Taxi Driver : The All-American Hero | Literally Me

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  • Опубліковано 7 чер 2024
  • What do you think of Bickle's character? What do you think is the meaning or message behind Taxi Driver? What films do you want me to cover in the future? Let me know in the comments down below!
    SOCIAL
    Twitter: / thekinocorner
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    MOVIES SHOWN
    Taxi Driver
    The Godfather Part 2
    Midnight Cowboy
    Salo or the 120 Days of Sodom
    Pink Flamingos
    The Yakuza
    Fight Club
    King Kong
    All is Lost
    Another Round
    Music
    Bass Walker - Film Noir by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
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    I Knew a Guy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
    Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
    Artist: incompetech.com/
    Covert Affair - Film Noire by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
    Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
    Artist: incompetech.com/
    Dances and Dames by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
    Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
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    I Knew a Guy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
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    Acid Jazz by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 711

  • @ARZZiO
    @ARZZiO 2 роки тому +2878

    "He barely talks unless someone brings him into the conversation"
    *Ok that's actually literally me*

    • @TheMrcrazy711
      @TheMrcrazy711 2 роки тому

      ua-cam.com/video/2FZ2AGo6Kec/v-deo.html

    • @contron2611
      @contron2611 2 роки тому +79

      Literally we

    • @dayoki8091
      @dayoki8091 2 роки тому +53

      Literally us

    • @tonythetiger1600
      @tonythetiger1600 2 роки тому +4

      Not me I talk 2 any1 lol

    • @greyguy.960
      @greyguy.960 2 роки тому +5

      Literally me , means you did the same as him not picking one point and saying your him

  • @PatrickWDunne
    @PatrickWDunne 2 роки тому +1927

    "Some won't even take Redditors. Don't make no difference to me."
    Damn Travis, that speech hit different

    • @ovahlord1451
      @ovahlord1451 2 роки тому +134

      "you know who lives in that apartment"
      "a redditor"

    • @throwaway9388
      @throwaway9388 2 роки тому +7

      HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAA

    • @michaelironsights8347
      @michaelironsights8347 2 роки тому +39

      This is a line from the script of "Uber Driver"

    • @papastalin1543
      @papastalin1543 Рік тому +1

      lmao

    • @justonefyx
      @justonefyx Рік тому +1

      Redditors make up 13% of the population but commit over 50% of crimes

  • @maxrieker1591
    @maxrieker1591 2 роки тому +1185

    I feel like Rambo is being a little over looked as a “literally me” character. In the first movie, he’s an outcast, a drifter just trying to pass through a town harmlessly. A man who has limitless potential but is seen as an undesirable by society.

    • @tadpoledystopia2456
      @tadpoledystopia2456 2 роки тому +141

      100%. I feel the sequels overshadow this unfortunately. First Blood fits this archetype. The only problem of course is that Rambo is a bit too perfect. He is supremely skilled, and despite his violence, it is only in self defense and never actually kills anyone. He is the "Mary Sue" of literally me characters. He is not flawed enough for the hall of fame I suppose.

    • @maxrieker1591
      @maxrieker1591 2 роки тому +91

      @@tadpoledystopia2456 I agree that the following sequels completely got rid of his character development and traded it for a generic 80s action film. I personally would say Rambo may not be flawed physically, but socially he is. He doesn’t have interpersonal relationship skills, can’t hold down a job, doesn’t trust anyone, is haunted by his time in Vietnam and feels used and subsequently forgotten by the people who trained him and the people of the United States. Like most military personnel after getting out, you go from running multi million dollar equipment or in charge of hundreds of men, to a civilian job without the same meaning and sense of purpose. His monologue at the end of the movie really shows how much of a glass cannon he is.

    • @tadpoledystopia2456
      @tadpoledystopia2456 2 роки тому +9

      @@maxrieker1591 Thats true. Good points.

    • @williamcoreli6248
      @williamcoreli6248 2 роки тому +19

      @@tadpoledystopia2456 I mean look at the scene when he goes to visit his buddy only to learn that he dies. That’s pretty good demonstration of his social flaws with how awkward and arms length the interaction is with someone who he ought to be able to trust more than other people

    • @michaelfitzsimmons8013
      @michaelfitzsimmons8013 2 роки тому +1

      @max rieker where’s your pfp from? I like it

  • @_scabs6669
    @_scabs6669 2 роки тому +391

    This is the most optimistic reading of Taxi Driver I've ever heard

    • @DHx0000
      @DHx0000 8 місяців тому +6

      Yeah, know it's an old comment but it feels like a weird takeaway based on the last scene and him clearly being back in the same spot he started in by the end of the movie.

  • @raymondsegundo6958
    @raymondsegundo6958 2 роки тому +2008

    This is me. Literally me. No other character can come close to relating to me like this. There is no way you can convince me this is not me. This character could not possibly be anymore me. It's me, and nobody can convince me otherwise. If anyone approached me on the topic of this not possibly being me, then I immediately shut them down with overwhelming evidence that this character is me. This character is me, it is indisputable. Why anyone would try to argue that this character is not me is beyond me. If you held two pictures of me and this character side by side, you'd see no difference. I can safely look at this character every day and say "Yup, that's me". I can practically see this character every time I look at myself in the mirror. I go outside and people stop me to comment how similar I look and act to this character. I chuckle softly as I'm assured everyday this character is me in every way. I can smile each time I get out of bed every morning knowing that I've found my identity with this character and I know my place in this world. It's really quite funny how similar this character is to me, it's almost like we're identical twins. When I first saw this character, I had an existential crisis. What if this character was the real me and I was the fictional being. What if this character actual became aware of my existence? Did this character have the ability to become self aware itself?

