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tagged scorcese_cinema
by yinkag
...on 01-APR-06
this site has an online copy of my article, however The New York Times is not able to be penntagged. If you have any concerns please contact Penntags administrators, this is the best way they told me to tag this article. The information for the article is Weinraub, Bernard. "Angry Vienam Veterans Charging Federal Policies Ignore Their Needs; They See Neglect and Inactin by the ADministration in Jobs, Education, Health Care and Counseling. Group in Congress Grows Administration Lists Gains Visibility an Issue Education Employment Health." The New York Times 2 Feb. 1979: A15
This article is from the New York Times and discusses the Vietnam Veteran’s, a group composed of Vietnam veterans, complaints with the Carter administration’s sensitivity to the needs of veterans. The group charges the administration with neglect of veterans. I chose this article specifically because it highlights the complaints of Veterans, which Travis Bickle is in Taxi Driver. The film’s political recognition of the effects that the war had on veterans is apparent, and this article provides one with a more non-fictional and more comprehensive. Whether or not all of Travis’ problems are the direct result of the war is not clear, however him being a veteran is definitely relevant to the film. This newspaper article was written in1979, 3 years after the movie was released, so it is contemporary with the release and in a position to make commentary on issues of the era. Travis is obviously a disturbed individual and the war had some part in that. Without coincidence, many of Travis’ sentiments are reflective of the veteran’s sentiments in this article. Feelings of abandonment, resentment, anger, and distrust of politicians, amongst others are present in Travis and in the Vietnam veterans. The article helps definitely place this fictional character in non-fictional space and explicitly illustrates the ways in which Taxi Driver serves as social commentary on political/social issues of the 70’s. This article helps illustrate the films reflective nature and can be used in support of any argument that claims that the film is reflective of the social issues of the 70’s and more specifically any argument that claims that Travis is reflective of the Vietnam veterans of the 70s.
The article specifically discusses the GI Bill which provides education for veterans, veterans (in) ability to find employment upon their return to America, and treatment, or lack thereof, of emotional and alcohol problems for veterans. While Taxi Driver, does not specifically get into Travis’s education, etc., I think the ambiguity of these things is exactly the point. The audience is neglected of any information pertaining to Travis’s education, etc., because, essentially, Travis is neglected of such opportunity himself.
tagged vietnam_veterans
by yinkag
...on 07-APR-06
Anderegg, Michael A.. Inventing Vietnam : the war in film and television / edited by Michael Anderegg. [0877228612 (cloth)] Philadelphia : Temple University Press, 1991.
Call#: Van Pelt Library DS557.73 .A5 1991
Call#: Van Pelt Library DS557.73 .A5 1991
This article focuses on Scorcese’s representation of the Vietnam War in Taxi Driver. The film’s use of violence against the “Other” and the film’s construction of the “Other” are key issues. Fuchs asserts that the film takes place in a sort of misplaced Vietnam War, the war has essentially been taken to the streets of New York City. Travis creates the “Other” through his use of offensive language and his actions. In the film, the “other” seems to be women and Blacks especially. Furthermore, Travis’s use of language and his violent ending is the an assault on the audience, taking the theme of the violence even further, from film content to integrating it into the very aesthetics of the film. Fuchs asserts that Travis’s detached isolation followed by a violent intervention is an allegory of the United State’s involvement in the US war. Travis’s violence and violation of women’s lives such as his taking Betsy to the pornographic film theatre and “saving” Iris is reflective of Vietnam’s violence. Essentially the film represents the vast political conflicts of the Vietnam War.
Identity is also discussed in relation to violence against the “other” as well. Travis defines himself by the force he is opposing. He is defined by the “other” because his entire identity is based on opposing the “other.” The construction of his body is a barrier between him and the “other.” The narration suggests that his anger is directed at the “other”, who he embodied before his training.
The film’s subjectivity through use of language, Travis’s incoherent and disorganized voiceovers are reflective of his madness. These misrepresentations are reflective of the media’s misrepresentation of the war. The media’s misrepresentation of Travis is also reflective of the Vietnam War coverage according to Fuchs.
The author briefly touches on the films similarities with other genres. The nighttime backdrop, voiceovers, and corrupt versus pure women (Iris and Betsy respectively) are reminiscent of film noir.
Lastly, the author discusses Travis playing cowboys and Indians with street trash, which is often represented by Blacks and this also ties into the film’s theme of racial conflict.
tagged cinema_scorcese
by yinkag
...on 05-APR-06
"New York City on film defines edgy director Martin Scorcese." New York Amsterdam news [0028-7121] 95.45 (2004). 10-.
