Travis Bickle is the central character in the 1976 hit movie, Taxi Driver, and one of the most complex antiheroes in cinema history. He is an honorably discharged marine vet living alone in a desolate apartment in New York City who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and insomnia. During the day he writes his thoughts in a diary and frequently visits a movie theater to watch pornography. At night he drives a taxi cab through the urban decay streets where he picks up various lowlife scumbags, such as adulterous politicians, hookers, and pimps. Each night he has to wipe away the cum, and sometimes blood, from the seats. His apartment is littered with empty fast food containers, soda cans, scattered newspapers, and an old-school tube TV sitting on top of a battered milk crate. His parents believe he is working for the government making tons of money, and is dating a beautiful girl name Betsy when in actuality he does not have any friends and he feels his life has no purpose.
Watching the movie from start to finish, one would conclude that based on his decision-making and thought pattern, Travis was psychotic. No doubt about it, his intention to help rid the city of the bad guys using violence is morally wrong, although honorable in his eyes. His descent into madness should never be copied or celebrated. But before the second half of the movie, before he decided to take matters into his own hands, I saw him as an imperfect, sympathetic figure with good intentions but bad habits and poor social skills.
I thought I’d watch the movie for the umpteenth time and explore the introverted behaviors of one of Robert De Niro’s most memorable roles.
Introvert Behaviors
Travis is depicted as the misfit introvert, a person who simply does not fit in with the crowd, and in this case, it is the city. At times he tries making friends with people he meets along the way, such as the no-nonsense cab company interviewer who instantly becomes irritated when Travis makes a harmless joke to ease the tension, and the dispirited movie theater clerk who threatens to call the manager because Travis is attempting to have a friendly conversation with her. In one of his diary entries, he writes that one should be a person like everyone else, signifying that he wants to feel belonged. However, the problem in following this idea is the city itself. He describes the people as cold and distant, and that’s just the people roaming during the day. At night he describes them as animals, scum, and other resentful terms.
Several scenes in the movie show him hanging alongside his co-workers saying one or two words in a sentence and appearing lost in his own world. Since he is quiet and honest, his colleagues seem to respect him, yet they exhibit unattractive behaviors and practice illegal trades —like selling drugs and guns—that further deteriorate the already decaying city.
One of Travis’s weaknesses is his conversation skills. Throughout the movie, he struggles to speak naturally with others. He will say very few words, he struggles to form sentences, he creates long pauses, he fails to follow up on a topic, and to avoid awkwardness, he will invent a new topic out of the blue.
He even forgot to ask Betsy, his love interest, for her last name when they met. And if it were not for her nameplate being displayed, he would’ve forgotten to ask her first name as well.
He also has a tendency to plan his conversations ahead of time to hide his weakness. For example, in the scene where Senator Charles Palantine enters his taxi, Travis begins a lively conversation expressing his admiration for his work. However, this is more of a ploy to impress Betsy, who works for Palantine. Travis’s conversation is obviously scripted, but after the senator asks him what changes he would like to see happen in the city, Travis goes on a long rant about the sickness spewing in the city and how someone needs to clean the filth and flush it down the toilet. This was a thought that had been running inside his mind for a long time, which is why it sounded natural. The rant intrigues Palantine to the point he nearly becomes speechless. When an introvert is passionate about a topic, they pour out influential emotions that can make the most pessimistic person a believer.
People are attracted to others who share the same interests and personalities as them, and lonely people are no exception. In the crowded city, Travis finds two: Betsy and Iris. He sees Betsy as a lonely person. An angel surrounded by this filthy mess of a city, and no one… can… touch… her. He believes a cosmic force compelled him to talk with her, and the minute they were together, he felt a powerful connection. Betsy admits to feeling the same.
Iris is a 12-year-old prostitute, a profession Travis does not favor. She came into his life in a flash. While driving at night, she appeared out of nowhere and he almost hit her. From that moment, he could not stop thinking about her. Although he never revealed the reason for his obsession, it could be determined that he saw her as a lonely person who not only needed a real friend but also needed to be saved from her life of whoredom.
What are your thoughts?
Are there any other introverted behaviors you noticed in the movie?
If not antihero or villain, what character type would you classify Travis Bickle as?
Can you name the Pantera song which contains several audio clips from the movie?
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Taxi Driver - 1976 drama
Rated R for graphic violence and profanity
Starring Robert Di Nero, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shephard, Harvey Keitel
Director: Martin Scorsese
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