    • @ARZZiO
      @ARZZiO 2 роки тому +214

      You're literally me

    • @CorbCorbin
      @CorbCorbin 2 роки тому +55

      Travis would probably disagree…but then that’s you!

    • @Blitzed_city
      @Blitzed_city 2 роки тому +28

      broh this guy is me

    • @Angel-Otk
      @Angel-Otk 2 роки тому

      Get some mental help🥺😔

    • @Bmisunderstooded
      @Bmisunderstooded 2 роки тому +5

      wish this was(n't) literally me

  • @dally1398
    @dally1398 2 роки тому +968

    I’ve always interpreted the ending way less positively. Travis is about to kill Palentine, but then he gets spotted with his gun and flees. It’s less him choosing a better path and more like him rolling the dice on who to let his anger out on. That’s why the ending is so dark. People are calling Travis a hero in the paper where in another universe he’s being called a monster because he executed a random politician to spite a girl that rejected him. How long is it gonna be until Travis needs to engage in violence again and who will he take it out on next time?

    • @mrscruffles801
      @mrscruffles801 2 роки тому +87

      At least Travis took it out on people who deserved it. Travis is a good man, but a horrific war and and a life of isolation made him a broken shell of who he could be. Most people wouldn't commit the acts that he has, but we can definitely empathize with how he feels throughout the movie.

    • @dally1398
      @dally1398 2 роки тому +172

      @@mrscruffles801 Travis is complicated. He definitely has the potential to be a good man. His instinct to help Iris was good and he did stop that robbery, but he also nearly killed an innocent person. Dude just needs help to work through his shit.

    • @mrscruffles801
      @mrscruffles801 2 роки тому +3

      @@dally1398 Exactly right.

    • @anon2427
      @anon2427 2 роки тому +8

      Hopefully more degenerates

    • @dally1398
      @dally1398 2 роки тому +67

      @@anon2427 I saw an interesting take that Travis is a deconstruction of American film heroes like Clint Eastwood. For Clint we just see him murder bad guys effortlessly and spout one liners. For Travis we see him practice his draw and practice and fumble his “badass” lines in the mirror. When someone uses violence as an outlet there comes a concern. That concern is “what will this hero do when there are no more little girls to save?”

  • @OctowaveOfficial
    @OctowaveOfficial 2 роки тому +550

    Travis bickle is the main man of loner cinema, the dude is literally a Vietnam War veteran, dude has practiced what to do under an attack, he's always planning, always getting organizized, that's why he's literally me

    • @why.it11
      @why.it11 2 роки тому +25

      Organizized, nice reference

    • @peterparker7649
      @peterparker7649 2 роки тому +6

      U mean organized?

    • @SuperSealMan777
      @SuperSealMan777 2 роки тому +27

      @@peterparker7649 Idk, thimk about it

    • @Saturnia2014
      @Saturnia2014 2 роки тому +3

      @tj No, because The Punisher actually had a nice life before becoming a miserable loner and The Punisher never talked about "washing the streets clean of it's filth" whenever he saw random people on the street. Travis Bickle would've been on The Punisher's hit list at one point, let's be real.

    • @TheBiggest2004
      @TheBiggest2004 Рік тому +1

      @@Saturnia2014 That’s true but same time I can see the similarities between the two, it’s more so the extremes to which they’d both take it.

  • @user-cv8qe9ru8c
    @user-cv8qe9ru8c 2 роки тому +144

    Fun fact: Scorsese wasn't originally supposed to be in the back of the taxi. The actor who was going to be in the scene was in a car accident earlier that day and marty stepped in

    • @prisma6799
      @prisma6799 2 роки тому +20

      I think he also had to sit on many blanquets in order to appear on frame

    • @user-rg2hk9uz9u
      @user-rg2hk9uz9u Рік тому +9

      ​@@prisma6799 if you look closely you can actually see the booster seat

  • @Jahvari215
    @Jahvari215 2 роки тому +497

    The ending isn’t Travis becoming a better person or a productive member of society. He’s still a ticking time bomb underneath the facade of a hero. As he drives away from Betsy and looks in his rear view mirror, his reflection still shows the same old self deluded, self isolating, self sabotaging Travis. Even through all the events that take place he’s learned nothing.

    • @paulsalary4186
      @paulsalary4186 2 роки тому +14

      That’s exactly my thoughts

    • @mrscruffles801
      @mrscruffles801 2 роки тому +10

      Is that not what most heros are? A bomb that just got pointed in the right direction?

    • @Jahvari215
      @Jahvari215 2 роки тому +49

      @@mrscruffles801 Travis isn’t a good person all of a sudden because he freed Iris. It’s a temporary win. His happiness in the moment is a facade, the hateful bitter Travis is still under the surface. I noticed in your video you didn’t show Travis dropping off Betsy. In that scene as the camera pans to Travis expression in the mirror, it’s the same hateful face we see in the beginning of the movie. The movie is a perfect circle. He’ll stay on this path until him being a ticking time bomb gets him killed eventually. I actually made a video essay on the movie myself and hopefully you can see where I’m coming from. The audio isn’t as good as yours though.

    • @mrscruffles801
      @mrscruffles801 2 роки тому +18

      @@Jahvari215 I... I didn't make the video.

