An Auteristic Look At The Life Of Martin Scorsese

Money is a Powerful Drug

Nadja Riggs [e-mail] Film Theory & Criticism COMM – 3400

An Auteristic Look at the Life of Martin Scorsese

Throughout the course of this paper, I will dive deeper in to what exactly defines Martin Scorsese as the talented director that he is to this date. Scorsese has made films that have pushed the boundaries, challenged the way we are supposed to view a film, and …

Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver was Martin Scorsese’s fifth film, and it helped elevate the careers of Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster. This film premiered on February 7, 1976 in New York City. The film raked in $28.3 million, and was nominated for five Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Actor/Actress in a Leading/Supporting Role,

stolen youth and the idea of pre-determined life vs. taking things into your own hands. Speaking on the idea of purity vs. stolen youth, you can look at the only two roles played by women, they are played by the pure Betsy, starring Cybil Shepherd, and Iris. These two characters are complete opposites. Betsy’s character is almost like a breath of fresh air into Bickle’s life. In the film, he goes on to talk about how she is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen in his life, and doesn’t quite know how to act around a woman such as herself. On the other hand, once Iris’ character is introduced you can already tell by her demeanor that her innocence is stolen, even at such a young age. With these two sets of personalities, we can see the side of Travis that some may consider “toxic masculinity”. Travis is overly-sexual, due to his addiction to porn, and he does not know how to switch it and off once he is around Betsy. On the other hand, when he is with Iris, he feels the need to step in and become a father figure to the young

taking things into your own hands. In the beginning of the film, we can see how Travis tries to handle things his own way, and determine his own destiny. One of the main ways that I noticed this theme come into play was when Travis was first introduced to Iris. As I previously stated, Iris plays a underage prostitute in New York City, and that strikes Travis. He is so shocked that a young girl would be content with that lifestyle, but it doesn’t sit well with him. He decides to take things into his own hands, and sort of “play God” with how her life will turn out. Travis decides that he is going to do whatever it takes to get Iris out, and he even goes as far as to kill her pimp so that she can go back to her normal life as a