If you should so choose to take an auteurist approach to discussing Taxi Driver, this article is perfect. This article discusses Scorcese as a director and more specifically, a New York City director, contributing some of the most insightful, rich, and complex portrayals of the city on film. Scorcese is seen as a sort of quintessential New York City director. The article does not simply discuss Taxi Driver, but it discusses a number of Scorcese’s works including, but not limited to, Gangs of New York, Raging Bull, and Mean Streets.
Classic Scorcese film styles and elements include his recycling actors (Robert DeNiro and Harvey Keitel). Scorcese’s use of Black actors and shooting in the different borroughs in an attempt to fully represent the city’s diversity is also typical of Scorcese’s films. Scorcese’s New York style is attributed to setting many of his films in the city, but the author also suggests that Scorcese gets to New York’s essence. The gritty and beautiful New York that only its inhabitants seem to really understand is explicitly expressed through Scorcese films. Scorcese’s auteur mark is directly coupled with New York City. Coincidentally, the author also draws attention to critics’ claims that Scorcese ignored the severity of anti-black racial tension in Gangs of New York. Similar criticisms have been made of Taxi Driver. While the film is not a racist film, it does discuss a racist but without paying close attention it is too easy to forget Travis’s ruthless hostility towards the “other”, who is often black or woman. However, the film does not discuss and push the race envelope as much as it should for historical accuracy or artistic liberty.
The author suggests that Scorcese holds the power to capture the hideously beautiful city of New York, to capture and display the essence of this city. Simply put, Scorcese “gets” New York and is able to effectively communicate whatever “it” is to the outside world. It is through his ability and constant implementation of this ability that Taxi Driver, and any Scorcese film for that matter, its typical of the auteur. Through these abilities, Scorcese becomes an auteur.
tagged cinema_auteur_scorcese
by yinkag
...on 06-APR-06
"Postmodern Antihero: Capitalism and Heroism in Taxi Driver" Bright Lights Film Journal 47 (2005).
I will discuss this article’s relevance to Martin Scorcese’s film “Taxi Driver” (1976). The article analyzes the film from a post-modern perspective, revealing the ways in which the director created a post-modern hero. The film is presented as being a “rightist” film with leftist/Western elements. The author makes direct correlations between the film’s classic Hollywood aesthetic quality, which referenced genres such as the Western and film noir, in a contemporary context. The article focuses on Robert DeNiro’s character, Travis, as a delusional anti-hero who is exiled by the very society who’s ideals he embraces and manipulates through his “hero” identity. The infamous “you talking to me?” scene in which DeNiro totes a gun and talks to himself a mirror illustrates the typical classic Western hero however he ruins this role by going on a suicidal rampage at the end of the film for vengeance rather than for righting wrongs. The traditional Western is challenged in that Travis is never punished for his wrong doings and on the contrary he is celebrated for his suicidal rampage.
America’s media and their use of constructed images through sensationalism is discussed in relation to Travis becoming a media hero for gunning ‘battling” drug dealers. The media labels him a hero, validating and motivating his delusional psyche.
Issues that were contemporary to the making of this film are constantly referenced and discussed in this article as well. America’s tumultuous 1970s were reflected in the film. Iannucci discusses racism in the film, the affects of the Vietnam War on veterans, and NYC’s bankruptcy.
Furthermore, Scorcese’s camerawork is discussed in context of representing Travis’ delusional mindset. Scenes and angles are discussed to reveal how Scorcese’s odd framing and angles and character ambiguity is filtered through Travis’s psyche.
Lastly, Iannucci discusses Travis’s ideas of masculinity in relation to Betsy and Palantine’s and Iris and Sport’s relationships. Comparisons are also drawn between Iris and Betsy to illustrate their roles in instigating Travis’s rampage.
tagged cinema_scorcese
by yinkag
...on 07-APR-06
Thompson,R . "Screen writer: "Taxi Driver"'s Paul Schrader" Film comment [0015-119X] 12 (1976). 6-11.
A film’s quality and content are usually attributed to the director, following the auteur theory, however in this article the screenwriter’s interpretation is key. The screenwriter of Taxi Driver, Paul Schrader, is interviewed about his life, a couple of his films, how he got into writing, etc. The various approaches to Schrader, helps one interpret Taxi Driver in relation to its creator. What Schrader was trying to portray is more lucid and the film’s ambiguities (as there are many) are clearer.
