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@user-ey8yc7st7kРік тому
If someone hasn't yet pointed this out I think there's a lot of significance to travis being an ex marine. A longing for a greater purpose is a huge reason people join the military, and he probably got a feeling of importance out of it. So know that he feels he has no purpose, he seeks to gain it in the way he found purpose before: violence. Travis may have been a war hero or a war criminal or something in between, but either way, he was conditioned into thinking that violence and killing gives him purpose. now that he's out the military he still longs for purpose through violence, but since there isn't an enemy that wears a uniform that he knows he is supposed to kill, travis invents new villains for himself to kill.
@rubenvasquez8750Рік тому
I'm a former U.S. Army(Medic), I spent six years preparing for a war I never fought in, to treat patients I never had, and to serve in a way I never did. I drive a city bus now and only see other people being happy and fulfilled in a way I never was. It wears on me in a way few can understand, but I'm still young and I intended to leave my job to do better things with my life.
@codygreene9067Рік тому
It’s true. I was a Paratrooper in the Army for close to seven years. I went to Iraq and Afghanistan during my time in the military. Ever since I got out I’ve struggled to find purpose and I currently work night shift in a warehouse. It seems to be a recurring theme for veterans. Most guys go into the military right out of high school so they’re taught to act and think a certain way. Then once they’re out the military effectively turns it’s back on them and says “good luck”. They spend all this time training you to be a member of the military and then spend no time training you to re-enter the civilian sector.
@user-ey8yc7st7kРік тому
@@codygreene9067 I've heard variations of this a lot. I'm sure there are many elements of going back to normal life that are super difficult for veterans, but a big one is the feeling that you've become just another worker again. I remember hearing a story about a veteran who started working a fast food drive-through, and just feeling completely demeaned by it. Having all the people who you were told you were protecting, who said "thank you for your service" yell at you because they got lettuce instead of the extra pickles they ordered.
@avaruusmuukalainenРік тому
On the other hand he said he was in the marine special forces which makes him sound a bit weird.
@avaruusmuukalainenРік тому
@@rubenvasquez8750 I spent a year in the army preparing for the war that Ukrainians fight now.
@jackalope2302Рік тому
Ironically enough, it was driving a taxi that showed me my purpose in life. Service to my fellow human is purpose enough for me. I learned that the thing that makes me happiest is making people around me happy. Granted, I was in a small community in the 2010s instead of New York City in the '80s. I got frequent customers again and again and got to become a sort of friend to them
@anarchodollyРік тому
I'm reminded of that scene in Monty Python's Meaning Of Life where one of Eric Idle's characters gives his life philosophy: "When I was a small boy my mother said to me, "You must try to bring happiness and contentment wherever you go!" - so I became a waiter." It's a wonderfully wholesome approach and I endorse it fully.
@veikko7715Рік тому
How is that fulfilling? I’m not arguing against it I’m just curious why making other people happy gives YOU purpose?
@jackalope2302Рік тому
@@veikko7715 idk, perhaps it's because I was raised Catholic and therefore have a bit of a martyr complex. 🤪 But even now, four years after I quit, when I struggle with my problems, I remember the faces of specific people I helped and I feel a bit of the good feelings their joy brought me. I'm not saying it was always idyllic. There were many many frustrating and infuriating incidents, but I do my best to not dwell on them, unless I can make a joke out of them to entertain others. But the good stories, I don't have to make jokes of them. Long story short I became the change I wanted to see in the world and a little bit like the kind of people I wish this world had more of.
@TheEyesThroneРік тому
@@veikko7715 For me helping others and making others happy keeps you in people's good books, a good memory. The more service you do for people the more you get back. When you're known as the guy who is reliable and can give a hand at a moments notice even if you're sick as a dog, people respect you. And while yes some people can take the piss and try to take advantage of that, you get far more respect when you set boundaries as then you become VALUABLE. The community (which in todays social media haze is somewhat lacking) notices you, you'll be invited round for coffee, you'll get exclusive deals at people's shops. It's like being famous but with less hassle! You wave to people on the street and they're reminded of good moments and so you get a great big smile when they wave back, imagine everyone you walk by having the same reaction! Why would comedians exist if it didn't give them purpose to make people happy? At the end of the day me personally I want to be the father who cannot deny a request on his daughters wedding day, godfather type shit ynamean?
@regretlater929Рік тому
@@jackalope2302 Clearly from what you have been telling, you do have such a beautiful heart coupled in with a divine soul. That to me is like almost a perfect human being. Hell yeah we need much much more of that. Today!
@artfulaspie97752 роки тому
The tragedy of many people is that they do not understand it is their connections that creates a quality of life, and that keeps moving as different people come into your life. Work is only a part of it, if one disconnects from others because of hurt, dissatisfaction, or even poor health then life is a horrible prospect. It is our connections that make living bearable. Yes, I agree one can give up a lot to earn a living or even to be accepted by others. However, making destructive choices is no solution to such misery. Instead, making social connections, even just a few makes one resilient. I don't need a lot of people, but I am reliable to those who make an effort as I do to them. Excellent and thoughtful video spoken with charm - I look forward to your work
@hugh2hoob668Рік тому
People are trash mostly
@dafriendlyghostРік тому
“If one disconnects from others because of hurt, dissatisfaction or even poor health then life is a horrible prospect.” - artfulasipe
@tinafoster8665Рік тому
@@dafriendlyghost I agree, this person is quotable 1st rate👍
@101......Рік тому
Well, to quote a certain someone, "Happiness is real when it is shared." You have a really valid point there.
@christopherrobyn1748Рік тому
This makes lot of sense. I don’t talk to anyone literally 😂🤪you spot on I think.
@isardonic8601Рік тому
When I was 18, my family instilled that after high school, I had 3 options: Work, college, or the military. Currently 24, I've failed at all 3. I work in a city where everything is expensive, my job sucks, college and the military didn't work out, and I'm in debt. My environment is filled with crime, madness, and nonsense. I grew up with moral values in which I believe not only have I failed, but the environment I live in does not value and in some ways punish. I've exhausted my options, and honestly think I'm doomed to fail. I work myself tirelessly, just to let years of depression pull me down again. Life sucks, but it doesn't have to. Please don't be like me.
@shaunsteele8244Рік тому
I'm 42 now. When I was 18 my family gave me the same choices... after finding that college wasn't for me, I decided to start working and stumbled through a few tedious mind numbing jobs. I also got myself into debt I couldn't pay back, and I basically lived on friends couches for almost a decade. By the time I was 30 I accepted a temp job that turned into a promising career in healthcare management. At 35 I was finally paying off my debts, met a girl and got married and lived happily ever after. I feel like I got lucky, but I know a lot of guys like me couldn't handle life like this. I really feel for people who feel like they have no place in this world.
@juandager5220Рік тому
Life is full of failure. You fail one thousand times before succeeding. And it repeats again. But no one talks about failure, it's not on social networks. We only see utopian fantasies. Madness is trying the same experiment but expecting different results. Change your formulas and keep failing until you succeed in your goals. Actions produce change.