    • @Jahvari215
      @Jahvari215 2 роки тому +1

      @@mrscruffles801 oh shit my bad bro

  • @ketamineanonymous8396
    @ketamineanonymous8396 2 роки тому +136

    if Taxi Driver took place today, i can imagine Travis posting his training progress on /fit/

    • @basedkaiser5352
      @basedkaiser5352 Рік тому +13

      He’d definitely be on /pol/

    • @turkishjanitor3666
      @turkishjanitor3666 Рік тому +1

      Rami Malek/Robert Pattinson as Travis Bickle
      Lily James as Betsy
      Julie Butters as Iris
      Josh Safdie as Tom
      Shea Wigham as Charles Palantine
      Macon Blair as Wizard
      Caleb Landry Jones as Sport
      Benny Safdie as The Passenger
      Directed by Safdie Brothers

  • @alexbadeau5027
    @alexbadeau5027 2 роки тому +729

    I believe if every 18 year old man was given an opportunity to watch this film, there’d be a bit less anger and a bit more understanding from younger men who experience social anxiety. It humanizes him at first but shows how dealing with issues in the wrong way can lead to absolute horror and destruction. Like the screenwriter Paul Schrader stated, he chooses loneliness as a coping mechanism.

    • @Danefrak
      @Danefrak 2 роки тому +52

      He killed the bad guys Alex. That can be hardly described as absolute horror and destruction. Do you even read the papers?

    • @mrscruffles801
      @mrscruffles801 2 роки тому +18

      @@Danefrak Apparently violence is only okay when the media approves it.

    • @TheSpidersider
      @TheSpidersider 2 роки тому

      @@Danefrak Yeah, but it took him wanting to die and living in absolute existential agony before he did something with all that pent up hatred that luckily was good but he could as easily have gone and shot that politician and ruined everything. The point alex is trying to make is that you shouldn't let your mental sickness get to a point where violence is the only way out.

    • @Danefrak
      @Danefrak 2 роки тому +11

      @@TheSpidersider I know I was just joking

    • @TheSpidersider
      @TheSpidersider 2 роки тому +5

      @@Danefrak Ah, apologies for my absolute sperg moment then.

  • @SaltPepperEconomics
    @SaltPepperEconomics 2 роки тому +394

    The literally me story type really started in the 1800s with Fyodor Dostoyevsky's books, specifically Notes from the Underground and his magnum opus Crime and Punishment. These books are extremely relevant today and if you like these kinds of movies I highly recommend you to look into these. The roots of 'literally me'

    • @b.p.5324
      @b.p.5324 2 роки тому +40

      I wrote a paper in college arguing that Taxi Driver is a sort of modern day retelling of Notes from Underground, there are striking similarities whether they were intended by Schrader or not

    • @jryan2552
      @jryan2552 2 роки тому +26

      Definitely. Especially the sense of shallow superiority Raskolnikov and the Underground Man present.

    • @Beastinvader
      @Beastinvader 2 роки тому +3

      Seconded!
      He explores this archetype in White Nights, The Double, and The Meek One as well.

    • @vinnybossman
      @vinnybossman 2 роки тому +11

      I love this. I couldnt help but notice how many similarities there are between Raskalnikov and several of the "literally me" loner characters.

    • @macafromthewired
      @macafromthewired 2 роки тому +2

      YOOOOO LETS GO THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING

  • @kimjongun2266
    @kimjongun2266 2 роки тому +45

    The taxi driver Netflix remake is gonna take place in L.A and it's gonna be called Uber Driver

    • @immersivecomics1603
      @immersivecomics1603 2 роки тому +7

      Underrated comment

    • @Gwestytears
      @Gwestytears 2 роки тому +8

      It's about a afghanistan veteran who takes his anger out on all the drugies

    • @middler5
      @middler5 Рік тому +5

      San Francisco should have plenty of street scenes of nastiness to film.

  • @cartomancycarmen
    @cartomancycarmen 10 місяців тому +54

    She's not lonely, he projected his loneliness onto her. She has a life, hobbies, passion, and friends

    • @StarmenRock
      @StarmenRock 7 місяців тому +7

      you can have all that and still be lonely... believe me :c

  • @sifatshams1113
    @sifatshams1113 2 роки тому +133

    I first saw Taxi Driver way back in 2007 at the age of 17. Even all these years later, such a simple story about a lonely, angry young man somehow still feels so ambiguous and elusive. Like, it's one of those films that even though I've loved it for years, I still always feel like there are so many things I'm missing about it, huge gaps in my understanding of Travis Bickle and what drives him. Pretty fascinating, or I'm just really dumb.

    • @AbrasiousProductions
      @AbrasiousProductions 2 роки тому +10

      I watched it when I was feeling lonesome and hated one night at 2 a.m. in 2019, I never forgot how much I related to it, I cried multiple times seeing bickle so miserable its like I was looking into a 70s mirror

    • @bluecollar825
      @bluecollar825 2 роки тому +6

      No buddy your not dumb. That is why this is one of the most revered and analyzed films of all time. 👌

    • @faithnoman2635
      @faithnoman2635 7 місяців тому

      what bluecollar825 said.

  • @novemberguy7087
    @novemberguy7087 2 роки тому +145

    "Some won't even take Redditors. Don't make no difference to me."
    *Updated for a modern audience*
    Great video Kino, you're one of my favorite filmtubers!

  • @YggStudio
    @YggStudio 2 роки тому +58

    You read that opening monolog and I immediately thought "so this is what Maynard Keenan was going for with Aenima and that mohawk and aviators look"

  • @shrimpflea
    @shrimpflea Рік тому +9

    Travis didn't change is mind about killing Pallentine. He was found out and chased away by the Secret Service guys, so he redirected his rage at the pimps.

  • @daklr2501
    @daklr2501 2 роки тому +170

    Idk, killing child traffickers sounds pretty based...

    • @joedirt3449
      @joedirt3449 Рік тому +4

      Based AF

    • @vassilyvodka2638
      @vassilyvodka2638 Рік тому

      He only did it after his failed assassination attempt against a senator, after he got rejected by a woman who worked for him...

