"Someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets"
so I posted this photo on instagram yesterday and alot of people didn't know who travis bickle was on my shirt. and thats okay, cause like its an old movie, so its not like I'm going to shame you for not knowing. in fact, if it wasn't for my high school biology teacher I wouldn't know half the movies I do....he was such a cool guy. got me hooked on deniro my freshman year. started with deer hunter, mean streets, cape fear and raging bull, but when I saw taxi driver it was over for me.
so the movie "taxi driver" is probably my all time favorite movie, DEFINITELY top 3. its like taxi driver, pulp fiction, and american psycho....yeah I don't know if I'm really a chick either. I digress....
so taxi driver is a movie by Martin Scorsese starring Robert DeNiro, Harvey Keitel, and a very young Jodie Foster. the movie itself is entertaining, super gritty, sad, and funny at times. like its definitely a solid movie to just watch, to just have on your que, you know???
but for me, it was always so much more than a movie. for one, I always related to the character of Travis. this is a guy, right, a veteran, who takes a job as a taxi driver to just sort of keep his mind occupied, do something with his time at night. and Travis is perceived as this lonely guy. theres even a line in the movie along the lines of "I'm Gods lonely man" and I just always related to this. like I'm someone who enjoys "me" time, I like to be alone rather than around a bunch of people but being alone ALL the time is not healthy (its why I've forced myself to go out more as of recent years) but the thing is, you go out and you wonder why am I out? you start seeing how fucked up people in this world are.
travis encounters this girl betsy. she works as a political campaign supporter and she's super shallow and superficial, "cold" I guess you could say.
travis likes her but she's sort of that super "bitch"....like she's too good for him, he takes her to this porno and she gets all offended, they don't mesh with the jokes, whatever. he makes a few social faux paus and its like he's this monster to her. she like, sort of blows him off, he's like WTF? back to be lonely. whatever. I get this too. its like if you're not fucking perfect to somebody, its like thats their excuse to write you off, first date, bye. IDK. people in this world are just shallow. to me, betsy is the epitome of the shallow fucks in this world, who don't give people chances. not just for dating, but people in general, human beings, you know?
okay so, not trying to giveaway anything here (but the ending of this movie is just BAD FUCKING ASS all the way)
so travis continues driving his taxi and this child prostitute hops in his cab. so like up to this point, travis has encountered some shady people in his taxis backseat, including a sadistic martin scorsese playing a scorned (or psychotic) lover. this girl gets in kind of like high or whatever and then she gets taken out. he meets her pimp and sees how unhappy she is....and is like, I gotta do something about this.
now this is like your modern day superhero. right? like he's taken it upon himself to go clean up the streets of new york. like whats he got to lose? he hates the government, he holds resentment for his country, and he's just lonely and miserable so he might as well help some people out.
I know you might be thinking....but trish, like, you relate to this guy? like he's a sociopath. but in a way, I find him to be human. its a movie, first of all, but even so, after working for pimps and in brothels, whore houses, escort agencies, strip clubs, you encounter the same kind of trash travis does in his taxi. its like a confessional being a taxi driver as is being a hooker or whatever. like people just think you're pretty fucked up but safe so they can just spill all their fucked up issues with you.
mind you, when I was in high school watching this movie, I didn't think of myself as becoming a worker in the sex industry but I did have visions of being a taxi driver because of this movie. in hopes that I could help people who needed it.
REGARDLESS,
this is a good film to watch. like everyone I talk to, gets SOMETHING out of it. maybe they don't relate to travis bickle the way I did (or lust after Sport the way a pubescent trish did) but theres alot of themes and underlying messages for all you english majors out there. lol.
its not a feel good movie and thats why I like it. today, every movie has to have a happy ending, a fairytale romance, good looking people in stupid unrealistic situations.
also, I grew up in the suburbs of chicago, farm towns in IL, so I guess the idea of this all happening in the world was almost fantasy enough for me. it exposed me to something I had never seen.
if you're a fan of DeNiro or Scorsese, its a MUST SEE.
and it is violent, graphic, and explicit language so obviously, be prepared for that.
but IDK man, wanted to share this with you all. I just couldn't fit all this in a 140 character tweet now, could I?
lol
have you seen "taxi driver"????? what were your thoughts on it???
I'm not crazy, I swear (says the crazy person in the room)
ox
Trish