@saveyourhero3307Рік тому
Don’t waste your life. Maybe it’s time to move somewhere else.
@danhectic5629Рік тому
@@saveyourhero3307 i'm gonna start selling all the crap i've accumulated in my 40 mostly miserable years on this earth- and do SOMEthing, someWHERE... wish me luck- i need it. being full of hate every day for years is not healthy.
@saveyourhero3307Рік тому
@@danhectic5629Good luck. Don’t let hate consume you. It’s time to move on somewhere new
@danielmzlos1895Рік тому
I'm a depressed person but I find simple things like good wheather, taking a swim in the ocean worth living, you might think your life sucks, but when you are laying down in a hospital bed waiting for your last moments, maybe life didn't suck so much
@JustaNobody20044 місяці тому
I thought I was the only one
@teresas8173Місяць тому
@@JustaNobody2004no your not alone by any means
@teresas8173Місяць тому
Having depression makes you realize that happiness, as we struggle to find and feel it, can be found in the most simple things in life. A job does not define you, nor will it bring that much happiness to a good portion of people. For many the people you work with will do that. Decent pay also helps! And EVERY job should pay well. Loving and respecting yourself, no matter your job will bring happiness. Some people can’t work, they deserve happiness and respect as much as anyone else.
@Bruno-gl9oz16 днів тому
Doing ket with coke on a winter day... Thats happyness
@ahobimo732Рік тому
I relate to Travis Bickle more than I'm comfortable admitting. I'm not heading down the same destructive path that Bickle did, thankfully. I commit myself every day to finding my way towards the light and away from the darkness. But it's a constant struggle, and I absolutely understand how people like Travis Bickle lose their way.
@krunkle5136Рік тому
The writer of the script intended for him to be an uncomfortably relatable character, to show people they're not alone or that special.
@ahobimo732Рік тому
@@krunkle5136 Either no one is special or everyone is. These two claims might seem equivalent, but they could scarcely be further apart.
@ahobimo732Рік тому
@Chris O'halloran Life is extremely difficult for a great many people. I think it was Henry David Thoreau who wrote: "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation." I don't know if this describes MOST men, but it describes a goddamned large number of them, and women too. Travis was wrong about a lot of things, but he was right about a lot as well.
@ahobimo732Рік тому
@Chris O'halloran Yep. I think most people have issues. The question is whether or not they're facing them or not.
@ahobimo732Рік тому
@Chris O'halloran Also... good luck. I hope you survive and overcome whatever obstacles you have to face.
@benk4088Рік тому
Brilliant film, I enjoyed listening to your perspective. For me the final sequence is a manifestation of the ultimate fantasy of a lonely disillusioned male. The world doesn’t appreciate him, the girl spurns his offer of love. But, in demonstration of his strength and bravery, he does a heroic and dangerous act, getting injured in the process. The world now knows who he is and praises him (validation) and the girl comes back to him, but he now he gets to reject her in a show of false modesty. This is the deepest satisfaction of all for travis. But the final shot is so important because his eyes darting in the rear view mirror shows that, even in the completion of his impossible fantasy, he is still the same paranoid lonely man in a soulless job. He looks outward for purpose but never inward for understanding. He never falters in his belief that he is an original man with greatness in his future, it’s intolerable to him that his destiny is the same as most other average men. This film is the tragedy of the unoriginal man who dreams of greatness, in a world that can’t even offer purpose
@BrotherMalMusicРік тому
Damn I watched this movie last year to see why it’s so acclaimed, but it didn’t really hit me in the way I see it hyped up (I’m only 26, so that might be part of the reason); but your explanation makes it make more sense. I’ll probably rewatch it because most of my favorite movies have a similar, slightly “depressing” theme of some everyday person struggling internally and being hyper-aware of how unhappy or lost they feel. _American Beauty,_ _Seven Pounds,_ _What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,_ _Panic_ (The one with William H. Macy released in 2000) Edit: *movie
@tinafoster8665Рік тому
@@BrotherMalMusic seven pounds was surreal, you don't get till the end why he's so crazy about everything he's doing, n then, it's completely sane. The man can't live with the consequences of what he's done, so he sets things as right as he can, and then picks the one mode of death that will kill only his brain but no other organ. And although the movie is kind of overly emotional and stuff, it's an interesting study in how one man's mania might seem crazy but is actually the sanest thing that could be done under the circumstance
@BrotherMalMusicРік тому
@@tinafoster8665 Right! It’s crazy because _Seven Pounds_ is considered one of Will Smith’s worst movies, but it’s one of, if not my favorite movie ever. Probably tied with _American Beauty._
@CrabbadabbaРік тому
It could also be that he internalized the scum of the world a bit as he exhibits some degenerate attitudes like watching porn and wallowing in his misery, but more imporantly he was drawn to ousting the underworld and taking matters into his own hands. Vigilantism is another theme in this movie. Great comment, Ben.
@gninja92Рік тому
capitalism alienates ppl.
@andrewcarson5850Рік тому
A point not brought up in this excellent video, or in the comments that I've read, is that Bickle is at a point in his life, as with all men between the ages of 24-35, that his most likely cause of death is from suicide. I would suggest that this is from a realisation of the purposelessness of the prescribed lives so many of them are trapped within, particularly as the rush of earning your own money and starting romantic relationships and family is over. What next? Where is happiness? Where is the purpose and attainment of value that everyone else seems to have so naturally? What's it all about, when you get right down to it?(TP)
@SOLIDSNAKE.Рік тому
Bone chilling
@shaunsteele8244Рік тому
all he had to do was take Betsy on a normal date, and he could have probably married her and had kids and lived a happy life. Travis was an idiot
@blakelip3Рік тому
@B Babbich not always true
@blakelip3Рік тому
@B Babbich you can have a purpose before any of that comes into the picture (helping people yes) but before ppl plan on bringing kids into the world, people who were for themselves had dreams, goals, aspirations, passion that drove them. But I guess we live in a pro create society. You can still have that burning motivation/reason to live without kids
@totesmagotes3688Рік тому
@B Babbich biologically, people are wired to procreate and continue their bloodline. When you don’t have children to worry about, there are a few ways your future can go in a positive way. You can focus on work, and I use the word ‘work’ loosely. Find something to be passionate about. Another thing would be to become a hedonist. If you don’t find purpose through religion, or having children, you’ll see there really is no purpose in this world and that you have to impose purpose to keep yourself sane.
@johnbullock8885Рік тому
It sucks to know that at 35, I still have about 30 more years of work. I just want more time to spend with my son and practicing my hobby. I’ve noticed even with just 2 days off in a row, I almost become a different person and if I take a week off, I completely change.
@davidgsings5064Рік тому
I've noticed this too. I took a few months off in 2020 due to the pandemic, and honestly I didn't miss my job one bit. I felt so happy getting to wake up and practice guitar, enjoy movies and games with my friends, go out into nature, take time to cook meals. i never felt rushed or like I was missing out on life if i didnt use every bit of my free time. At 29, working in hospitality management has left me angry, depressed, and frankly confused as to what my options are. It seems to be an aimless and cold world, getting worse by the day.