    • @ardillarojo
      @ardillarojo 11 місяців тому

      Whatever you say, incel edgelord.

  • @orangeman3220
    @orangeman3220 2 роки тому +138

    I love this movie. And while Patrick Baleman is literally me, Travis might be me if I was born a generation earlier.

    • @tonythetiger1600
      @tonythetiger1600 2 роки тому +13

      I relate 2 E.T. as I often hide in people's sheds n befriend children b4 getting caught by the government ;)

    • @orangeman3220
      @orangeman3220 2 роки тому +8

      @@tonythetiger1600 i assume you also have a long and shiny finger

  • @deleus
    @deleus 2 роки тому +66

    I’m incel, I’m groyper, I’m kek, I’m Patrick Bateman, I’m Ryan Gosling from Drive (2011) and the Place Beyond the Pines, I’m Joker, I’m Miles from Baby Driver, I’m Bruce Willis in Die Hard and Looper, I’m Travis Bickle. There is no voluntary or involuntary, the world just is

    • @foodistzen
      @foodistzen 2 роки тому +10

      @A D well he admitted to being Jewish twice

    • @user-ys2st1eo9o
      @user-ys2st1eo9o Рік тому +1

      Groyper damn now that's a surprise hahahaha

    • @knightsonofjack
      @knightsonofjack Рік тому

      In your 20s I hope

    • @jlall4467
      @jlall4467 Рік тому

      "There is no voluntary or involuntary" then how are you an incel?

  • @skramzrave
    @skramzrave 2 роки тому +23

    the salo clip had me dying

    • @heygem
      @heygem 2 роки тому +3

      Me too. So funny.

    • @simonfuli2469
      @simonfuli2469 Рік тому +1

      But if your date likes it then she is definitly the right person!

  • @MegaMac464
    @MegaMac464 2 роки тому +281

    Interesting to know that in the original scrip all the “villains” that Travis killed were black. I agree that the choice to change this was the right one, and the way that Travis’s racism is portrayed in the film is much more subtle but impactful. However also knowing that the screenwriter wrote this characters as “literally him” and chose to only kill black people in his version is an…interesting choice lol

    • @pierce9870
      @pierce9870 2 роки тому

      Hmmm yes i wonder who was commiting the majority of violent inner city crime 🤔 surely it wouldnt be the same group of people doing it today! You confuse racism with reality

    • @DonkeyBoyVids
      @DonkeyBoyVids 2 роки тому +50

      Exactly what I thought right after hearing that. Like Travis definitely isn't necessarily a progressive guy and the subtlety of his beliefs is really interesting, but specifically writing the race of all the criminals to be black seems less "Travis is racist" and more "the writer who put him there is racist"

    • @MegaMac464
      @MegaMac464 2 роки тому +84

      @@pierce9870 You missed my point completely. The film shows us that Travis is at least somewhat racist. He is uncomfortable around black people. There are multiple shots of black people that are made to look menacing or creepy because thats how Travis views them. If you make a movie about him killing a bunch of black people after you show him acting this way all the other meaning gets lost because we are just watching a guy commit hate crimes for 2 hours. The writer went out of his way to specify that the criminals were black even though there race really doesn't matter to the plot. And if the writer feels like this character is him, it starts to get into the territory of some fucked up fantasy film rather then a look into the human psyche. Scorsese recognized this and made the change which I think saved the film

    • @MegaMac464
      @MegaMac464 2 роки тому +18

      @@DonkeyBoyVids Exactly. I feel almost like the writer had mad Travis to be more straight forward. He was supposed to be the writer himself, and the script may have even been some kind of twisted power fantasy he made of how he would want to be seen as a hero if he actualy did shit like this. Scorcsese noticed this and made these changes to make the movie less straight forward and add a lot more depth to Travis.

    • @HonkeyKong54
      @HonkeyKong54 2 роки тому

      @@MegaMac464 they were pimps you fn imbecile. The ones in the restaurant are pimps and the robber is a robber. His cabby colleague is blk and he doesn't look at him like that in the film.

  • @CIB8282
    @CIB8282 2 роки тому +50

    When I heard that Joker was inspired by Taxi Driver, I checked out Taxi Driver first. It's definitely one of Scorsese's classics. Great review

    • @OTH595
      @OTH595 2 роки тому +7

      Joker seems to be partly inspired by both taxi driver and another scorsese classic the king of comedy, if you haven't seen it I'd highly recommend it

  • @popdrinker7319
    @popdrinker7319 2 роки тому +66

    dude, I literally found your channel from the previous video not even an hour ago lol. I was wondering when the next taxi driver one would come out!

  • @Tincho326
    @Tincho326 2 роки тому +43

    When talkig about him being lonely almost on purpose I couldn´t help but remember the character of Rustion Cohle from True Detective i think he also fits the "Literally me" niche quite nicely. Great video man

    • @Double_0_7_Strings
      @Double_0_7_Strings 2 роки тому +3

      Oh I’d love to see Cohle get added to the list of literally me characters. His arc is one of the most compelling things I’ve seen on TV.

    • @williamthegunnut3839
      @williamthegunnut3839 2 роки тому +3

      My favorite character. But he is different from all the others. He is sadness. He’s more real.

    • @YagoWoods
      @YagoWoods Рік тому

      The hand of god

  • @oujimandias6485
    @oujimandias6485 2 роки тому +77

    "He didn't eat, but he did drink a lot...The event that put an end to his self-destructive lifestyle, the formation of an ulcer."
    Literally me and a lot of college folks who are headed the same way who risked their guts for a destructive lifestyle. Schrader-sensei HAD to walk through it, too.

