Taxi Driver Post

In the film Taxi Driver, the main character, Travis, can be viewed in many different ways. As I was watching the film, I began to notice that many of the shots consisted of darker lighting. For example, as Travis is driving around in his taxi at night and sees Iris for the first time, he is in period of his life in which he feels like he needs to find something to make himself worth while. As a matter of fact, up until Travis actually shoots a robber in a store, I perceived him to be a lost man who was so desperate to find something that would either help take his mind off of the "disgusting" world around him, or help him fix all of the mess he saw in the world. In contrast, however, all of the scenes in which Travis is with Betty, the lighting is much lighter. I found this to be symbolic for Travis having found a "light" in his life for the time being. Although Scorsese doesn't take the two characters through a long journey together, Betty's character served as a reminder to Travis that he needed to do something that would help fix all of the "dirtiness" in the world; Betty's job was what first sparked this desire in Travis. Another aspect of this film that really caught my eye was Travis' narration through the entire film. As I was watching the film, I realized that his narration helped the audience understand his character growth. At the beginning of the movie, he was looking for something or someone to dedicate himself to, or  make some sort of change in society. By the end, he has become a city hero, although claims he does not care about that. One question I do have after viewing this film, however, is was it all just a dream? The last few frames of the film in which Travis is driving around in his taxi at night and all we see is him and the city lights reflecting through the taxi mirrors and window, are not clear in telling the audience as to what is going to happen to Travis next or what his particular feelings are at that moment. Because of this remaining question, there are many different views and outlooks on who Travis is and what the film means as a whole.