@naniyotakaРік тому
This is why I believe 4 hour work days would be the best for everyone. We can’t focus for 8 hours a day anyway so why keep us in work if the actual job could be done in 4 or 5 hours.
@shiptj016 місяців тому
All of you are right.
@ma3stro6815 місяців тому
Escape the city to the country and live the good life with your son …
@AyoOdimayo5 місяців тому
AI is here dude, give it 3 years max
@lynnpehrson8826Рік тому
He's not (really) analyzing Betsy, he was projecting. If what he is saying is accurate, it's only because what he's saying is pretty non-specific.
@YungPollockРік тому
I think part of it is that what he sees in her is the loneliness and discontentment that he feels but he just doesn't have the self-awareness to realize that he just sees himself in her.
@average_enjoyerРік тому
Yeah, I'm sure most people would relate to that analysis in some way or another.
@William_995Рік тому
I think he is empathising and doesn't realise he's doing it, because he isn't consciously aware or able to connect those dots and also isn't aware or doesn't want to be aware that he's also projecting, it's partly why he's lonely and feels disconnected because he lives in a system and a society that never really encouraged people to develop empathy and openness with emotion, with one another. He's disolushined with how are things are but doesn't have the awareness of it being a systematic, capitalism issue, when he's driving that candidate and he's talking about "clearing the streets" he's reacting and seeing things the only way he's able to, he blames the poorest parts of society and reacts with rage, because he doesn't know how to react in any other way. He like most other people are disconnected from others and themselves.
@cantinhodocafe40872 роки тому
Your videos are criminally underrated. And not even a year later you're already over 350K subscribers, just as the people foretold!
@ejdoloРік тому
I just found him about an hour ago and i been binging ever since
@genesis697Рік тому
he will have 1 mill subs in a 3 years time. hopefully even less
@P1MPST1KРік тому
Wow the algorithms rlly starting to bless this dude
@onebilliontacos3405Рік тому
10:57 Indeed
@BetrayerSlayerMusicРік тому
Same with my pant bulge
@carlosrivas482Рік тому
“Purposeless job…” You didn’t had to personally attack me like that man 😔
@osaji922Рік тому
When you take into account of what he says in its entirety, every job that doesn't express your true authentic self is purposeless. It doesn't matter whether you're a doctor or warehouse worker. There is no individual expression in being a doctor. You're just there to help the patient with their health condition. With that said, a person could very well have a liking for being doctor and performing those duties, but if one resigned, then the hospital would just fill that opening with the next doctor. I mean unless you were an atrocious doctor, in which case you'd have your license revoked, is it really a big loss? Are they not just a cog in the machine?
@BDDDDDDDD5 місяців тому
most of the jobs are purposeless to self but meaningful to others
@gabrielserrano50545 місяців тому
The purpose is some kind of social acceptance. I mean who really is proud of someone else? Maybe an entertaining person maybe get famous and remembered by someone. Other than that people come and go
@fci15 місяців тому
Retired now but hated every damn job I ever had.
@MatimoreAgainРік тому
Yes. My best paying job, at an office, felt like a stabbing of the soul.
@officialthomasjames5 місяців тому
Yup. It’s because most of these jobs don’t contribute to society or serve people at all. We get the most fulfillment from helping people, not trading our time for money to serve ourselves.
@God-Emperor_Elizabeth_the_2ndРік тому
I work in a cement paver factory, I’m all but mentally disabled from lead poisoning as an infant. It’s nice to see a video explaining what I feel. Giving words to my feelings, I guess. I work a purposeless job because I am mentally unable to do the jobs I day-dream about having.
@albertoftasmaniaРік тому
I hope you aren't breathing in too much silica gel, my friend.
@darlalathan61435 місяців тому
I am an heiress, formerly living on disability, unable to make money from my dream job, because I'm autistic. Fortunately, my inheritance is not rich but comfortable and I draw and sell 'zines as a hobby!
@gamdanyunizar78494 місяці тому
What's your dream job?
@virginiaappleman9401Рік тому
This is an excellent analysis of this particular guy -- but I think there's more to it than the 'purposeless job' tag. When I was 18-20, I had a lot of jobs -- taxi driver, dog catcher, shipyard worker, ship's cook. Each one, however, was an education -- probably because I was after experiences. Taxi driver was my second-most educational job (with the most educational job being the one I did for 20 years, public school teacher). Driving taxi taught me 3 really important things: 1. Drinking until you're drunk is really, really stupid and dangerous; 2. There are philosophers and creative minds across all economic spectrums; and 3. You should never ever judge someone by their external appearance. I picked up a dark brown dude from a Latino cantina one night -- when I asked him where he wanted to go, he said (in a really thick Dutch accent) "Seevay dock". He was Dutch-Indonesian, with a quirky appreciation for Norteno music. It's the classic old woman asking for a drink of water on the side of the road from the fairy tale. She could be just a beggar. She could also be a powerful fairy, or even a saint. The 'purposeless' job is really just a manifestation of the purposelessness of the individual. Bickle was damaged already. He could have had a job as a fireman saving lives on a daily basis, and still devolved into despair.
@brainiac.computerРік тому
Your last sentence says it all: we, as individuals, bear some freedom in choosing what gives our lives meaning. Call it destiny, fate, whatever. It’s better than giving into pessimism.
@canadiansovietРік тому
Best analogy
@killval849Рік тому
You sound like someone that absorbs life lessons like a sponge. I too try to do that, to the point of writing various helpful quotes down in a notepad on my computer for example. Thanks for the lesson.
@buckadillafilmsРік тому
I'm a cameraman and I really, really feel this. I've been working at an ad agencey since the pandemic got bad and I feel the difference in the way creative people are treated here- we are cogs in a machine.
@snickle1980Рік тому
Marketing has always been known to be a souless career. oddly enough, these agencies continue to draw in all the creatives! It pays well, but you'll pay too! We _ALL_ pay down here. 😁
@derrick7648Рік тому
Well yeah it’s an ad agency
@dashw900iРік тому
Worked on some big studio productions and I felt exactly the same.
@antonioalvarez9343Рік тому
Sometimes you're not even the cog in the machine, you're just the grease that keeps the machine turning those cogs.
@totesmagotes3688Рік тому
Creative people are a means to an end for soul sucking corporate bastards. Just look at the owner of Spotify.
@cornhorn280Рік тому
"what if you become a warehouse worker?" He says as I'm putting the on my gloves and boots for my warehouse job lmao
@BrokenTreeProdРік тому
One thing I always loved about this film was that if Bickel had killed Palantine he would have been a villain but his plan was foiled and in saving Daisy he became a hero.
@malashebad6181Рік тому
Word. the way he could have 1.) Saved Daisy any other way. Even just with a little more patience and 2.) killed Palantine without killing himself. He wanted to die like a story book hero and that's one of his awful traits. Like actual heroes want to live if they can help it.
@PolishGod1234Рік тому
What Daisy? Wasn't her name Iris?
