Urban Decay and Alienation in Taxi Driver (1976) - Essay Sample

Introduction

Taxi Driver (1976) is a classic noir movie examining the alienation in the urban society written by Paul Schrader and directed by Martin Scorsese (Bernardoni 20). It creates an emotional development and it provides different issues in the movie that conform to the elements of film noir. The film enhances the examination of urban violence and social alienation. Through the particular production of the film, it manages to portray the decay in the city, and an environment broken by violence and largely ignored by the local government. The film is not only a presentation of the views of Travis but also marks a period in the 1970s when public disorder and anxiety was at its peak. The paper analyses the movie, Taxi Driver and how it belongs to the genre of film noir by examining the features of film noir present in the film.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Taxi Driver is set in a morally deteriorating and decaying New York City following the events of the Vietnam War. Within the setting of this film, Martin Scorsese combines elements of the Western, urban melodrama film genre, and film noir. The film explores the psychological insanity within an inarticulate, twisted, lonely, war veteran who is a Taxi Driver. Martin Scorsese adds monologued montages into his movies (Rushing 27). Some scenes usually portray the protagonist gearing up and training for a fight. Between camera placement, use of soundtracks and longer takes on scenes shows that the genre or style of film Noir is used in Taxi driver.

Features of Film Noir Used in Taxi Driver

Film Noir contains most themes of many American crime stories. The most dominant theme is a crime which is often primarily accompanied by violence, punishment and alienation. However, the issue is not that clear under unkeen eyes. Scorsese focuses on different structures of the film by relying on Travis' view (Rafter 11). With the derived representation of veterans, it compels the action of violence as seen throughout the US cinema. It is overshadowed by the majority of films that depict soldiers as victims of violence as they face different occurrence in war (Ray 357). The historical setting of film noirs is in a contemporary world that is corrupted and lost its moral certainty. The government is often depicted as corrupt. In numerous ways, Taxi Driver is linked to such occurrences. The film is set during the 1970s. Film noir is a genre or style primarily used to describe cinematographic film marked by sexual motivations, cynical attitudes, and other moods of menace, fatalism, and pessimism (Recchia 601). Film noir is characterised by common elements such as the fatalism, dirty realism, and other unsavoury aspects manifesting themselves in human society (Borde and Chaumeton 17). Naremore points out that it is also characterised by elements of sexual perversity, corruption and criminal activity, which are evident in the film Taxi Driver (Naremore 11). Since film noir involves events that happen in such a setting, Taxi Driver is; thus, defined as a film noir.

Various critics attempt to describe Travis's behaviour as an effect of the Vietnam War since it could have driven him into insanity (Rausch 44). Due to such perception, Travis is also viewed as a man committing violence in an attempt to restore order. He is often referred to as pathological and not heroic (Allen 23). Given the extent of the violence in the film and the events occurring in the conflict section, it is ironic to see Travis reborn as a hero at the end of the movie. Typically, film noirs define narrations of heroes whose violent but valiant practices rescue endangered communities (Recchia 603).

Moreover, Travis attempts to achieve his masculine development through violence in various scenes. Throughout Taxi Driver, the actions of violence and visions of Travis could be described as violent acts. As a result of this, it conforms to the features of the film as a noir because it meets all the elements of film noir (Recchia 602). It is because it indulges in deconstructive refutation of regeneration by violence as it merges the Western with different aspects of film noir (Naremore 36). At the end of the film, the chaos goes beyond all limits with the occurrences of great violence and rewards for murder, which include the feeling of alienation, whereby, some characters praise Travis for his actions (Borde & Chaumeton 25). One scene is where Travis, meets Iris in the street and takes her out for a date in an attempt to convince her to go back home to her parents (Grist 145). Iris, however, implies that she wants to remain with Sport. In this scene, Travis shoots Sport in the stomach as the camera follows Travis' violent walk through corridors upstairs that lead to Iris's room. After another shooting between Sport and Travis, the camera is positioned above the staircase depicting a better view of the fire and later focusing on the gushing of blood, and Iris's crying sounds. Through the presentation of the gross events showcasing violence, the viewer can identify that this movie confirms to the elements of film noir (Rice 120).

Another feature of film noir is the use of primary moods such as melancholy, desperation, pessimism, and paranoia. Film noir is considered as the product of postwar realism, combined with a disorienting setting that produces moral disorientation. Frequently, such noir films offer the use of disjunctions between the sounds and movement to create increased suspense and disorientation that signify alienation and insanity. Taxi Driver shows different cases where Scorsese pushes the elements of film noir to higher levels. The film lighting clouds to the extent of surrealism as the characters in the film are shown in a red glow of neon light and dark shadows in the darkness and night. The film events are marked by darkness and cynicism. As seen in Taxi Driver, the events of noir produce moral and psychological disorientation as if pushing revolutionary destruction (Baker 395). Also, Taxi Driver develops noir element as it highlights low-lightings, confusion and chaos, and offers different photography techniques that produce claustrophobic effects along disjunctions of sound and movement which increase suspense.

