Taxi Driver

I think that what makes Taxi Driver such an interesting film is the fact that normally, us as a society barely even think about taxi drivers. We just know that we need a taxi to get from one place to the next, and it’s their job to get us there (if we can get one in the first place before someone else steals it from us). However, the main character, Travis, in Taxi Driver proves that no one is just a “Taxi Driver”, or rather, someone who gets us from one place to the next. Everyone in a society makes it up, even if they turn out to be a little on the insane side. 

In the final sequence when Travis went on a killing spree and shot Iris’ pimps, we see that he has an extremely dark side and he was truly insane the whole time. The audience grew to and sort of even ends up trusting Travis because of his dedication to Iris. However he took his dedication to a whole new level. I always sensed an anti-social/isolation dilemma, but I never thought that the film would end like this.

Travis is a very interesting character who speaks of ridding scum from the streets, yet he sort of is considered to be apart of that group of people. Why do you think Travis was so dedicated to Iris and what do you think will happen with her now?