Taxi Driver (1976) is about Losing Your Soul (spoilers)

         Taxi Driver (1976) is an amazing movie that captures the spirit of New York City in the 1970s. It was gritty, dirty, and was the urban equivalent of being ambushed in the jungles of Vietnam. Or, maybe not, I don't know. But that sounds better for the story, you know? Not only does the movie depict the environment perfectly, but the main character, Travis, played by Robert de Niro, is a complex character who illustrates what it means to have no meaning in your life even with everything the city has to offer.

        Travis is a mentally disturbed ex-Marine who now finds himself bored in New York City, so he becomes a taxi driver. Travis is shown to be a highly detailed person who wants to work long hours as he quickly runs out of things to do. The X rated theaters, the various people he would never fit in with, the late nights, nothing particularly interested him. One thing is very clear to Travis, though. The city is full of trash and needs to be flushed. The streets are filthy, people are violent and attack Travis's taxi, and the police are not organized. Travis is so bored that he wants to act on something that he can believe in. Travis stalks and picks up Betsy at the presidential campaign office. They come to an abrupt end when Travis takes her to an X rated movie. Travis's barriers have collapsed so much that he has no fear, and nothing makes him uncomfortable, which turns off everyone pleasant.

        What makes Travis so interesting is that he wants to act on his lack of direction. Tons of movie characters end up suffering a great deal and are held back by their trauma. Travis wants to do something about it and cleanse the city, like the Punisher. He doesn't just resent people, he turns to his psychotic behavior and uses his contacts to arrange a buying of guns, and he hits the firing range. Soon, he starts killing robbers and scum who start violence. And he enjoys it. Before, he met the presidential candidate and he supported him, but later, he feels the urge to play with the Secret Service and an assassination attempt on the candidate. Travis doesn't feel fear. Travis says he has nothing to do with his money; he has no goal or direction he's headed; he only drives people to their destinations while having no destination himself. Travis just wants to cause harm because he is restless and lost.

Travis in Taxi Driver is incredibly interesting because a lot of movie characters who are lost still have something they shoot for: Bodhi has surfing and robbing banks, Dominic Toretto has his illegal street racing dominance, John Wick has his desire for revenge, but Travis... there is nothing he connects with, so he invents a superficial direction.

        Travis is obviously at a point where he has no care for his behavior, but it is interesting that he still has good qualities. Travis’s life lacks any meaning in a city of life, so he seeks to invent a purpose he can fight for. Travis quickly meets an underage prostitute, Iris. He meets with her and he wants to understand why she’s here. Travis wants to save her from her master, who she calls Sport, who takes advantage of her. Travis spends some time with Iris, asking her why she isn’t in school, hanging out with friends her age, and bettering her life. Travis wants to invent the purpose of saving Iris. So he takes on the worthless task of shooting up the guys in the operation one day, killing them and Sport in bloody rage to save a young girl he just met. Travis is wounded terribly but he is hailed as a hero in the newspapers the next day. Iris’s family thanks him in a letter.

        Travis seems unaffected from his hospital recovery. He continues driving with Betsy in the rear-view mirror, still driving other people who have places to go. And that’s it. Sure, it seems bleak when I typed this all out. But the movie is truly moving when viewing Travis’s isolation in the busiest part of America and Iris’s condition. Travis represents someone who has no direction and has been lost for so long that they need to create some superficial purpose to find any sort of meaning in their life. Someone who is lost in their 20s can relate to the gritty atmosphere, the fake happy interactions, and the loss of the mind when they too have no direction and no purpose in life. 1970s New York City was a canvas for those who lost their soul, their fear, and their will to truly live anymore. Much like in today's world, everyone has everything on the Internet to their disposal. Every video of the fun things people do, every access to online groups, and online games. Yet all that is utter bullshit because it lacks depth and makes life feel emptier than it ever felt before. The 2020s is a canvas for those who have no soul, no fear, and no will to truly live anymore.