didn't you?

[@firstlast8258]

He needs to speak for himself

[@user-fr3gw3ys3o]

he was my role model for about 15 years. can't say he is now, but i still love the guy

[@rokanza2293]

Шамиль Алиев why exactly a role model, care to explain your thoughts in depth?

[@user-fr3gw3ys3o]

@@rokanza2293 I was in the same head space, sulking, depressed, a little bit traumatized by the events in my youth, I had a lot of rage but I did nothing with it, I just slept, drank, and slept again, never having the strength to get out of bed and do something about my feelings. But then I saw this movie, and I saw myself, but this guy was doing something about his frustrations, he was struggling to change the world, to prove a point and to make his existence known and his rage free. Even though he was a loser and pushed the good influence of the chick away, he wasn't just lying there. He was manic. He was struggling. And he even did something positive with his blunt, aimless rage in the end unless it really was a dream sequence. So, after watching the movie for about 10 times, I shaved myself a nice mohawk, went to the gym, returned to college, took revenge on about half the people who wronged me. I stopped being a pushover, I went full psycho at times, soon none of the people who pushed me around and wronged me before had the balls to look me in the eyes. I basically turned off all my weaknesses, fears, social anxiety. I made even more people pay. Now I'm in a very happy place, with no care in the world. And it wouldn't be like that, if there was no Travis.

[@RobertGrimm]

Travis Bickle is Bruce Wayne minus a few billion dollars.

[@jackburton3540]

Except for Bruce Wayne was the Black Knight not just some lame white Knight

[@georgewatson2487]

i didnt realise scorsese had so many cameos

[@parche7162]

all are bomb of time, what a good sentence

[@aimajackingof5727]

"Do the pimps really deserve to die when even Iris is begging Travis not to kill them?" Is that even a question?

[@StupidGeniuses]

This analysis is reminiscent of a highschool student's movie report. B-

[@jackburton3540]

I've seen high schoolers with better analyses than this tbh

[@jpeg.600x2]

where's ur analysis punkass

[@shrimpflea]

Okay, let's see your analysis smart guy.

[@SHIW774]

Bro Travis Bickle is like the 2019 Joker in another universe

[@elfascisto6549]

A cowboy with a mohawk

[@outsidethepyramid]

I can't see Travis as racist unless the word "spooks" is a racist term. He supposedly looks at the pimps in a negative way, does this make him racist? He shoots the robber who points a gun at him, is this racist? Perhaps its you lot who are inaccurate. So, in some peoples eyes, if a black person is doing a bad thing you should not be able to look at him negatively or you are a racist. How fucked up is that.

[@atlienn2566]

Yup black people are sensitive

[@outsidethepyramid]

@J.marq703 "way he looks at his black co worker " I don't accept that as racist. " paranoid about the black teens outsiders the diner" I don't remember that scene, but I don't that is racist. Personally, I think he was looking at THE WORLD from a paranoid view point and you are looking at THE WORLD from a view point of wanting someone to be racist and I don't know why. What do you think of that?

[@jackburton3540]

@@outsidethepyramid Travis uses a racist term: "it's not racist" Traivs shows contempt for black pimps at the diner: "it's not racist" Travis shows contempt for his black coworker: "it's not racist" Travis looks at black people in the street with disgust: "it's not racist" Tell me then, what IS racist?

[@christiannewaye7306]

@@atlienn2566 As a black person I don't see him as racist I think he just has contempt towards society . Remember he tried to be in a relationship with a black woman at the theater he just hates pimps as he sees them as social denegrates. Also , I don't think that gives you the right to be racist by calling black people in a vacuum are "sensitive"

[@christiannewaye7306]

@@jackburton3540 he liked the black worker at the theater.

[@gelbsucht5017]

thats a movie about my life

[@Havaseet2]

4:33 Funny... I've watched this movie at least a dozen times and never noticed Martin Scorsese sitting on that wall in the scene.

[@lHighGrade]

Scorsese was the guy in the taxi aswell that wanted to kill his wife

[@Offmedication]

After watching Joker, going to buy "Taxi Driver" on Amazon and watch it again.

[@danscousincousinsdad699]

You seem like the kind of person who’s says they have “Class” instead of style

[@ctbvideoproductions]

Maybe I’m stupid but at 4:37 that’s Martin Scorsese in the background, and obviously he’s in the movie. But when he appears in the film it’s when Travis kinda falls in love with Betsy, and he also appears the first time Travis thinks about really murdering someone. Idk 😐

[@josephharley9448]

This film is Shakesperean. A tradgedy. And IMO it is so good because it leaves so much open to ones own interpretation. People have wriiten dissertations on Bickle.

[@steveclare116]

Her commitment and passion to elect Senator Palantine to the Presidency demonstrates her being Morally Upright????!!!!! What ? What? WTF?

