Taxi driver(1976) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Taxi driver(1976) - Essay Example The story that is portrayed and the various themes it shows. Furthermore, a look at what the film evokes about the nation it comes from and the formal decisions that the director uses in shaping the story and its various themes. The Taxi Driver film presents a true to life portrait of what the city of New York was and the inhabitants. The film is like an art house picture depicting the events and the 1976 historical, social, political and economic activities of New York (\Taxi Driver movie). It immortalizes the city through the eyes of the Taxi driver, even though, according to the film, the view is skewed and influenced by his perspective. It showcases the city as a vastly different one from the New York that is evident today. The film is a depiction of the events that occur during the late 1970s, a period that is referred to as the era of psychological portraits in cinematic history. It is called a psychological portrait because they are a personal vision and express the creative insights of the directors and the actors in depicting their views (Corrigan and White 79). The film showcases various scenes that indicate how the New York environment may have been at the particular era. For example, during the mid-1970s, there was a dramatic increase in the number of pornographic theaters that were aptly named â€Å"adult cinemas†. Their establishment and the dramatic increase are shown in the film because the Taxi driver Travis Bickle spends some of his time there. In the beginning as he was seeking the Taxi driving employment, the person conducting the interview urges him to spend time at the adult cinemas in order to pass the time. The beginning of the sexual industry facilitated the growth of the pornographic or as they were called â€Å"adult cinemas," however, these cinemas decreased with the introduction of VCRs at