Another feature of the noir film is the expressionistic lighting accompanied by a depth of field camera work. Ominous shadows and skewed camera angles are also familiar in film noir. Interiors often characterise settings of such films with low-key lighting, dark, claustrophobic, and gloomy appearances. Flashing neon lights in Taxi Driver shows it contains various elements of film noir (Naremore 34). The film uses the iconography of dark sidewalks in introducing some scenes. For example, Scorsese conveys a sense of distortion, spoiling the protagonist's sensibility, which creates a pattern that implies a psychotic's subjective perspective. Due to Scorsese's skill, he creates effects that undermine the sense of reality, which, on the other hand, shows the unsettling distortion of things. Through this effect, it creates an anxious tone through which the viewers see the streets of New York in blurred images. The occurrence creates a luminescent world while at the same time, creating overwhelming darkness, which is a perfect depiction of how Travis' perceives the world. As a result, this confirms the development and view of Taxi Driver as a film noir. Even though there is the view of light, the protagonist prefers to focus on the dark aspects of the film since through imagery alone; the New York streets are pictured to as threatening (Borde & Chaumeton 19). The structure and setting of the film, shows a representation of the city through a rain-dotted windshield to the accompaniment of wipers. The daylight scenes foreground the dinginess below high urban valleys that show the brutality as seen in the film. This scene shows Travis; the individual preventing it; but instead of inspiring awe, it remains overwhelming (Ray 357). As such, the work establishes a connection that foreshadows the events in the film. Through such an occurrence, it is evident that the movie tends to lean towards film noir (Grist 143).

Film noirs depict the protagonist character as a loner who is introverted and quite pessimistic. The hero to be is often on a quest in the noir world, seeking for greatness. He is persecuted and repeatedly tested. In Taxi Driver, the film shows loneliness which describes personal confinement and total isolation of characters during the post-American war. One can imply that Travis' drift into insanity is a result of isolation and loneliness. Through Bickle's journal entries and thoughts, depicted as a voice-over, the developments begin in a context of coherence (Grist 133). As the character gets into the loneliness and isolation, his attempts to develop a connection and bond are rejected as his narration turns fragmented. In particular scenes of the film, Bickle's syntax falls and collapse along with his falling logic since he is depicted as a character of duality. As Travis Bickle talks of tidying up the 5th street as any individual would, it is clear that he still involves in loner activities which include attending pornographic theatres (Scorsese 1973). Travis is seen as if torn in between representing both the insanity and sanity in the city. He is exceptionally biased towards his view of the world, which is critical as the entire film is examined from the protagonist's perspective (Naremore 35). It might seem appropriate that Travis acquires a job as a cab driver since he cannot sleep (Borde & Chaumeton 22). However, Travis is trapped between two worlds: the world of the night and the world of the day, which is different extents define the wrongs and the rights in the society (Grist 141).

There are certain scenes in Taxi Driver where the film employs intrusive techniques which are also elements connected with film noir. For example, the camera functions in a particular manner that depicts an emotional perspective throughout the context and plot of the film. Scorsese makes use of the dissolving sequencing to focus on Travis walking through the stuffy sidewalks to affect the viewers' view of the character's position in the present world setup (Grist 153). There is a direct channelling of the viewer's perception created by Scorsese as he utilises sequencing which means that pictures are presented in such a manner that does not show perfection but centres on scenes that are corrupt, violent, and immoral (Grist 153). In the case of Taxi Driver, the camera provides a proper view of the landscape, which in one way or the other shows New York City from the perspective of Travis. Therefore, one can argue that, with the perception of New York City, Taxi Driver could be considered a film noir since its setting is based on a modern city setup (Jukes 22). Another scene of camera movement is when Travis shoots Sport in the stomach as the camera follows Travis' violent walk through corridors and stairs that lead up to Iris's room. After another shooting between Sport and Travis, the camera is positioned above the staircase depicting a better view of the fire and later focusing on the gushing of blood, and Iris's crying sounds. In this scene, noir is described as the camera shows an overhead shot retracing the events and later showing the street (Grist 151). Through the presentation of the gross events such as dripping blood and a tone of the music, this action tries to show that liberation has happened. It also depicts Travis as a hero who has helped make New York City become a better place. The events conform to the elements of film noir (Rice 120).

The voice-over is a confessional narration that tells a story out of a need to cleanse the narrator's conscience. Narratives in film noir are typically told with ominous background music alongside reflective or acerbic dialogue. Revela...