  • @sweetneko1257
    @sweetneko1257 2 роки тому +18

    This is probably the only film I've seen where a training montage is a bad thing

  • @chanceotter8121
    @chanceotter8121 Рік тому +9

    I first saw this movie in the latter end of the 70s when I was in my late teens and saw it many, many times (it played in repertory theaters and midnight shows almost monthly in pre-video days) and played the soundtrack album often (which had tracks of Travis’s monologues included). As I got older, made friends, got married, this movie, as a powerful metaphor for loneliness and alienation,became a mirror of a very difficult past. It is a masterpiece and I admire the artistry of Scorsese, DeNiro, and Schrader (and love some of Schrader’s variations of the themes here: American Gigolo, Mishima, Light Sleeper) but revisiting this movie hurts, and I think that speaks to its power,

  • @iamthesword1180
    @iamthesword1180 Рік тому +19

    There is a political dimension to the film, too that adds to the complexity of this masterpiece. It's part of the "American paranoia" films of the 1970s, dealing with the feeling of exterior and interior crisis (most prominently among other events: Vietnam and Watergate) shattering the positive view on America those film makers grew up with (prominent titles include THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR, ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, THE CONVERSATION, FRENCH CONNECTION, APOCALYPSE NOW, PLATOON and the first RAMBO).
    From this perspective, it is also a movie about a Vietnam vet, who's disillusion worsens back home when he sees that the supposed American values he was told to be defending in Vietnam don't seem to exist. He also cannot adapt to the life back home as there is no care/help for the vets coming home and a society that refuses to look at the consequences of the war and often rejects the Vietnam vets and their experience for they are a living reminder to the uncomfortable truths about the war (see also FIRST BLOOD for this part). The hate for Palentine is the hate for people who (in Bickle's eyes) talk about values, but don't mean it - like the politicians sending them to the war. Finally, Bickle finds something (someone) worth fighting for, but the only way he knows how to do that at this point is in the way the war has told him: with violence (again similar to John Rambo).
    All this is not meant to contradict anything said in the video, it's just a try to add another layer.

  • @imaXkillXya
    @imaXkillXya 2 роки тому +12

    Literally me is basically the cinema version of TikTok's Empaths.

  • @mikebaxter6771
    @mikebaxter6771 2 роки тому +8

    Notice how he looks himself in the eye at the very end of the movie and then quickly looks away from the mirror. He still doesn't like what he sees.

  • @tadpoledystopia2456
    @tadpoledystopia2456 2 роки тому +40

    I watched The Room on a first date once. Her loss honestly. But yeah it probably wasn't a great choice. The more disturbing part, is she didn't see anything wrong with Lisa's actions. In retrospect in may be a good test of character...

    • @5050TM
      @5050TM Рік тому +1

      😂😂😂

    • @PolishGod1234
      @PolishGod1234 8 місяців тому +1

      Hahaha, what a story Tadpole Dystopia!

  • @Chad_Thunder-Koch
    @Chad_Thunder-Koch 2 роки тому +23

    Shit bro. You’re gradually becoming one of my favourite film analysis UA-camrs. Keep it up dude. Looking forward to the next one.

  • @loganwendigo937
    @loganwendigo937 2 роки тому +9

    To me Travis felt like he was wasting away after Vietnam and was desperate to do something that would make people remember him. That's why he was gunning for the politician but ran away once spotted. So he goes with option B, be a vigilante and go out in a Blaze of Glory instead. Then he survives and is left still feeling like nothing has changed.

  • @giovan483
    @giovan483 2 роки тому

    I’ve been looking forward to this one ever since I first found your literally me playlist

  • @TheSpidersider
    @TheSpidersider 2 роки тому +12

    I still don't know if i should be worried or laughing that so many say Travis is literally them.

    • @devlintaylor9520
      @devlintaylor9520 2 роки тому +2

      ikr?

    • @liamshope2838
      @liamshope2838 Рік тому +7

      If they truly understand the movie and the point of the character, then you should be beyond horrified. But, luckily most people are too stupid nowadays to get the actual point and more see the character as the cool aesthetic of a lonely guy who is also a hero.

    • @edwinve4112
      @edwinve4112 3 місяці тому +1

      ​@@liamshope2838 Yeah you probably would be one of those people who see Marx and Stalin as heroes

    • @liamshope2838
      @liamshope2838 3 місяці тому

      @@edwinve4112 The you talking about friend?

    • @liamshope2838
      @liamshope2838 3 місяці тому

      @@edwinve4112 The hell you talking about friend?

  • @KeithAdam
    @KeithAdam 2 роки тому +15

    This channel is a diamond in the rough! Hope you blow up soon man. Excellent work

    • @MicahMicahel
      @MicahMicahel 2 роки тому +2

      Yeah, I hope the explosion doesn't hurt any innocent people though.

  • @Facade13
    @Facade13 4 місяці тому +1

    I've seen all the literally me movies and I relate to Travis at my soul. I think any alienated man would.
    No friends, no family. Just existing and wanting things to be different but feeling powerless to cause that change.
    I still try, but it is hard to not just quit.

  • @glyndwr15
    @glyndwr15 Рік тому +3

    Taxi Driver is based on John Ford's The Searchers. Paul Schrader has explained this in interviews. In The Searchers, John Wayne is a veteran of the civil war and has to save a young girl who has been abducted by Indians. He's driven by hatred of the Indians more than concern for the girl as he tracks them down and this is revealed when he threatens to kill the girl when it becomes clear she doesn't want to be saved, the Indians having become her new family. He returns the girl to her parents, but the scene is ambivalent because we're unsure if she's actually happy about having been returned home.
    So, is John Wayne the hero or the villain? That's the subversive subtext to the film. The western presents an idealized heroic masculinity, but Ford's film turns this on its head and suggests the hero and villain are actually reverse. In Schrader's script, it's the same confusion. Travis only becomes the hero who "saves" Iris because he failed to be the villain that assassinated Palantine.