[@CinemaWizardBoy]

Yes. If you watch the movie, in a dialogue scene with Travis it is implied that one of the reasons why she supports him is because of his stance on the environment. Also, in the actual script, it's apparent that she supports him for his welfare policies. Her compassion for other people leads her to supporting the policies of Palantine.

[@mimi9192]

Steve Clare I think instead it would rather show her to be a personification of justice, the world's justice in fact, rather than an objective morality. She judges Travis through the same lens as the rest of the world, something which he says himself after she rejects him. Travis' main struggle arises from how he incites judgement with his actions, and how he deals with judgement thereafter. The whole movie, he is being judged negatively. At the end, he is judged positively, and seems happier for it. But in reality, what has changed? The world is still the world, and Travis is still Travis.

[@CinemaWizardBoy]

Excellent reply, Mimi. This is what I intended to convey in the video, but I wasn't articulate enough.

[@jackburton3540]

@@mimi9192 she judges him through the same lens that the world does because the world is not problematic, Travis is. She calls him a "walking contradiction" and she's right. Travis rants throughout the movie how he hates the scum of this city however he frequents porno theaters and drives around prostitutes. Also at the very beginning he continues to hit on a woman who rejects him until she has to call her manager, foreshadowing how he will treat Betsy later on. Travis is a hypocrite.

[@ryanmcentire5704]

I'd disagree with the title. Alex DeLarge

[@newkeyplay5627]

4:33 Anyone see Scorsese? Just chilling with his legs tucked in. I never noticed that.

[@s.elizabeth3015]

Help! Does anyone know the name of the song at 4:17 ? I searched on the soundtrack but i didn't find it :(

[@eauxmg3804]

This is base-level analysis.

[@drosedow]

base-level response

[@dieselscience]

Calling Travis 'evil' or even insinuating it, is like shooting a German Shepherd dog who just killed a pack of wolves trying to eat sheep, because "It's a vicious dog that's just bloodthirsty."

[@quosmo7721]

Travis is legit a terrible person wtf

[@dieselscience]

@@quosmo7721 You really didn't watch the movie. He was a socially awkward guy who never harmed anyone except a pimp who was sex trafficking a 14 year old girl, and the guys working with him.

[@quosmo7721]

@@dieselscience did you miss all of the scenes of him being racist? An incel? He almost killed palantine if not stopped! He was a bad person

[@dieselscience]

@@quosmo7721 You must be a moral relativist, like "Killing Saddam would be bad because killing is wrong" relativist.WATCH THE DAMN MOVIE WITH THE BLINDERS OFF. Panantine was on the take, HE was the kind of evil that never gets held accountable. Also, read the title of the video - "Antihero"

[@quosmo7721]

@@dieselscience what did palantine do wrong?

[@jerryc5743]

7:39 - I always felt that Travis was so obsessed in the beginning of the film with Betsy because he had, in his words, “needed sone where to go”, or, in present day slang, he did not have frame so he sought to glom onto Betsy. At the end, when he tells her “so long”, there is a sense from Travis that he no longer had a dependence on her which gives the viewer hope. Unfortunately these hopes are somewhat dashed in the final scene with Travis looking at himself in the rear view mirror with that odd film shot where his instability is still lurking under the surface.

[@schizoidboy]

The thing about Bickle is we don't know anything about his past. It is clear that he served in the Marines, he said so, but there is little else that is known about this. Some say he served in Vietnam and that is where his madness started, but for all we know he did his service driving officers around in a jeep rather than fight in the war. Some books by Vietnam vets suggest that Bickle probably had mental health issues before going into the military, and at one point there were soldiers who were drafted who otherwise would not have been taken into the military; men who had lower intelligence or mental health issues - seen in the movie Forrest Gump but not mentioned here. All we know about Travis Bickle is what we see in front of us and what he is willing impart which mostly concerns what surrounds him.

[@glenbellefonte9620]

He didn't get that scar just driving dudes around.

[@jackburton3540]

Well I think something a lot of people overlook when viewing this movie is that Travis is an unreliable narrator.

[@bassemmhamdi4912]

tbh , i felt scare watching this movie , and i spent the night thinking about death , and about how am i gonna face it , i really can relate to travis in many ways

[@robertomurri1278]

No you can't

[@jackburton3540]

Please don't

[@heavenroots7]

We all have a little bit of Travis think about we need to work to survive, we eat junk food nowadays, and some of us do alcohol and drugs on a daily basis. I think this movie was ahead of its time; back then Travis was 1 in a million

[@sadsavagesomething1387]

Damn good, except you forgot the part about wanting to kill palantine

[@lucamaximus]

My fav De Niro hair cut

[@paulorlando5877]

I always thought Taxi Driver and Death Wish are kinda similar.