@shrimpfleaРік тому
Her name was Iris. Her street name was Easy.
@carolynr570Рік тому
I didn’t realize this is exactly how I feel about working.. I just turned 22 and I’m in college but I feel like my degree is useless, because I don’t care to use it anymore. I’ve always dreaded having to go a traditional route of graduating and having a career, not because I’m ‘lazy’ but I don’t want to sit at a desk all day just to survive. My dad does flooring and repairs and I help him sometimes and though it’s not the most pleasant work, I feel like I’m actually doing something and I can see the fruit of my efforts and I’d rather do that for a living than any of the many mundane jobs out there.
@hairohukosu433Рік тому
@carolynr570 I dont know the context of your life and relationship with your dad, but I can suggest that you do exactly that. Ask around, talk to the people that could employ you in that field, get started sooner rather than later. If you can learn that trade and enter that industry, one that feels purposeful to you, you should absolutely try it. Too often we get caught up in the cogs of the wrong machine, so if you have a way out in sight, jump on it.
@snowfrosty1Рік тому
miss you should do what your father does, it'll be good for you & womynz like you beneft more via more tradionally, stereotypically & conventionally 'masculine' blue collar vocations than say becoming an HR Karen.
@ameridesignРік тому
I relate to Bickle and this video a lot. I work in a supermarket, and my job is so monotonous and alienating. I feel dissatisfied and disattached from the labor I produce to the point I feel numb/nothing like an npc. For a long time, I've been wanting to write a novel but been putting it off to the side, something I can feel that I created something.
@mikegrill9078Рік тому
start writing down pieces of it as they come. I've been trying that at the warehouse, either words or characters or fragments of story. each piece counts. see if you can scratch some down in a notebook or on your phone. maybe duck into the bathroom for a couple minutes to get the idea out, that's usually where i find refuge.
@isardonic8601Рік тому
I understand that 100%. My job is the same. Some wouldn't complain about an easy job, but I never wanted easy. I applied for promotions just to get rejected. I look at the smaller things that I never pay attention to, and realize the impact that it has. No matter what you do, everybody has a purpose.
@sethsmith604211 місяців тому
Creative writing is a great way to find purpose in my experience. You should push yourself to try it, it's a very rewarding hobby, though it is hard to get started
@ralphwarom251410 місяців тому
Write it. Don't wait. Go for it. Good luck.
@woman22516 місяців тому
Write the novel please.. just write it
@Lordoftheswollen5 місяців тому
The "you become the job" speech scared and stuck with me as a teenager. Now after working a job that I don't enjoy or get fulfillment out of for almost 10 years, I can't imagine doing anything else.
@shortycareface96785 місяців тому
I worked a sales job for a brief while. Figured I'm definitely not cut out for it. They even gave us literal scripts of how we were supposed to interact with the customers, specific lines we were supposed to say. Nope, couldn't do it, it was absolutely soul-sucking.
@DanTarrant1Рік тому
Solid video, but you do leave out that the purpose that Travis finds for himself is not really "shooting up a brothel" but rather his mission to rescue the teenage Iris from a life of prostitution. Once he feels like he has succeeded in this, by killing Sport (her pimp) and the other men in the building who are exploiting her, he feels that his life is complete and attempts to kill himself, only to find he's run out of bullets. So it's like he can't even do that right...
@petergorm5 місяців тому
I used to be a taxidriver. It didn't give me a purpose, but I enjoyed the insight to the customers. I was never afraid of anyone. Always ready to take any fight, but nothing ever happend in about 20 years. Actually the opposite. A lot of the' bad guys' were actually pretty soft in my cab, and I am NOT a big muscular guy. I'm a good listener, and also a good talker. It was like therapy, both for me and whoever was in my taxi. I miss those days. Great times.
@MrDrezzy007Рік тому
This movie taught me something i already knew but consciously never thought about, that true happiness comes from within. Yes, connection with people and purposeful job is important, but if you're empty inside, nothing will ever satisfy you.
@MatthewMS.5 місяців тому
💯
@gabrielserrano50545 місяців тому
Yes our own Self worth is better than other people's opinions of you. It's all perspective you could take their insult as a compliment.
@2.7petabytesРік тому
This video hits hard for me, especially from the goings on of the last few years, both politically, culturally and how it has affected me. I haven’t made art or music in a few years now. When I make the attempt it goes nowhere. My job which I have always felt gave back and was enjoyable to me, now really feels pointless. I’m now in middle age and that could be a part of my feelings as well. I very much appreciate this video as it helps me recognize where I am presently. I will continue on as best I can and hopefully find those things that bring me pleasure and a sense of meaning.
@2.7petabytesРік тому
@B Babbich interesting you say that, as that’s what I’ve been doing all weekend. It’s definitely helpful!
@sambridhathapa4313Рік тому
Meditation for self awareness and gratitude helps as well. Follow your hobbies and interests and try to take pleasure in the small things by being present in the moment. Life is a struggle, make no mistake but we do not have to suffer.
@user-ov8qv3hp9dРік тому
Loneliness brings the gift of the highest knowledge, self sacrifice. Don't get trapped in the dream called physical existence.
@tonycairns67285 місяців тому
I think it's notable that Travis not only chooses to drive the cab, but wants to work the times and places other cabbies won't. It's really the other cab drivers in 'Taxi Driver' who have conformed to the limitations of their job. For Travis, the taxi provides an access point into the darkest recesses of big-city life, which he has a morbid compulsion to view.
@macatron2744Рік тому
quite possible the greatest evaluation of this film i have ever heard. incredible work
@tycrane2539Рік тому
“Here is someone who stood up” *Lays down*
@martyo4241Рік тому
This video is one of my favorite prices of entertainment I’ve ever consumed , thank you sir , put a lot of feelings I couldn’t describe at my dead end job into perspective, and am proud to be perusing my goal in life and reconfirmed I left. Lost weight life improved overall follow your dreams and find a purpose people.
@tinafoster8665Рік тому
Hugshugshugs ❤️
@DelectatioРік тому
I am a taxi driver. The fact this job is absolutely uninteresting and unpromising is unpleasant one, but it doesn't bother me much. I wouldn't even call this a real job - you just install corresponding app on your phone and make some money, without even really talking with your "employer". Anytime you want you can just delete the app and forget about your taxi past, lol. Anyway, I'm kinda outside of bourgeois concept "high position in big corporation = life lived fine". Reading books, listening to classical music, learning piano etc. - that is the real filling of my life. After all, salvation is in the Art, as Vladimir Nabokov once said. Basically, I think of myself as of someone like Harry Haller (Steppenwolf), but forced to work:)))
@imnezx5013Рік тому
that's the difference between A Growth Mindset and A fixed one, Fixed mindset people won`t find any purpose or value from any small or big things, and it's extremely hard for them to do things without letting their Ego and Jealousnes involved they think they can`t Grow there for they see people get ahead of them and it gets worse with time, you, on the other hand, I believe that you have a Growth Mindset, in most aspects of life *(you might look at things in Fixed mindset on things and Growth on others) that what I think the differences you from him (other than the bad habits he had, for example, his self-denial, lying, pornography, and ego)
@tasfa10Рік тому
You found purpose outside of your job and that's great and what most of us need to do, as most really work to subsist. But that doesn't erase the fact that we waste the greatest part of our waking lives doing something we wouldn't voluntarily do and, worse than that, someone else gets to own it. That is still a crime and a tragedy. Revolt is the appropriate reaction. But the aimless revolt we see in the movie is pointless and harmful to yourself and society, as the video explains. It's the lack of understanding of one's own position and why it is that we feel alienated, insignificant and inconsequential that originates aimless violence and misdirected anger. It's lack of class conscience.
