Taxi Driver Explained | Classic Explained Episode 3

[@lucasblue20]

Thank you so much again for voting! Please let me know which classic you wanna see for Episode 5! And I would really love to hear your thoughts and ideas with Taxi Driver. Let me know below!

[@saturncrush]

Your balance of intellect, tone, verbiage incorporated in your analysis is superb. I can tell you are a young writer/ filmmaker in the making.

[@BLOXKAFELLARECORDS]

Yes you are so correct in your analysis of the analyst. Can you tell I'm a rapper with that sentence?

[@PeckiePeck]

I just finished this movie. A couple of things that stick out to me are Travis saying his driving record is "clean like his conscience" in the same conversation that reveals his Marine past. It feels as if these are put in proximity to emphasize his UNclean conscience likely connected with his time spent as a marine. His cynicism and disgust for his surroundings could very well be projections of how he feels about himself; he knows what he did when he served in war, and he assumes all of humanity is equally irredeemable, with a couple exceptions. And so his loneliness and disconnection from a society he assumes as corrupt as himself fester and grow and become their own sources of resentment. Another moment that sticks out to me is possibly the thesis of the whole movie: Wiz's poorly-articulated "advice" that the "man becomes the job." In many ways Travis is still a marine. He seeks purpose, physical prowess, complex problems to solve as exemplified by the machine he rigs for his gun, and a sense of heroism. But heroism to Travis isn't what it would mean to others anymore because he simultaneously hates humankind and craves its company. Heroism to him is assassinating the man who flaunts his popularity and optimism in front of his face while garnering the efforts and attention of the woman he loves. And if he had been able to assassinate Palantine I don't think he would have killed the pimp or those complicit with him in the apartment building. We can see that he drives over to the scene of the bloodbath still riding the adrenaline rush from the failed assassination, which would have been just as good of an outlet for him if not better. But what he does is still an outlet. By the end, having achieved some notoriety and heroism, he has a chance to try and rekindle something with Betsy. He's recently been regarded as a hero and she wants to know how he's been. But it seems he doesn't crave connection like he used to. It's as if he's accepted his role as a cab driver and hers as someone more important, who gets dropped off in a nice part of town and whom he can only differentiate from other passengers by not running the meter. I take this to mean he has fully exorcised the pent-up, self-loathing, lonely marine and truly just become a Taxi Driver. The fierce attention we once saw on the stairwell he now simply channels into his job, into adjusting the mirror and looking at traffic. Ultimately the most disturbing message of the movie might be that no matter how strongly we feel the impulses of the environments we've experienced in the past, we are somewhat empty vessels and we become what we do.

[@NN-mr5lw]

Great as usual ! I love this movie, it's a classic for a reason : we can identify with the personnage, we all have something of Travis (sense of loneliness, bitterness, broken faith... in some periods of our lives and what saves us, for most, from falling into madness is a good sense of discernement, the capacity to love, to forget, to forgive, to change our perspective on our locus of control...). Can't wait for American psycho 🙂 Can I suggest Dogville, it has a vile reputation for the wrong reasons but it's a brilliant multilayered film

[@lucasblue20]

I love your input so much. I thought at first I was a rare person that could relate to Travis's loneliness but I realized Travis's relatability is a big part of what makes the film resonate with so many people like you said. And I love how you mentioned the things that allow us to maintain our self-awareness because there always are ways to escape that downward spiral. So glad you enjoyed the video, thank you! Just watched American Psycho again today and that movie is hilarious and fascinating. It's gonna be really fun to do. And Dogville (2003), I think I've heard of this film before. I read the beginning of the synopsis and it sounds super gripping. I'll add it into the poll for episode 6 for sure. I'll also let you know when I've seen it. Thank you so much!!

[@Horaciowild1]

I believe Travis is the way most of us think without admiting it. We have problems with foreigners , womens , our jobs and the peoples we see every day.. We don't go into black neighborhoods at night..we strugles in our relationship.. we all play lottery games expecting to get out of our jobs or are looking for a better income..we get pissed every day at strangers and we lock our doors and secure our properties..