  • @bush2239
    @bush2239 2 роки тому +14

    Missed the point of this video essay and took the movie message literally. I'm taking justice into my own hands, see you fellas on the headlines.

  • @thevfxmancolorizationvfxex4051
    @thevfxmancolorizationvfxex4051 2 роки тому +7

    I saw this film recently. It's honestly amazing. Personally, I'd be interested in seeing you do a video on Luchino Visconti's Death in Venice next

  • @jl_finesse
    @jl_finesse 2 роки тому

    awsome video i really want to see more. Taxi Driver is one of my favorite movies of all time. cant wait to see where this series goes!

  • @SpotCam
    @SpotCam 2 роки тому

    great video kino, you're pumping out bangers left right and centre bro, loved the skits too

  • @Scotsmanthebedbug
    @Scotsmanthebedbug 2 роки тому +3

    When I was younger and I would have a mental breakdown, I would shave my hair into a mohawk. Even before I saw this and it became one of my favorite films

  • @nio3027
    @nio3027 2 роки тому +4

    This is one of the only film channels that are worth watching

  • @outcast8787
    @outcast8787 Рік тому +4

    IDK I did not at all feel that his attack on brothel was in any way path of creation. His attempt to assassinate Palantine has failed not because he changed his mind, but because bodyguards spotted him. But he still wants to "go and really do something". So he turns to last he has going for him - Iris and her abusers. He doesn't really care what is he going to do. I think he just wants to make some, ANY impact on this world.
    When Travis comes to the brothel after failed assassination, first thing he does is trying to have a friendly conversation with Sport. But when he doesn't recognize him, he gets pissed off. I'm not sure if he had an intention to kill everyone there up until that point. I think that shows that Travis just wants some connection, as does his attempt to have a conversation with bodyguard at the first Palantine's demonstration.
    I also don't think he ever admired Palantine before deciding to kill him. He always says he's "Not interested in political matters" and everything he ever has to say when he's asked about the senator is "I hope he wins" - the most generic shit you say when you don't really care. I think Travis picks him as a target just because he's important and he knows him because of Betsy, that's it. And also he probably did not like that "I learned more about America from driving in taxy cabs than all the limos in the country" bullshit.
    And about that last sequence, after the masacre at the brothel, where they show a letter from Iris' parents. I think it's all Travis' hallucination or imagination or something he expected whould happen after he 'freed' Iris. But I don't think that's how it would play out in the real world. Even though Iris' parents might have seen him as a hero of sorts, I think court would have different opinion on that. If I remember correctly, you cant go around killing pimps, even if they are criminals. He would probably go straight to prison, if he survived that night at all. What I find interesting is that in that final scene Travis is happily talking to cabees, from whom he only hears "dumbest things he's ever heard", Betsy, that he concluded was "just like the others", acknowledges him, newspapers are calling him a hero. And he likes it. To me that showed that all his righteous anger towards the 'filth' of the city isn't as fundamental to him and he doesn't mind it. As long as he is being accepted.

  • @shotashotaro4078
    @shotashotaro4078 Рік тому +1

    I really like this interpretation; you did a good job!

  • @user-md1po9op4o
    @user-md1po9op4o 2 роки тому

    this really made me think about my life. especially the end . thank you

  • @ceoofbased6850
    @ceoofbased6850 2 роки тому +2

    I watched Taxi Driver for the first time 2-3 years ago , and i think i watched it at the perfect moment of my life , i couldn't help but relate to Travis on a personal level (still do)

  • @jimbobaggins1423
    @jimbobaggins1423 2 роки тому

    That Salo scene is the first time I've laughed out loud to a UA-cam video in a long time. Thanks

  • @Nerdperior
    @Nerdperior 2 роки тому +31

    The reason why I relate to Travis bickle is because I attempted to assassinate a presidential candidate due to the girl I was going out with voted for him. Literally me

  • @Studeb
    @Studeb 3 місяці тому

    I thought the camera panning to the right when he is on the phone is to say that even the camera is embarrassed for him.

  • @jacksavere6988
    @jacksavere6988 2 роки тому

    Just watched your samurai v cowboy video, after watching a few other videos of yours :p I just wanna let you know that your channel is quickly climbing the ranks of UA-cam channels I enjoy❤️ keep up the good work!

  • @Grumpy-Fallboy
    @Grumpy-Fallboy Рік тому

    The Kino Corner awesome video. ty.

  • @harry-rr5lf
    @harry-rr5lf 2 роки тому +4

    thankyou for making a video about me 🙏, I'm truly honoured.

  • @dante340
    @dante340 Рік тому +1

    Swap out the Taxi for UberEats, and yep...Travis is literally me.

  • @Human_Kebab
    @Human_Kebab 2 роки тому

    Really excellent video kino

  • @pokerpickles2306
    @pokerpickles2306 2 роки тому +1

    Bro I was literally binging your channel and you upload

  • @TH3F4LC0Nx
    @TH3F4LC0Nx 2 роки тому +7

    Taxi Driver is still so much better than Joker.

    • @mrscruffles801
      @mrscruffles801 2 роки тому

      The two movies have barley anything in common.

    • @TH3F4LC0Nx
      @TH3F4LC0Nx 2 роки тому

      @@mrscruffles801 Well I mean Taxi Driver was the primary source of inspiration for Joker, with the latter having numerous direct allusions to it and being a literal homage, so...