@krunkle5136Рік тому
That's not a taxi driver that's an Uber. Real taxis have stations with dispatchers that aren't apps made by a big tech company. They get benefits and need insurance.
@DelectatioРік тому
@@krunkle5136 yeah. But there are no such a taxies with stations etc. in underdeveloped countries like Russia, only Uber scheme (named Yandex here). Still, the essence is the same.
@krunkle5136Рік тому
@@Delectatio I'm hopeful there's a return of brick and mortar institutions after people realized how apps have given us a cheap substitute.
@albertlamar59385 місяців тому
Wizard's: you become the job" philosophy made sense to me when the movie first came out, and it still does. I never aspired for greatness, or if I ever did, I long forgot. Having a job to pay for housing, food, clothes, etc., IS a purpose in itself. Not much to show for my life approaching age sixty, but I have accomplished that. Odd, thinking about it after watching this video, I suppose I grew up to be Wizard. Nothing to boast about, but at least I did not grow into Travis Bickle. Great video. Thank you.
@Darkhart09Рік тому
This definitely applies to randy stair or mass shooters in general, they were a cog in the machine and had enough.. Very sad world we live in
@JesusChrist2000BCРік тому
Nah..most mass shooters are young dudes who haven't even had time to be a cog. They are just clowns who serial killers but use guns instead.
@grishnackh194Рік тому
I would like to add something about becoming the job you perform: look at peoples' names and especially last names. At least here in the West one or both of them will most likely be about an occupation. The fact that this is true even on first names says a lot.
@fishstix69764 місяці тому
Elaborate please?
@Lily-ep6qvРік тому
Personally, I think Wizard's speech was convincing and that Bickle found it convincing too. You can tell from his expression and his response about it being "the dumbest thing I ever heard" is surprising and not an accurate interpretation of what he is thinking and feeling. It's more that out of some masculine bashfulness, he finds the truth and the possibility of connection with another person, embarrassing. Maybe he sees himself as superior to Wizard too so doesn't want to acknowledge they are thinking and feeling the same thing. Wizard's observations aren't 'dumb' at all, they're very insightful and convey a justified sense of malaise at the state of things (which is partially, what Taxi Driver is all about.) Wizard is far more eloquent than Bickle and, in a way, is the one who says what Bickle is thinking but can't express because he lacks the language to do so. Bickle ends up acting and Wizard remains inactive but that doesn't mean they straightforwardly represent the polar opposite decisions to be complacent or revolt. Maybe Wizard has processed his situation better than Bickle so doesn't need to 'act out in a manner which is ultimately futile? Anyway, nice video man!
@ma3stro6815 місяців тому
You’re more insightful than than the guy making the video … 😅
@Vicarius2309Рік тому
I always loved taxi deiver, my top 1 movie, i always identified with travis, but i had no idea why, and now, while on lunch break of my work, you showed me what is wrong in my life, thank you
@bhones459Рік тому
I found out about your channel yesterday through Magritte's "Why is the reproduction prohibited?" video and I must say your channel is gold and underrated af. I've been binge watching some of your videos and the work you put into them, along with the informations you provide and the editing, should have way more recognition than it does. I really hope that your channel will blow up because it seriously is comparable with those with millions of subscribers and views, in terms of accuracy, editing, VoiceOver, ecc. Keep up the good work!! You've got plenty of anonymous admirers of your hard work, such as myself :)
@TheCanvasArtHistoryРік тому
That's such a sweet comment! Thank you so much for the encouragement and the support. It's super appreciated! Thank you again :)
@nateo6518Рік тому
To me there's more purpose in being a taxi driver than any of the (quote, unquote) purposeful jobs listed. A lawyer who gets innocent people out of jail or takes down corporate greed is great, but the other 98% are pretty much purposeless.
@raulquiroz7492Рік тому
True. I have more respect for a taxi driver or uber driver that gets me where I need to go (if I needed it) than most of these so called "youtube and social media influencers" who don't even know I exist.
@CrabbadabbaРік тому
Agreed, especially when he used his own intel on the matters of the underworld and took it into his own hands. A modern hero, or anti-hero.
@shaunsteele8244Рік тому
the vast majority of lawyers aren't doing anything noble, they're working for the other side and protecting corporate greed
@patrickbateman312Рік тому
Somehow, I don't think a teacher or a doctor especially has less purpose than a taxi driver.
@AveCruxSpesUnicaРік тому
@@patrickbateman312 cope
@bundleaxe1922Рік тому
This video is maybe the best thing I have ever seen. I will never be able to say how much it means to me. If I tried, I wouldn't be able to. Human existence isn't human when it is a commodity.
@hanchimanРік тому
I loved Taxi Driver during my time of aimless roaming with no proper purpose as I just finished College and couldn't find a job from my degree in 2003. Mostly spend my night taking the night buss around the city late at night
@portcorner_noiseРік тому
Great video on Taxi Driver, one of Scorsese's greatest. I have watched it first time back in 1988, when I started Uni. My father had watched it before me, I could see memorabilia around the house pertaining to Taxi Driver and movies of the same ilk. My father was a war veteran so this sits high in his rank, next to Apocalypse Now or The Deer Hunter. I appreciate how you connect the scenario of revolt with the violent side, the power through guns, I had myself made this connection a long time ago and have put it forward as an example when discussing America's school shootings with friends. I used Taxi Driver and Bickle as a fitting example. Those nobodies that decide to kill innocent people in schools or supermarkets are all known to be outcasts, often bullied youngsters that had enough of being alienated, so they go for a violent aimless revolt just to affirm their individuality and place in the world. I understand gun culture and ease of purchase play a critical role in these mass shootings in the US - as they do in Scandinavia (notably Norway) where they often happen - and this dictates the divide between going for option 1: Wizard resigns, becomes the useless, purposeless nobody and option 2: Bickle plans an assassination, loaded with guns, goes out on a rampage, with very likely devastating results.
@packersnerdРік тому
This straight up explained my life as someone who gambles away every paycheck, working a job I hate, whilst doing absolutely nothing and hating myself.
@yoshi95382 місяці тому
My life ala Sage, "Depression and Angst are a lifestyle choice my friend"
@madlymaddogРік тому
This video is a needle in a hay stack. It’s crazy that many people feel this way but they usually cure this with having a family or getting a job that takes up the majority of your time but this is sometimes a temporary fix and then they pop off like the taxi driver did.My words are probably coming out incomprehensible but I am worried I might be this way. if I don’t a job I like or a wife I actually am attracted and loving towards. I might just go insane and do something insanely crazy just so I can have a name for myself. I know I’m just saying stuff he said in the video but that shit hit me really deep.