Schrader describes the film as taking the European existential hero and putting him in an American context, which essentially makes him much more ignorant of his problems. Travis’s problem is that he does not realize that his problems lie within, so instead of directing his actions inward, he acts upon others. Schrader discusses his inspirations for the script, which included Arthur Bremer who assassinated a political figure in the 70s.
Interestingly enough Schrader interprets the film in a religious context, calling it a “protestant script” and a “catholic film.” Scorcese and Schrader come from deeply religious households, which is reflected in the film (interestingly, Schrader went to missionary school and did not pursue film until college, which you find out in the interview). Schrader’s Protestant coldness and isolation and Scorcese’s catholic “emotional and communal flurry” are fused to create the final product. The contrasting religious sentiments are embodied in the Travis, which only adds to his complexity and the films contrasting quality.
Schrader repeatedly describes Travis as being unintelligent. This is not to suggest that Travis was not written to be deranged. I am not sure that Travis is always interpreted this way, which makes an interesting insider perspective. Furthermore, Schrader describes the relationship between script and film, the dynamic between the screenwriter and the director in relation to the final product. Schrader’s commentary makes his motivations and intentions for the film obvious. His personal story and influences helps interpret the film in a context that may have been less explored, such as Travis as an unintelligent character instead a purely psychotic one. The interview helps interpret the film as a Schrader script rather than a Scorcese film.
Schrader describes the film as taking the European existential hero and putting him in an American context, which essentially makes him much more ignorant of his problems. Travis’s problem is that he does not realize that his problems lie within, so instead of directing his actions inward, he acts upon others. Schrader discusses his inspirations for the script, which included Arthur Bremer who assassinated a political figure in the 70s.
Interestingly enough Schrader interprets the film in a religious context, calling it a “protestant script” and a “catholic film.” Scorcese and Schrader come from deeply religious households, which is reflected in the film (interestingly, Schrader went to missionary school and did not pursue film until college, which you find out in the interview). Schrader’s Protestant coldness and isolation and Scorcese’s catholic “emotional and communal flurry” are fused to create the final product. The contrasting religious sentiments are embodied in the Travis, which only adds to his complexity and the films contrasting quality.
Schrader repeatedly describes Travis as being unintelligent. This is not to suggest that Travis was not written to be deranged. I am not sure that Travis is always interpreted this way, which makes an interesting insider perspective. Furthermore, Schrader describes the relationship between script and film, the dynamic between the screenwriter and the director in relation to the final product. Schrader’s commentary makes his motivations and intentions for the film obvious. His personal story and influences helps interpret the film in a context that may have been less explored, such as Travis as an unintelligent character instead a purely psychotic one. The interview helps interpret the film as a Schrader script rather than a Scorcese film.
tagged cinema_Scorcese
by yinkag
...on 07-APR-06
Taubin, Amy.. Taxi Driver / Amy Taubin. [0851703933] London : BFI Publishing, 2000.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1997.T365 T28 2000
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1997.T365 T28 2000
The entire book is dedicated to an aesthetic and historical discussion of Taxi Driver. The book is not divided into chapters, but it is a continuous discussion of the film. There are not definite transitory themes, however discussion of the film is thorough.
The beginning of the book immediately introduces the historical perspective of this film and its influence on society; the relevance of this film to 1970s American culture and how the film reflects 1970s American culture. John Hinkley III, a psychopath who made an assassination attempt on President Ronald Regean, claiming to have been influenced and inspired by Taxi Driver, is discussed, as is Arthur Bremer, who made an attempt assassination on a governor. This precedes discussion of the film’s preproduction process.
Pre-production of the film, from what inspired the screenwriter to shopping it out to Hollywood to prophet earnings, are also highlighted. This discussion also puts the film in a temporal context because Taubin discusses the modern cultural conflicts and influences related to the creation of the film. The religious affiliations of those involved with this production, especially Scorcese, are also highlighted later in the book to help create a religious reading of the film.
As in most texts that dissect Taxi Driver, Taubin touches on the film’s references to the Western, specifically The Searchers, and film noir. Taubin compares the World War II’s influence on film noir to Vietnam’s influence on this film. Also, as in most texts discussing this film, there is mention of the films handling of racism. The more “subtle” discussion of racism in the film was mentioned as being its one weakness, however the delicate treatment of racism is attributed to the racial tension of the 1970s and fear of rioting in theatres. The reader is informed of the films deviations from original scripts and ideas. Tabuin ultimately always ties discussion back to the aesthetics of the film, describing and analyzing shot sequences in detail and discussing the use of sound. She also, always ties discussion back to the historical contexts of the film, discussing the 1970s culture of New York City and the city’s physical composition.
tagged cinema_scorcese
by yinkag
...on 05-APR-06
"Taxi Driver." Film comment [0015-119X] 34.3 (1998). 30-.
