Don't Let Yourself Become Like Travis Bickle | Understanding Taxi Driver

Travis Bickle is undoubtedly one of the most iconic characters in cinema history: A man who fought in the Vietnam War, then came back and became a taxi driver, having a hard time getting things back on track. Has no friends, no purpose and just no motivation to do anything about it. It's like he's stuck in a rut and can't seem to find a way out.

For Travis Bickle, after going through a tough war, it was really hard to adjust to regular life. So it's no surprise that he might start feeling lost and lonely, not knowing their purpose anymore, and these feelings lead him to depression and laziness. But, what if these feelings eventually reach a breaking point and turn into violence? What happens?

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Music: Godmode - Melancholia @YouTube Audio Library

[tonyz.]

As an Iraq war veteran, this analysis is spot on. I spent most of two years fighting against some of the worst humanity has to offer. After my second deployment, I separated and was sent home. That's it. No contacts near home, no leads on potential jobs or schools, just a DD214. At 22, I was lost and felt completely disconnected with the world around me. Isolation eats away at you until there is nothing left but a shell of what once was. Thank you for connecting this movie to real world issues. If more people empathized like this to truly understand another's plight, the world would be a better place for us all. #22aday

[samfilmkid]

Paul Schrader, the screenwriter, literally said "If I don't write this character, I'm going to become him."

[pcefsbx]

As a Uber driver for 6 years, it is a very lonely job. You really do become a spectator of other people's lives. Sometimes you become jealous and envious of their lives. And I hate it when you meet someone you really connect with through conversations, then you get to your destination and the ride ends. You never see that person again. It takes a mental toll over time.

[sad-lbvr]

Deniro's best role I would say. I can relate to Travis's pain. Just wandering around aimlessly. I get it. Living perpetually in the grey area. Nothing really mattering because you're all alone.

[manintheline]

Travis is a good person at heart, but the world he lives and his loneliness has eaten away at his heart

[surrealsoupuniverse]

Its very difficult to NOT end up being like travis bickle nowadays

[johnny]

45+ years later and the themes of this movie are still as relevant as they were back them. Times might change, but human nature doesn’t.

[aaronheaton]

I worked as a taxi driver after working abroad for many years. Taxi driving feels like the worst place to be. Outside of the world of people with places to go and see. You are literally a ghost driving a machine. No one will recognise you a second time your just the driver.

[andrewschulte]

“someday a real rain will come and wash all the scum off the streets” still goes so hard

[cybercrusader]

In my opinion Taxi Driver is more relevant today then ever before. With 63% of young men being single, the loneliness topic can be relative to much more people nowadays. I was surprised to see that Travis survived his shootout at the end. Instead of dying, he kept on living and kind of get over Betsy. Truly an inspiring movie.

[prakhargupta]

"Someday a real rain will come and wash away all the scum off the streets..."

[noneofyourbusiness]

"everyone is travis now"- Martin Scorsese 2023

[gamerman]

I was afraid of becoming Travis Bickle so I became Patrick Bateman.

[MrGadfly]

I think that many people underestimate the powerful trauma of Travis being a Vietnam vet. He came of age in that war and it distorts him, makes him unable to see humanity and instead fixates on his delusions of honor and grandeur. He becomes seduced by the idea of being the violent hero. And society rewards him, without realizing how they are turning him into a monster.

[williamj.dovejr.]

I went from being a very social person before marriage to becoming very isolated the longer I was married. The separation and divorce reveals some ugly truths...like who you can trust. I didn't know who to trust and felt like a forgotten man. I tucked into weed, cigarettes, booze, movies all night... anything that I could do to stay awake because I kept having the same nightmares when I did sleep. Insomnia was at a all time high, eating a lot and being hungry again to food quickly losing its taste to eating nothing unless absolutely necessary. I agree with Jung... everyone wants to be a hero, the question is how.

[theswede]

I identify so much with Travis, always alone with my thoughts and wandering around the city watching other people live their normal little lives while i remain eternally alone and an outcast who never fitted in anywhere. A man born in the wrong place and time i feel like many times and my resentment for mankind and the culture we live in grows by the day, yet i manage to remain an optimist deep inside but a drastic change is needed to break this vicious cycle.

[herrmiseria]

I can really empathize with Travis, even though unlike him, most of my hate is not directed towards others but myself as I fail to leave the cycle of loneliness I have been in for years. Complete isolation and social ineptitude. I am able to see that my own choices have led me to this place as I refuse to change who I am for the sake of fitting in as I see that completely unauthentic and weak. I am a loner, I enjoy being alone and spending time on my own, I hate being lonely and having no one to create a meaningful relationship with. Being alone and lonely are two different things.
Great video man, keep it up, cheers.

"He who walks alone, always walks uphill, but beneath his feet are the broken bones of flawed men"

[_sargentocoelho_]

"After going through a tough war, it can be rough to adjust to regular life"

Not even 10 seconds in and this man already answered why i feel so empty after recovering from depression

[gabriellalindsay]

“He tries to get close to women but his behaviors come off strange and erratic.” He took a woman to watch porn on a first date and like a child tried to detain her when she wanted to leave. Travis tried to become close to her the way men are taught: physically first. To really be close, you have to let yourself be seen and try to see the person in front of you.

[mindujiman]

Travis is such a complex characther that it's impossible not to see yourself reflected in him at some point