@tinafoster8665Рік тому
In other words you have a bunch of crazy ideas going through your head, I don't blame you when you look at the world around you it's almost like it's begging for people to do crazy stuff. But even making your post you went farther than bickel went, so I think there's hope for you. In fact I know there's hope for you, where even if you don't attain that tranquil married life or the tranquil career, you can still find that center in yourself like you did now, and reach out and find someone who will affirm to you, yes you are alive ❤️🌈
@matiasenriquemaldonadoruiz5216Рік тому
I get you. Lots of people have these thoughts, until they can distract themselves away from them, right?
@Kareena1988Рік тому
I think you are one step further than most of the people due to your aloneness. At least you have space and time to think of how you will make an impact in the world. Others cannot THINK. They just function.
@snowfrosty1Рік тому
@@tinafoster8665 fuck that tranquil domestic Dhimmi status & lifestyles, get a woman/man/[insert here] & have kids if YOU REALLY WANT TO!. Don't expect them to be your sole salvation though.
@AgusdiabloРік тому
This is probably the best taxi driver analysis i ever seen
@scruffy4743Рік тому
Thank you for this, so much of this distilled what I’ve been feeling recently. I’m on my last weeks at a job that I think some people might enjoy but makes me feel very much like an easily replaceable cog in a machine, and while I’ve been struggling to define what I want and what comes next when I finish up here, essentially all of my thoughts cycle back to expressing myself and searching for a vocation that has purpose for me.
@Gielderst5 місяців тому
I'm pretty much like this. And do the same job. What i like is that i'm alone and do a simple job and i couldn't be bothered any less with dealing dealing with others. I think i've become content with that and what that guy said to Travis. And i'm 28 and don't want anything else pretty much, just to be left alone and undisturbed.
@indepthliteratureРік тому
So glad my mom showed this movie to me when I was in middle school. Way too young to be watching such a movie but it still sticks out in my mind all the time and I recite lines from it all the time
@Sandra-hc4vo2 роки тому
I think this was an excellent breakdown. I have seen this movie, but I feel this very important theme is one that I didn't fully consciously grasp till you laid it out here and it's like of course!
@jamesboulger8705Рік тому
This is one of the best, and most important in my mind, CONCISE summaries of this movie. Certainly, people can ramble on and on about this film, but you give it in particular, excellent historical context. A tight, 17 minute analysis.
@SecretAgentBob2123Рік тому
I’ve been having a lot of struggles with purpose and jobs recently. Committing to a regular job and making money just to scrape by makes me feel like life isn’t worth living, because I’m denying myself the pursuit of my dreams, and don’t feel alive already because of that. I have no inclination towards violence towards others, and on the path of healing, but I just got to say I get the tribulations of being without purpose.
@Johnnysmithy24Рік тому
This is probably the best analysis of the movie. Martin Scorsese truly is one of the best American artists. His films are pure poetry of the human condition.
@palerider2890Рік тому
Excellent analysis. I would add that Travis Bickle is an expression of the sufferings that Paul Schrader, the screenwriter of this masterpiece, went through while writing the screenplay. He has said in interviews that when his wife kicked him out of the house, he lived in his car, went to porno theaters to pass time, and that's where he got the idea of a taxi driver who was spiritually dead floating around in a moving coffin. Schrader, born into a Calvinist family in Michigan, put a lot of the frustrations he had gone through in his strict family, into this script. All that you say is spot on, but I think that first and foremost, Taxi Driver is a personal expression of a man who was living on a razor's edge, and his psyche tapped unconsciously into a set of broader social issues that you articulated so well.
@brandonmiles8174Рік тому
I don't know how I've missed your channel up until this point, but damn I'm glad I'm here now. This analysis of Taxi Driver and a story of alienation and its effects on the psyche is spot on. Can't wait to start watching more videos. Great work, keep it up.
@hoorayforme62765 місяців тому
Thank you. I've related to this character for decades. You are extremely insightful and the video has done more for me than therapy has so far.
@nathanheeren560Рік тому
You don't need purpose to live. I love being a cab driver in chicago. I love talking to strangers. I also believe I provide a necessary service for those who are unable or incapable of driving for one reason or another.
@dshoecРік тому
I can relate to the video. I was fortunate to get a Masters degree and worked in a career for 6 years. But I was laid off during the pandemic and still to this day am a lyft driver until I finally get a job for my career again. So this video is very relatable for me at least in this moment.
@mcrumphМісяць тому
I would recommend Colin Wilson's The Outsider (not the novel), a literary & philosophical exploration of the person who is outside of society, community, but does indeed want to be part of it. It is just very difficult for them to find a way in. I would recommend this book to everyone. When I was young we would go out to see the grandparents. Not much to do there & I would complain that I was bored. My grandad would say "only boring people get bored." After a couple of years of this, I asked him what he meant. You can either be bored or be curious, was his reply, I was twelve at the time & it was then that he started teaching me woodworking with hand-tools (this was the early '70s). I have worked a lot of purposeless jobs but I didn't care. I had my curiosities to fill up my time, provide mental & physical challenges & show me many amazing things. Be more curious today than you were yesterday.
@e_arellano41065 місяців тому
It's almost midnight, its pitch black in my room, I'm on my bed, this video hits different.
@sagarroy8679Рік тому
I don’t think the jobs themselves lead to the sense of purposelessness, but rather the narrative that some jobs are more useful than others when in fact both are in demand.
@tr1ppyh1ppyРік тому
15:26 this hit home really hard. Toxic relationships will destroy you
@chrismanzanarez5049Рік тому
Your words are heavy and very close to home with me, i really connect with the alienation. My problem is that I've been too comfortable alone that the attempt of making connections exhaust me and it bothers me to the core. We need connection, we are social animals but the lack of drive i have to build it angers me. Guess i have to power through the uncomfortableness to make it comfortable, idk I'm tired of being lost mate.
@eugenemurray2940Рік тому
Being a taxi driver is not a purposeless job... You move people from A to B... 'Nothing happens unless something moves' Albert Einstein
@markmace18245 місяців тому
I can relate to this I was a taxi driver desperately trying to get back to my passion of art but the job wore me down! I couldn’t paint I had no energy. The job made me miserable was the furthest thing from being who I really a.m. I had to deal with the assholes all the time! I felt trapped in that thought there was no way out because I was broke . finally I saw an opportunity and I jumped on it and left that business for a security guard that after two years that too is draining me and I didn’t like it will last year so I left after I started working again as a nurse and thought things would work out and they did for a while and then things got rough but I didn’t care. I was free from there. Bullshit people are miserable and driving them around. Sucks! Things are better now, but my days of a cab driver I felt what is the worst ! Thank God I don’t do that anymore!
@robertortiz-wilson15885 місяців тому
Very true.