    • @mrscruffles801
      @mrscruffles801 2 роки тому

      @@TH3F4LC0Nx I guess. Taxi Driver is untouchable no matter what.

  • @BigBadMadDog.
    @BigBadMadDog. 2 роки тому

    This video is literally great

  • @jonathanshafer8249
    @jonathanshafer8249 Рік тому +1

    8:20 I didn't think salo could make anyone laugh but you got me with that one!

  • @Joshfromtosh114
    @Joshfromtosh114 Рік тому

    I loved the SALO cameo u added😂😂😂

  • @92YYZ
    @92YYZ Рік тому +5

    I’ve always seen travis as a cautionary tale more than literally me trope. Yeah there’s similarities between him and lonely dudes but he goes about it in the wrong way. It’s one of my favourite movies because I relate to travois’s loneliness until the cinema date with Betsy then it becomes a character study of spiralling self destruction

  • @cold5837
    @cold5837 2 роки тому +4

    He didn’t reintegrate at all. You can see it in his eyes at the end of the movie

  • @FieldMarshalFeels
    @FieldMarshalFeels Рік тому +2

    My favorite movie of all time. I think I've watched it over 10 times at this point.

  • @AbrasiousProductions
    @AbrasiousProductions 2 роки тому +4

    I relate to Travis Bickle so much

  • @Poetboyy
    @Poetboyy Рік тому +5

    What I find interesting is just how close Bickle's fate was from being a villain rather than a hero. The town praised him for saving Iris, but if he carried out his assassination plan, he would be seen as a monster.

  • @ExeErdna
    @ExeErdna 2 роки тому +23

    This is why some people slander Taxi Driver as being "just for edgy white boys" They don't understand the loneliness of it all and how the abyss does creep up on the depressed. They don't have that perspective of depression due to them either not being male and or being in a different place. I was a Bickle even though I'm black, when I was 19, I carried around fixed blade knives and was a menace in my own mind. Too often when men are "figuring things out" we're shamed for falling into the abyss, to lashing at the very world we're told we're supposed to lash out at. Bickie is ironically the very character those twitter mooks see in themselves being anti-establishment yet too chicken shit admit because "the other side" see themselves as him too. Bickle is a very human character, he's like Rambo in way just on other sides of the nation dealing with their own traumas and drama.

    • @williamthegunnut3839
      @williamthegunnut3839 2 роки тому

      It’s only leftist who say that “edgy white boy” shit. They don’t like men or they don’t like white people or both. Usually just some retarded feminist who says that shit. Because they have 0 sympathy and 0 understanding for young white guys that have a mind that eats them from the inside out

  • @herbdelarge8784
    @herbdelarge8784 2 роки тому

    I'm so grateful I found your channel, today is a good day.

  • @damianstarks3338
    @damianstarks3338 4 місяці тому

    This movie is a pure masterpiece/ classic perfect/accurate analysis of this movie.

  • @bubkacarlson9461
    @bubkacarlson9461 2 роки тому +3

    Taxi Driver is my favorite movie of all time simply bc of the relevance I felt when I watched it. I watched it at a time in my life when Travis Bickle was literally me. I struggled talking to people especially women. To me Taxi Driver became my comfort movie where I didn't feel out of place and could relate. Now for me the movie is a warning about the dangers of loneliness. Travis' views on the world become skewed bc of his lack of sleep and all the things he saw. His frustration grew w his advances on him and correlated to his thoughts on society as a whole

  • @billforson3143
    @billforson3143 2 роки тому

    I heard the music, the music from the cultist card game, I love that music and the fact you included it in your video made me leave a like

  • @ididntmeantoshootthatvietn5012
    @ididntmeantoshootthatvietn5012 Рік тому +50

    i love when the taximan said "im the taxi driver" and drived all over the bad guys, one of the moments of all time

  • @longwind
    @longwind 2 роки тому +1

    Really enjoying this 'Literally Me'-series and your analysis. I especially like the pacing of these videos. Really appreciate the small pauses, giving me time to think about what you're saying.

  • @tylermacdonald8924
    @tylermacdonald8924 2 роки тому +1

    I mean, I think this film just makes it all the more clear how important mental health is. How being disconnected from everything makes us rot.

  • @anahipadilla8618
    @anahipadilla8618 Рік тому

    Thank you for this analysis . Simple and understandable:)

  • @MarkAfterDark
    @MarkAfterDark 2 роки тому +6

    I really enjoyed your input, especially on the mental health stuff. I think I haven't seen a single video talking about Literally Me™ characters and saying "hey, you have a choice not to be like Travis." he himself is a walking contradiction for the majority of the film. Like how he says he'll work any time with anyone. And then does nothing but complain about the seediness of the city. He made that choice. I think you were right about depression and wanting to steep in it.
    Great video Kino!

    • @ab-gail
      @ab-gail 2 роки тому +3

      I think it’s something not talked about much and honestly this take probably helps the loneliness more than anyone just screaming about how toxic Travis is.

    • @mrscruffles801
      @mrscruffles801 2 роки тому +2

      Well what's he supposed to do? If he leaves new york, he won't be able to get a cab job unless it's in an equally seedy city like LA or Chicago. He's pretty much stuck in the muck.

    • @MarkAfterDark
      @MarkAfterDark 2 роки тому

      @@mrscruffles801 not shoot and kill people lol although he does the best of a bad path.

    • @mrscruffles801
      @mrscruffles801 2 роки тому +1

      @@MarkAfterDark Hey, he saved a child from monsters who were selling her for money. If you're gonna have violent tendencies, use them for good.

