The one of the intents of Taxi Driver is definitely concerning the portrayal of New York City and how it is a city that is disintegrating. I selected these five minutes of the film because the audience finally gets to see the intent of the film come into fruition. The entire atmosphere helps to show how the city is corrupt and is becoming poisoned by people like the pimp.
Martin Scorsese has directed a variety of films including the Aviator, Shutter Island, The Departed, Goodfellas, and recently, Hugo. However Taxi Driver relates most with Goodfellas, a film he directed that portrayed American gangs. Although both emulate much different tones and environments, both films do a good job of inspecting the main character and their deterioration and transformation. In Goodfellas, we are presented with a young man making his way up criminal society. However, he eventually loses grasp of reality because he is taken away from that lifestyle.
In Taxi Driver, Travis Bickle is a war veteran with a haunted past who drives around New York City and finds solace in it. However, he eventually feels a need to stand up for what he believes in and becomes a vigilante and takes matters into his own hands. This is where these five minutes come in. The audience finally sees Travis Bickle succeed in getting rid of the "scum" of New York City. This extract does a good job of fully realizing his character. Because he is shot at and sustained fatal injuries, he is able to display his motivations and beliefs to the whole audience; he has nothing to lose and in this near-death experience, there is nothing left to hide.
This extract relates to the narrative because it almost serves as a resolution to the film. If the climax of the film was when Travis Bickle failed to kill the senator, we are given this scene in order to see Travis come to terms with himself because he feels a need to "flush everything down the toilet". Killing the pimp and saving the girl would bring him peace because he would feel like he is doing something about the corrupt city.
This extract highlights Scorsese's intent by manifesting all of the corruption in the New York City and using the pimp's compound to personify it. By taking out the people who are involved with prostitution management, Bickle is used to show how the corruption can be eliminated through individual involvement. Because Bickle sees that the senator is unsuccessful with getting rid of the "scum" in the city, Scorsese's use of Travis Bickle and his subsequent murders illustrates his intent.
This extract definitely has the elements of an action/crime film. This is done through the use of weapons, the frequency of deaths, and the criminal issues in these five minutes. However it also has elements of film-noir due to the stark criminal aspects of the scene. The shots of the bodies laying inside of the room best shows this connection to film-noir and that genre's style and conventions. In relation to history, this extract shows how Travis Bickle may have been affected by his service in the Vietnam War. Because he has been so lonely and out-of-place after the war, this scene shows a return to his lifestyle during the war. Being set after the Vietnam War is important because it is the main cause of Travis' isolation from the rest of the city.
In Taxi Driver, Travis Bickle is a war veteran with a haunted past who drives around New York City and finds solace in it. However, he eventually feels a need to stand up for what he believes in and becomes a vigilante and takes matters into his own hands. This is where these five minutes come in. The audience finally sees Travis Bickle succeed in getting rid of the "scum" of New York City. This extract does a good job of fully realizing his character. Because he is shot at and sustained fatal injuries, he is able to display his motivations and beliefs to the whole audience; he has nothing to lose and in this near-death experience, there is nothing left to hide.
This extract relates to the narrative because it almost serves as a resolution to the film. If the climax of the film was when Travis Bickle failed to kill the senator, we are given this scene in order to see Travis come to terms with himself because he feels a need to "flush everything down the toilet". Killing the pimp and saving the girl would bring him peace because he would feel like he is doing something about the corrupt city.
This extract definitely has the elements of an action/crime film. This is done through the use of weapons, the frequency of deaths, and the criminal issues in these five minutes. However it also has elements of film-noir due to the stark criminal aspects of the scene. The shots of the bodies laying inside of the room best shows this connection to film-noir and that genre's style and conventions. In relation to history, this extract shows how Travis Bickle may have been affected by his service in the Vietnam War. Because he has been so lonely and out-of-place after the war, this scene shows a return to his lifestyle during the war. Being set after the Vietnam War is important because it is the main cause of Travis' isolation from the rest of the city.
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