@callumcrean292Рік тому
This video needs way more views for how great it is!
@evanwhyman8057Рік тому
Never thought about the aspect of purpose in taxi driver, amazing video, it’s really developed the way that I view the film
@Coconutscott5 місяців тому
Travis Bickle should have started a Fight Club.
@AWalkingHatРік тому
I believe the recent pandemic changed this perspective of purposeless jobs. I work in a renovation centre as a day job, and suddenly, we had become essential workers and were some of the only people allowed to go out and work, along with grocery store cashiers, nurses, etc. Celebrities and white collar workers had lost their importance.
@jasonb4321Рік тому
Helping someone reach their destination with a taxi has meaning. Life is packed with things to give gratitude. A deep sense of gratitude is what gives quality to life. There are plenty of extremely talented, wealthy, famous people who are depressed and suicidal. . . There are loads of people washing dishes in third world countries who are singing songs with joy in their hearts. We see the glass as half full or half empty. . . I believe we choose each day.
@mattnoort6 місяців тому
Miserable people is a result of a toxic environment and a toxic environment is a result of miserable people, it goes in cycles. How do we get out of a meaningless job and find something we truly love? Just push on through and rise above it, that's all we can do.
@zapify69996 місяців тому
your explanation about individuality, purpose, how your proffession defines who you are and travis' incorrect way of finding purpose, really blew my mind! great video
@harrykadaras94596 місяців тому
This is really a great breakdown of exactly what most of our lives have become...nice work. I don't know many people that are fully happy - since just about all of us are struggling to get the one thing that we never seem to have enough of - money. The system we live in has been purposely constructed for us to fall into the trap, and few people even know that none of this is just by chance...but that's a long discussion...
@impetuousbastard2 роки тому
Honestly awesome. I like your videos because through your point of view whether I agree or not, I learn. Please make more movie analysis !
@user-jw5yk2uk1qРік тому
Great video, thank you! The final part with conclusions and direct appeal to the viewers seemed to me very strong.
@user-kp5kn2jh5e7 місяців тому
When i watched this movie for the first time, I thought it was a normal movie. Now, i realise what a masterpiece I've watched. That new York of 70s is also a character in the movie along with an accurate depiction of loneliness & society. One scene where palantine gets in travis' taxi and the conversation that follows says a lot about the character. Love Martin scorsese. Terrific performance by de niro. ❤️
@William_995Рік тому
It's interesting how his "revolt" is one of violence, he sees things through anger and rage, and he can't really see it through any other lense, because the more emotional and reflective side hasn't been fostered , even his more creative/imaginative side, which maybe comes out through the lense of rage and violence through his gun arm mechanism, because he lives in a system and society, a culture of violence and rage. The better way to have revolted would be to use compassion, empathy to open emotionally with oneself and others, to reflect, it starts there. The fact that he'd rather go and shoot people than open up and connect, that gap between, that people haven't been allowed been able to fill shows how devestating the perpetual disconnection from oneself and others by the system, definitely in the past and now can really be
@rustyb.1301Рік тому
One of the keys to happiness I think is realizing that you are nobody and you don't need to be somebody. Somebodyness is just an illusion, a game you can play or not play. P.s. I felt bad for that pimp in the movie when he got killed...dude was a G! lol
@snowfrosty1Рік тому
nah the pimp dying was good, fuk that wigga
@JustaNobody20044 місяці тому
Yeah finally someone who gets it
@thadtuiol17175 місяців тому
@2:05 Dayum, I'd forgotten just how lovely Cybil Shephard's face was back in the day. Those eyes!
@bubbagumpa8951Рік тому
There are some videos that give you a new outlook on life and this was one of them Props to you man! Great video
@tipoftheiceberg7034Рік тому
The idea that your job position is who you are is why so many people seem to not like you if you're not working but still happy, physically healthy, have hobbies and a good partner
@BitchChillРік тому
That's because it is who you are
@thinkingjohn20995 місяців тому
I resonate with this analysis of the movie Taxi Driver, I drove a taxi for 30 years it was definitely purposeless, soul destroying, low paying everyone including friends treated me as a loser, fortunately due to some luck I retired early and glad I am out of the industry
@471444aРік тому
This was astounding inspiration, thank you dude
@Jared_WignallРік тому
Travis Bickle is a man who needs help due to his war experience, yet help isn’t really available at that time and living in New York probably isn’t the best for him either, but he’s trying to find purpose and meaning in his life after the war, so going in the places of the city he isn’t very fond of and an idea forms in his mind that he needs more than what he’s getting and this boils over into the climactic shootout in the film. In the end, he’s like a ticking clock and the cycle will repeat until he’s dead in a shootout. Great film and character.
@nathanaeladdison3631Рік тому
Ironically one of the reasons I got into taxi driving was to just meet new people and I also needed a side hustle. And it worked lol. Even got a couple of cute girls numbers after having interesting and relatable conversations with them which is far better than any dating app I’ve used to this point. So I were actually a few perks I was getting out of it. I think it just comes down to the kinda person you are. If you have a lot of interests and know how to have a conversation you’ll never run out of things to talk about. So I’d argue taxi driving is one of the least isolating jobs out there. A lot of times people would just talk to me unwarranted lol which I didn’t mind. With each person you pick up is an opportunity to connect but all depends on how you look at it. As for me I had my own reasons for being there. It was convenient and fast money and I managed to have fun with it as a temporary thing. Always use your job to fulfill your purpose and your reason for doing it whether it’s a stepping stone onto something else or you actually want to excel at it. Remind yourself why it currently has a place in your life. You only let it make you a pon if your doing the job for the sake of needing to have a job just cuz society tells you to. The way I see it a job is like an agreement between two people to do service in exchange for money. Once you’re no longer needed you’ll be fired or laid off in other words you’re replaceable. Put yourself on the same level playing field. You are your own business. Your thoughts, your wants are your business. Once an occupation ceases to have its usefulness to you, discard it the same way they would do to you. You are a business yourself remember that.
@conservativelibertarianРік тому
False consciousnesses. Rationalizing the slavery; but we must, else we question our own existence.
@regretlater929Рік тому
May i add that we are also an energy. We as an energy, at a default, are valuable and precious. As to relate with the film, when he was a taxi driver, he becomes the good energy in this world carrying out his duty transporting people around but when he starts to shoot people, he gives the world such a bad energy, without he even realized it, like many of us do now.
@veyaai2 роки тому
Taxi Driver güçlü bir yabancılaşma konulu sanat eseridir. Katip Barleby ile başlayan bu kavram edebiyatta Camus'nun Yabancı'sı ile Buzzati'nin Subay Drogo devam edip sinemada Taxi Driver ile taçlanmıştır. Teşekkürler video için.
@marianotorrespico2975Рік тому
Good points.
@benwearne54212 днів тому
This is an incredible analysis. Thanks
@adriftastray5713Рік тому
I needed this video. I take care of so many people. you were on point about being the factory worker. I don't sleep. I don't eat. I'm tired. Thank you for this video essay.
@vivianworden2706Рік тому
My purpose was never centered around a job.