[@yasminkhan1158]

For real, awesome explanation

[@lyh01]

Amazing analysis, it's very detailed and easy to understand. I've some movie suggestions that I'd love to watch you explain. -The King of Comedy -The Hunt (2012) -Prisoners -No Country for Old Man -A Clockwork Orange -American Psycho -Nightcrawler It's a bit too much haha but they're just suggestions.

[@lucasblue20]

Thank you so much! I'm so glad it was clear while detailed because that's always my ultimate goal. Thank you for the feedback! Also, I have good news for you. I'm currently working on my American Psycho video (for June 5th) and the next classic after that will be No Country for Old Men (likely for June 12th if an interesting new release doesn't come out next week). I'll add your other suggestions to my list for future polls too. Thank you so much for suggesting and watching! It means so much!!

[@joshuajohn4197]

Your content is fantastic. Great work man 🎉

[@kuroshVtalks]

Bro your analysis was absolutely wonderful please do as much more movies as you can because I am so happy that I found your channel and I really really enjoy your movie explanations and they’ve helped me a lot to understand some of the classics I love n have watched many times. 👌🏻🙏🏻👏🏻💯

[@lucasblue20]

Wow this means so much to me! Thank you!! It's always been my biggest goal for this channel to share my love for film and introduce some unique ideas to people who want to learn more. So thank you so much for letting me know! And thank you so much for watching!!

[@kuroshVtalks]

@@lucasblue20 well you have definitely reached your goal bro , internationally I might add , i’m from Iran and i’ve quite a lot of movie experience and I love deep meaningful movies , your analysis hits deep bro keep up the good work 💪🏻👏🏻💯

[@ashishkalra9661]

Beautifully Explained. Thank you :)

[@emilioteran7867]

as always, awesome analysis!

[@lucasblue20]

It's so great to hear you enjoy the videos! It really means so much, thank you!!

[@EVERTONFC.]

Excellent analysis

[@lucasblue20]

Thank you!!

[@55tranquility]

Great analysis 👍 I agree, Travis see's the city as an open sewer yet he himself lives in squalor. He earns plenty of money and says he doesn't know what to do with the money - yet it doesn't occur to him to buy some decent furniture or at least a table for his TV, choosing an old crate instead. He not only lives in squalor he ingests junk, we only really see him eating confectionary and lots of it and strange meals of torn up white bread, milk sugar with brandy poured on it - which looks disgusting. Everything he puts in his has body has no value its all empty calories and garbage , literally poison- plus he frequently drinks alcohol and pops pills throughout the day. When he is not working and observing what he sees as filth, he chooses to go to squalid porn theatres consuming more degradation in his choice of entertainment. As a single man, with plenty of money at any point he could get out of the city and go somewhere more wholesome and positive even just to visit. He could visit the countryside or seaside for the fresh air he longs for - he doesn't even bother to go to Central Park, visit a museum or library instead of the porn theatres he chooses to go to. He is part of it, he has become it almost seeking it - literally consuming it making choices to do this and none to get away from it. But his glaring flaw is his inability to see this, to recognise this and at least have some idea of why and what is making him feel the way he does - himself.

[@joshwilliams417]

Great review

[@lucasblue20]

Thank you so much!!

[@lunapotter2065]

I love this analysis!! Your channel is fantastic!

[@lucasblue20]

Thank you so much, you're so kind! It means so much to me that you enjoy the channel as well! Feel free to send me recommendations of videos you wanna see!!

[@lunapotter2065]

@@lucasblue20 yes of course! I would love to see the vvitch!!

[@lucasblue20]

I actually haven't seen The Witch but I heard it's amazing, and Robert Eggers movies have been getting requested quite a bit lately. I'll put out a poll very soon between The Lighthouse and The VVitch. I'll definitely analyze both though, and I'll let you know when the poll comes out! Thank you so much!!