    • @MarkAfterDark
      @MarkAfterDark 2 роки тому +1

      @@mrscruffles801 agreed

  • @oriontrips
    @oriontrips 2 роки тому +9

    I think you're totally right about Bickle being self-destructive, yet I always thought him taking Betsy to a porno was just a result of his social inabilities; but perhaps he was purposely and/or subconsciously sabotaging the relationship - as you stated. After watching it a couple times, I began to find that a lot of Travis's inner-turmoil is bred by a lack of purpose. Although he has his job as a taxi driver, he states that the days seem to blend together "each one indistinguishable from the next," and as a result tries implanting purpose where there isn't or shouldn't be. This is especially apparent when he proclaims himself to be "God's lonely man," thus characterizing his isolation as the will of Providence and thus out of his control. I think your interpretation compliments this scene very well, as you state that Travis finally chooses to change something he can control. Great video man!

  • @injetavel279
    @injetavel279 Рік тому

    This is kind of a meme at this point but when you mentioned being alone because if you don't have anyone it's easier to control your own life it was like you were reading my mind when I was at my lowest point, you hit the nail on the head.

  • @haloguylevi
    @haloguylevi 2 роки тому +1

    Alienating yourself from others stems from a lack of self respect and awareness of yourself, finding ways to self reflect and making the decisions to better yourself are completely up to you

  • @Mispointed
    @Mispointed Рік тому

    as someone with ptsd insomnia adhd this movie is the closest thing i can feel especially after the medication rush i feel dead

  • @burmeseshitbot101
    @burmeseshitbot101 2 роки тому

    Damn this dude got the point Thanks man I feel like I'm becoming a better version of myself after watching this Thanks again

  • @contron2611
    @contron2611 2 роки тому +1

    This is a great video.

  • @Yea___
    @Yea___ 2 роки тому +1

    I should write one of these video essays sometime, I just don't know where to start

    • @Ulostdgame
      @Ulostdgame 2 роки тому

      I have no experience at all in video essays.
      But i would guess your first would be just the essay.
      And your topic should be grounded in your own life experiences, where you can draw comparisons to media that you can relate to that experience.

  • @RichMerry
    @RichMerry 2 роки тому +1

    Cool video. These types of movies are always niche but are well made. At the end of the day its all just a product that is made to make a profit. Being a deep and interesting movie is just a bonus.

  • @johnmanning6587
    @johnmanning6587 2 роки тому +5

    Travis Bickel isn’t literally me. But I can definitely see a bit of myself in him, and I can imagine a lot of other depressive introverts like me can too. I think that’s what I like the most about Taxi Driver; it’s not just a film, it’s a warning

  • @RD-lt3ht
    @RD-lt3ht 9 місяців тому +1

    That was too optimistic: what about Travis' sudden look into his rearview mirror, as if he's spotted another damsel in distress/object of obsession or projection.

  • @andrewhendl3821
    @andrewhendl3821 Рік тому +4

    Great analysis, but you may have missed something a lot of people do when analyzing this film. Travis doesn't know Iris is still with the gangsters. He thought she left for home with the money he gave her. The scene of the head guy swooning Iris to stay is one of two scenes in the film not from Tavis's perspective. He kills the gangsters just for the sake of killing due to his pent up anger after not being able to kill Palantine. We see this frustration in the scene where he takes pills and shakes his head. He's still on a murderous warpath, and decides to direct it towards the only other people he thinks deserve it. Iris just happens to still be there. Great video, though!

    • @Wirtheless
      @Wirtheless Рік тому

      Why would you bold your entire comment?

  • @fakeid1151
    @fakeid1151 2 роки тому

    you're an absolute gem

  • @SisypheanSeas13
    @SisypheanSeas13 Рік тому

    5:35
    "Intoxicated!
    With the madness.
    I'm in love with
    My sadness
    -Smashing Pumpkins, Zero

  • @duffharris9295
    @duffharris9295 Рік тому +1

    Watching Salo with a date is literally me. One time I showed it to a group of friends and served them all chocolate ice cream.

  • @almuel
    @almuel Рік тому +3

    But the last scene, the one with him looking at himself in his rearview mirror only to suddenly push it away shows that Travis was not reborn. He was still manic and was on a self destructive path which was also why he didn't take the opportunity to make a connection with Betsy at the end even though she was interested again. He still wanted to be a loner.

  • @lekr4ck3rr76
    @lekr4ck3rr76 2 роки тому +1

    You deserve more subs!

  • @khandmo
    @khandmo 2 роки тому

    Your jacket in this rocks and I will roam the ends of the earth to find one like it

  • @gabrielidusogie9189
    @gabrielidusogie9189 2 роки тому

    Mr Kino, could you make a video teaching us how to analyze films and then turning that analysis into a video essay?

  • @SlimNilez
    @SlimNilez 2 роки тому

    amazing video it was so in depth. easy sub

  • @Azeas1993
    @Azeas1993 4 місяці тому

    I've never seen this movie, but I've seen some videos analyzing it and explaining it. From what I've seen, I can relate to Travis with loneliness, barely talking, not being able to connect with anyone, and the built up rage. My rage did come to a boil in 2019, but it calmed down the next year. I've seen the ending of the movie and how Travis adjusts his mirror after seeing his eyes light up with rage. To me, that symbolizes the restarting of the cycle. I do think Travis could have Existential Loneliness because of what the movie showed of him and his feelings. I know I have some form of Loneliness but I don't know what kind. I do know I can relate to the character of Travis.

  • @leatheryfoot6354
    @leatheryfoot6354 Рік тому

    Damn, this was a really fun mirror to look at.

  • @truthfulpurpose
    @truthfulpurpose 2 роки тому +1

    We’ve all been up late one time at 3 in the morning staring in the mirror, feeling the relation to Travis.