@jonviaРік тому
Having a purpose in life is HUGE!!! Especially in modern society where its too easy to stay inside and watch tv or playing video games all day and night. I feel very lucky that Ive always had music as my purpose. Ive been playing instruments my whole life and Im extremely lucky to have parents, as well as people in the music industry, believe in my work.
@BitchChillРік тому
I don't care anymore
@JustaNobody20044 місяці тому
I don’t need a purpose I just enjoy waking up breathing and just living idgaf about jobs and shit
@whereismyliszt7 місяців тому
Taxi driver is definitely one of the best films ever made. Great analysis as always Mr Canvas.
@pedecadonstudios7143 місяці тому
Love the intro music. Thanks for putting me onto it ❤
@edp3202Рік тому
I think Wizard is brilliant. Lives are purposeless. Even if you become rich and famous, it's still purposeless.
@sopretty43vrРік тому
the true issue is that we shouldn’t find happiness in life through a job. you shouldn’t work a job that kills you but you also shouldn’t base your happiness on any job. find your value and happiness through life not work, use work to fuel your life. most ppl don’t have passions or hobbies and that’s why they become the stickler that only cares about work, or depressed bc they can’t find a good job. again stop finding happiness from your job or career. we shouldn’t have to depend on those for happiness in the first place but that’s how life is set up, work is more important than your own life and peace. finding a good job won’t bring happiness. you have to be a human and enjoy life and earthly things while you are still here for that.
@amateurtouring5 місяців тому
This is really about how Peter Boyle never escaped this character.
@eoncatalystРік тому
Your reviews are amazing! I hope you get more views in the future!
@jameshash9112Рік тому
The best indication of Travis' inability to interact with women, for me, comes in the very minor scene of his very painfully trying to pick up the Porn Theatre attendant and his reaction to her reaction. He "pushes" extremely hard, she gets really upset & calls the owner, and it immediately forces Travis to back off & quit. Anyone else would see how this kind of behavior is simply not done. The scene prepares us the viewers for his good girl/bad girl series of situations in the film. Betsy, his dream girl, is taken to that movie theatre while the teen hooker, Jodie Foster's character, is treated to what amounts to a "date" during a paid sex hotel visit. If anything, Travis is unable to properly communicate with his environment--women, the ugly city, his job, the time he spends alone, etc. (Just look at EVERY single encounter he has with someone else in the film. Travis is ALWAYS having to change his approach after saying something apparently off the top of his head.) And I believe it is all these personal failures that drive him to isolate himself into a mental and physical world of his very own--One in which he feels powerless unless violent with a gun. Otherwise, Travis would get another job or move out of NYC or rejoin the Marines or look into various activities that would give his life a sense of balance. The fact that the film ends with Travis, a "hero" in the public's eye for saving Jodie Foster and killing the crew she "works" for, still driving a cab and on his way to becoming another version of "The Wizard" is the most depressing part. Now, he has no passion for change any more. He is just working his Taxi job and living out his days.
@reaganwiles_artРік тому
I worked ina factor where I constructed over 1000 chair backs in a ten hour shift six days a week. After three months, my right arm would not work! Did I get workman's comp for it? No way! North Carolina WC does not cover "repetitive-motion injury". Know who informed me? An underling for a corporate law office covering McCreary Modern, the Co. I worked for. Where was she? Scranton, PA! And all these people around me expecting I should be so grateful for my fucking job! Fuck 'em.
@YoshilingРік тому
This is so well done. Thank you so much!!
@jackedkerouac44145 місяців тому
Incredible analysis and interpretation. Taxi Driver is in my Top 3 movies of all time. A friend scoffed when I told them this and I asked why. It irked me when they said because every edgelord seems to love it. I never really examined my love for Taxi Driver but you did it for me. Sorry to say but I don't think said friend understands the struggle that comes with quitting a purposeless job and pursuing identity through something more meaningful. Suffice it to say we're no longer close since our values are different.
@aeopmusicРік тому
the concept of nobodies, somebodies, affirming existence etc. is the unhealthy sense of self / ego that pervades modern society. If we weren't surrounded by others achieving feats, fame, riches, and recognition, there would be no overwhelming need to do so. As Charlie Munger cleverly put it: "Envy, Not Greed, That Runs (Ruins) The World". Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism figured all of this out, thousands of years ago, before society's pivotal clash with it these past decades.
@greyinsightРік тому
Well put, I agree.
@krunkle5136Рік тому
Working at a nuclear plant could be alienating, and I guess a worker could manifest their individuality by letting the cores melt down. A lot of necessary work is alienating, but you need to realize that there's still people that you never see that still benefit from your work and it doesn't need to be visibly "your" work. To insist that your work must be recognizable and stand out imo is short sighted and clamoring for attention. You can get satisfaction from socializing with co workers that are also passionate, with people on the train, parades, etc.
@conservativelibertarianРік тому
You are either mischaracterizing or misunderstanding marx's theory of alienation. The marxist theory of alienation applies to productive laborors (factory workers mostly, cooks to a lesser degree, and any worker who's labor produces a tangible commodity; not janitors, teachers, or doctors) as they are the most exploited; but, marxism generally still applies to all working class individuals. The worker is alienated in many ways. The worker is alienated from themselves in the sense that they cannot pursue their own individualistic goals or be able to realize their true selves due to the material conditions forced upon them by the capitalist mode of production; for example, a person who has the potential, as in the unrealized inate abillity and will, to become a doctor or teacher, but cannot due to how our socioeconomical system works. The worker is alienated from both their product and labor as they don't own either; in the latter case, they must sell it to live. The workers are also alienated from each other in the sense that they are forced to compete against one another by selling their labor in the labor markets for less and less to secure a job, and they are forced to compete with each other in the workplace by working harder than the other and producing more money for their master for a higher relative wage. The logical solution wouldn't be to blow up the power plant, that's the ted kaczynski way; the logical solution would be socialism. Getting satisfaction from socializing with coworkers is like getting satisfaction by socializing with the fellow slaves. The slaves can sing and dance together on the plantation all they want, but it will never change the true nature of their socioeconomical situation.
@krunkle5136Рік тому
@@conservativelibertarian all the reason for publicly funded University, public housing and unemployment insurance to counter balance. My problem is that a well developed economy requires specializing, making gizmos that are meaningless themselves but got a bigger picture. The chips, framing and screens that go into the miracles that are smartphones could not be made by workers manifesting their individual selves. There's also I think a bias in general toward individualism. Some of it's important, and I think it's important to have a society that allows easy career switching, but also it's desireable for people to be employed long-term (to cultivate long term experience and stability of the company), and educated enough to understand the reasons and importance their seemingly small alienating jobs are. Socializing with co-workers helps, but also socializing with managers, cultivating a culture of harmony between parts of the hierarchy, and eventually, instead of coercing employers to pay everyone the same, to create conditions that'll make employers WANT to pay everyone fairly. Of course there should also be better labor laws, e.g. making it very difficult to terminate workers, but also you need to be careful not to force things too hard to the point it creates resentment.