[@jahrules8674]

You were the first person I've heard pointing out Travis' racist views. I picked up on that quite early

[@quinnalame]

Congrats on 2k 🥳

[@lucasblue20]

Hey! Thank you so much! It's been great to connect with so many new people who are so kind and super smart and insightful (including you). It really means a lot!

[@quinnalame]

@@lucasblue20 Aw! Your channel is only getting bigger, it's gonna be fun to see future projects in the long run

[@sasinmo]

5:30 Idk man I knew he was unstable when he was buying the guns lol

[@shagunsharma1401]

The best analysis on Taxi driver... It's a masterpiece... Also, Taxi Driver>>>>Joker

[@lucasblue20]

Woww thank you! That means so much to me considering how many Taxi Driver analyses there are out there. And yes, I also prefer Taxi Driver over Joker. Joker has an authentic style for the comic book genre which makes it feel really fresh, but it doesn't come close to the depth and raw humanity of Taxi Driver. Thank you for watching! So glad you enjoyed!!

[@shagunsharma1401]

@@lucasblue20 Yeah no doubt it was the best analysis... Loved the way you explained it...

[@lucasblue20]

Thank you!!!

[@damianstarks3338]

This movie is a masterpiece.

[@Luca-gh1sy]

Very solid review.

[@chewie1355]

That was a great analysis. I too enjoy watching it and I liked how you put the feelings of the movie into concise wording.

[@imphoenixbutthatsok]

love the content donnie darko would be perfect for classics explained

[@lucasblue20]

Thank you!! I just watched Donnie Darko for the first time a few days ago and I loved it so much haha I’m going to include it in my poll this Saturday morning (6AM, PST). Thanks again!!

[@UdodaTube]

This video really deserves more thumbs up.

[@yoursAshwin]

Wow bro, very well explained 👏👏👏 Iam from tamilnadu, India. I am not native English speaker, while watching the movie I can't understand the politics the movie spoke about and the chareter's nuances. Your video helped me a lot, great respect to u👏

[@lucasblue20]

This means so much to me! I'm so glad I can help in any way! Thank you so much!!

[@yoursAshwin]

@@lucasblue20 ❤️❤️❤️

[@quinnalame]

I've always wanted to watch this movie so ima watch it then be back to watch the actual video lol but i already liked!!!

[@quinnalame]

okay I'm back and I have watched it. I agree with your views. I don't think that part with besty was real though for some reason because his hair was all grown back but if it was it doesn't make sense to me. also his hero complex really did get the better of him but it's a common thing with people in real life who don't want to see their own problems, they cause other problems by minding other people's business...good film great video

[@lucasblue20]

Omg I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Yeah the ending has a surreal vibe that separates it from the reality of the rest of the movie for me as well. And I'm really glad you mentioned that it's common in real life because I noticed in my research that loneliness is so much more common than we would like to think. And yeah, blaming others for your issues is such a deep and dark hole to climb out of. It's quite sad. Great talking to you again! So glad you enjoyed the video! Thank you so much!!

[@quinnalame]

@@lucasblue20 No problem!

[@tiger_mou_tv516]

Waving and hoping to be noticed…

[@flawed0007]

Thats rocket powered mohawk

[@TillURide420]

That’s the first thing I thought. That this was one of his videos. I knew the picture he uses is the taxi driver guy, but I’m so use to seeing his stuff I instantly click on this before reading

[@flawed0007]

@@TillURide420 Lmao same

[@coleworld3061]

As I was listening to your analysis I thought about the whole manosphere and MGTOW Movement. Dangerous stuff. Real life situations

[@lucasblue20]

Yeah, I totally agree with you. The movie is pretty scary when you begin to realize that this fictional character's problems are very real. These problems are such a big reason for those kinds of movements that live on from generation to generation

[@EricRosemusic]

I think this narrator needs therapy.

[@NoThanksnothanks]

Ha, why’s that?

[@diu4hgruqyrgrgy333]

you dont get it

[@CoolFennec]

wow you did a good job, damn this movie is fucked up... in a good way...or bad...ummm both