Patterson and Farber’s article provides a critical look at Taxi Driver. The movie’s weaknesses and conflicting elements are highlighted. The various influences of older directors and movements such as Fritz Land and German expressionism and Godard, are pinpointed. Certain plot line impossibilities and improbabilities are discussed to show how the film conforms to some Hollywood clichés. Such clichés are attributed with the films success and popularity. Clichés such as the antagonists strict disciplining of his body in preparation for some end of the movie climax is exhausted in many other films and recycled in this film as well. The gunning down of the robber in the convenient store can also be seen repeated in other films as well as the glamorization of gun culture in this film. The film’s gun culture is typical of Hollywood cinema’s sensationalist nature and it works for this movie as well. In this film the gun culture helps create Travis’s masculine identity.
Patterson and Farber assert that the film consists of characters in their own space, in their own identity, and the plot discusses how they each function within these spaces. Iris, played by Jodie Foster at age 12, Travis’s taxi co-workers, Betsy, his romantic obsession, all have a well defined space in which they exist and once taken out of it, there is discomfort and dysfunction, as seen when Travis takes Betsy to the pornographic theatre. Furthermore, Travis does not have this well-defined space. The film follows him as he tries to create his own space/identity. Travis is not only undefined, but he is unable to function in others’ spaces, as we see with his discomfort when dealing with others such as the politician, Sport, Iris’s pimp, etc.
Ultimately this article breaks down the ways in which Scorcese incorporates Hollywood and less traditional, international even, themes and methods of filmmaking to create a new hybrid of film.
tagged cinema_scorcese
by yinkag
...on 05-APR-06
""The Power of Blackness": Film Noir and Its Critics." American literary history [0896-7148] 16.4 (2004). 675-.
When researching Taxi Driver, one will undoubtedly find that the film is aesthetically linked to past film genres. The two most prominent genres that one will encounter are film noir and the western. This is believable considering the film historian Scorcese is. This article’s discussion of film noir, specifically in an American context, illustrates Taxi Driver’s elements and themes, helping read it as film noir with a twist. The author links film noir’s origins specifically to post World War II paranoia and American literary Gothicism. The author sites many American works in which the film noir tradition is visible and many of the things that he sites are applicable to Scorcese’s Taxi Driver, and help further root the film in an American film noir tradition.
Whether or not film noir is a visual style of genre is also debated, however this is not especially relevant in context to Taxi Driver because either way, the film embodied noir elements. The author characterizes film noir by fractured narratives, characters caught in downward spiral, mysterious pasts, surrealistic atmosphere of violent confusion, ambiguity and disequilibrium, and unsettling frame of visual reference. We can see all of these elements in Taxi Driver. The narrative does at times seem fractured since Scorcese chose to present many sequences from a subjective point of view, as though the film’s visual aesthetics and narrative structure were being filtered through Travis’s warped psyche. The framing throughout the film through Travis’s front window or rear view mirror are examples of this subjective perspective. Also, Travis certainly has a mysterious past, partially because the film never explicitly delves into his past, beyond him saying he has not had much education and is a Vietnam veteran, and because even if the film were to explicitly delve into Travis’s past, the information would not be reliable since it is filtered through Travis’s troubled psyche. The audience is not even sure whether or not Travis went to Vietnam. Travis and Iris even are certainly characters caught in a downward spiral although Travis is unable to see his spiral and decides to “save” Iris from her own downfall.
Ultimately this article discusses film noir, linking it to various American works, and showing how the “noir part of the film is the flip side of the utopian impulse within American history.” The author defines what film noir is and how it is American. America’s dark elements, basically its dark history, helped create noir. The film embodies all of these elements, both the dark noir aesthetic and the dark American element, although he author would argue that these are on in the same.
tagged cinema_scorcese
by yinkag
...on 06-APR-06
"Transcendental Pornography and "Taxi Driver"" The Journal of popular film and television [0195-6051] 5.2 (1976). 109-123.
