Black Elements of the film Taxi Driver

Essay by alphagaryUniversity, Bachelor's January 2005

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Taxi Driver tells the story of a post-Vietnam veteran Travis Bickle, a loner suffering from insomnia, was driving in the mean streets of New York City, and was slipping slowly into isolation and violent misanthropy.

Camera â… :

Taxi was driving through the mist against the black background. Then the mist expanded. From Travis Bickle's eyes, we can feel that the streets full of the neon-lit were like a hell, strange and horrible. Then he found a job to drive a taxi to pass the endless hours of sleepless turmoil. During his work time, he saw the "scum" on the streets every day; he even encountered the passengers who have had violent sex on his taxi. The uses of the low-key lighting of the interior settings and the flashing neon lights are to show the black elements at the beginning of this film.

Camera Ⅱ:

Travis Bickle liked a beautiful girl Betsy.

After his persistence in inviting her to see a movie, she agreed at last. Unfortunately, the date ended in a disaster after Travis took her to a porn movie. There were a group of people, men and women, black and white, making love together in the movie, which seemed very sick. It shows the unhealthy side of the main character's psychology.

Camera Ⅲ:

The film director Scorsese appeared as a husband spying on his wife, whose silhouette appeared through a window. He was sitting in the back seat of Bickle's taxi, claimed his wife was having an affair with a "nigger." Then he went into a long, monologue where he discussed inserting a gun into his wife and pulling the trigger. It shows that he is very angry and anxiety as a pessimistic and crazy character in the film.

Camera Ⅳ:

After Bickle had a talk with...