This article approaches Taxi Driver from various angles, discussing the relationship between the film’s violence and pornography and the American viewer. Travis is “partly fiction” as Rice says. Travis only partially fits into traditional character conventions. Part of what makes this film so uncomfortable for the viewer is its realism. The protagonist is not completely fictional so the viewer relates his actions to real life and the pleasure of cinema is based on it being fictional. The gratuitous violence and/or sex fulfills the viewer’s voyeuristic needs without evoking any sort of moral conflict because they can place those needs and desires onto fictional people; it does not matter because it is not real, because it is fictional. Travis deconstructs barriers between the audience and the film because he exists in the viewer’s world and the film world. Travis is also a viewer/observer of the outside world. Travis looks into the outside world through his windshield and rear view mirror (Scorcese frames many shots through the windshield and rearview mirror); essentially Travis’s windshield is the equivalent to the audience’s movie screen. The fictional aspect of Travis’s character is constructed when he goes into a fantasy world, when he starts to really construct his identity of assassin/savior/martyr. Travis starts out as normal, he embodies very humanistic traits that the audience not only sympathizes with but empathizes with. His destructive and bizarre twist of character is especially disturbing because he never fully disassociates with the audience before the full transition to psychosis occurs.
Rice asserts that violence substitutes sex and vice versa. The audience can attribute Travis’s dismissal of Betsy at the end of the film to this. Travis has already fulfilled his “carnal” needs by killing the “gangsters”, he no longer needs to have sex with Betsy, his repressed needs have been released and he is free to go about his life.
Rice makes the films pornographic and violent qualities interchangeable, describing each as being outward expressions, manifestations and consequences of universal, and especially American, inner desires and voids. The film’s “partially fictional” perspective makes it that much more disturbing because the audience is not able to easily dissociate themselves from the film’s severe pornography and violence.
Rice asserts that violence substitutes sex and vice versa. The audience can attribute Travis’s dismissal of Betsy at the end of the film to this. Travis has already fulfilled his “carnal” needs by killing the “gangsters”, he no longer needs to have sex with Betsy, his repressed needs have been released and he is free to go about his life.
Rice makes the films pornographic and violent qualities interchangeable, describing each as being outward expressions, manifestations and consequences of universal, and especially American, inner desires and voids. The film’s “partially fictional” perspective makes it that much more disturbing because the audience is not able to easily dissociate themselves from the film’s severe pornography and violence.
tagged cinema_scorcese
by yinkag
...on 07-APR-06
Loy, R. Philip, 1940- . Westerns in a changing America, 1955-2000 / by R. Philip Loy. [0786418710 ] Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland, c2004.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1995.9.W4 L694 2004
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1995.9.W4 L694 2004
At first glance, this book does not have any direct relevance in a discussion of Taxi Driver, however Chapter 2, “The Descent of the Hero” is very relevant to Scorcese’s film. Most analytical and historical discussions of Taxi Driver emphasize Western and noir and film elements. This book discusses the Western and how this genre evolved over time. The books definition of the evolved Western and Western hero is descriptive of the film and Travis respectively.
The book discusses the traditional Western, especially its hero. Through this description, the film’s traditional Western references, such as Travis’ mohwak and cowboy boots are more visible. Travis is a sort of real cowboy, but much in line with the film’s conflicting nature, Travis cuts his hair into a Mohawk, which was traditional of Native Americans. The audience is challenged to decide which side Travis is on: Cowboys or Indians? The answer is not quite clear to the audience or to Travis. The movie is full of conflicting images and themes, mostly expressed through this conflicting character, Travis.
The second book chapter offers descriptions of five Western hero types. Type one “differs in kind from other people and the environment.” The second type “is superior in degree from other people and the environment because the hero is not ‘bound by ordinary laws of nature.” The third type differs “from other people but are like them in relation to the environment.” Type four “is superior to neither other people nor his environment.” The fifth and last type “is someone with inferior moral qualities; he is someone others look down on and hold in contempt or fear.” The author asserts that the late Western hero consisted mostly of the fourth and fifth types. Travis fits perfectly into these descriptions of the more modern Western hero. Travis certainly has inferior moral qualities and is someone others would hold in fear or contempt. Others would fear him because he is so violent, because he is constantly assaulting others, whether it he assaults others physically, verbally or through his disposition. Travis has low moral quality, he is racist and deranged and yet he is the film’s protagonist, he is the film’s hero and this role is strengthened through the media’s celebration of him at the end. This book, the second chapter especially, identifies Taxi Driver as a modern Western film with classic Western elements.
tagged cinema_westerns_scorcese
by yinkag
...on 06-APR-06