Jake Normandie
Professor Mary Healey Jamiel
Film 101 Honors
12/5/2011
(Title)
	Though cliché as it may be, the common phrase of “War is Hell” cannot be ignored, being able to aptly describe in only three words the horrors of warfare both ancient and modern. Throughout history, men and women have experienced firsthand the frightening accuracy of this statement, while those not on the frontlines observe the carnage from an outsider’s perspective. These observations often materialize in the form of fiction, illustration, poetry, music, or predictably frequent in Hollywood’s case, film. These films can vary yet commonly take the form of an action movie or perhaps a drama, almost always transporting the viewer into the thick of the action. All acclaimed films, examples such as Apocalypse Now (1979), Platoon (1986), and Full Metal Jacket (1987) spend much of their time on the physical battlefield showing the viewer the terrible experience of warfare. However in many cases, this physical battlefield is only half the war, with psychological stresses wreaking havoc on veterans past and recent. Although often hidden in the presence of larger action-drama-war movies, this psychological conflict can nevertheless be found in a number of films, including Martin Scorsese’s 1976 drama, Taxi Driver. The titular taxi driver himself, Travis Bickle (Robert DeNiro) is one such individual waging this psychological war in his mind. As the events of Taxi Driver unfold before the viewer, they can clearly see Bickle lose this fight and become more and more unstable, culminating with his shooting spree and attempted-assassination of a popular United States senator. Though the malady that ravages Travis’ mind is never revealed, his background as a former United States Marine offers an enormous insight as to the motives behind his seemingly insane actions and behaviors and this past-life can actually be correlated to his violent actions throughout the film.
	In Taxi Driver, the viewer is introduced to Travis Bickle and can see shortly after the beginning of the film that he is not “all there.” He suffers from insomniac tendencies, prompting him to assume the title of the cabbie of which the film’s title refers to. He works the vast majority of every week at night to occupy his time, and during this time travels the seedy locale of 1970’s New York City. He also appears to be depressed and views himself as a loner in society, once saying, “Loneliness has followed me my whole life. Everywhere. In bars, in cars, sidewalks, stores, everywhere. There's no escape” (Taxi Driver). Given his background as a former Marine, the likeliness of Bickle being stricken with a form of PTSD, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, is very high. Travis’ constant depression is but one major symptom of PTSD, with others also including “…anxiety, flashbacks, recurrent nightmares, and avoidance of reminders of the event…” (“post-traumatic stress disorder”). It is clear to the viewer watching Taxi Driver that his depression associated and constantly-worsening anger toward the “scum” inhabiting New York City are huge influences in what triggers him into going on a violent shooting spree, however even theoretically diagnosing Travis with a form of PTSD cannot significantly explain his increasingly-violent actions.
	Throughout history, the United States Marine Corps has always been regarded as one of America’s premier fighting forces, its skilled soldiers tasked with challenging missions and high standards of operation. The larger-than-life tales of its success are almost as mythological as the personalities stereotyped of its members, often being outrageously tough and angry, intelligently brutal warriors. In particular, the stereotypical “Gunny”, or Gunnery Sergeant is often the “face” people think of when they hear the word “Marine.” Especially in film, these larger-than-life characters are almost ubiquitous from movies like the previously mentioned Full Metal Jacket, with R. Lee Ermey’s inspired but admittedly mental performance to the commanding officers in the comedic Stripes (1981) and are often inspire fear with their very presence. In reality, these individuals are surprisingly not outrageous caricatures but actually are as tough-as-nails as their stereotype, as Vietnam War veteran Harvey Barnum can attest, describing a Marine representative visiting his school on “Military Day” who “…tore into the faculty, accusing them of jawjacking and scratching their butts while all this turmoil was going on and saying, This is embarrassing” (“Interview With Harvey Barnum…”).
	Considering the fearsome nature of the United States Marine Gunnery Sergeant, it can be seen as no large surprise that a recruit first is exposed to their gruff, condescending attitudes during “Basic” otherwise known as Basic Training or boot camp. Though not the case in modern times, these feared and respected individuals were often harsh in their methods during Basic in order to motivate draftees and other recruits that were belligerent in following orders (Lapidos). In the Vietnam period, it would not have been out of place at all to see these drill sergeants to not only be yelling orders at them, forcing physical punishment, but also be personally insulting them, toying with their minds, and otherwise manipulating their psyches. Despite this, the actual purpose of boot camp is of course not to abuse the recruits but harden them for combat and prepare them for teamwork, and one way of “…converting individuals into a cohesive unit was to provide them with a common enemy to hate” (Westheider 41). Despite that purpose, there are recruits that do not cope with this sort of “reinforcement” and suffer mentally because of it. It is in this intense period of time, where a recruit can be totally reshaped into a fighting member of the armed forces, where the answers to Travis’ violent actions during Taxi Driver may lie.
	The events of Taxi Driver concern Travis’ daily existence in New York, portraying a man who the audience can visibly see become more “unraveled” and increasingly angry toward the elements of the populace he deems “scum,” such as drug addicts or prostitutes. This anger culminates into a violent rage, in which Travis not only attempts to unsuccessfully assassinate Senator Palantine (Leonard Harris) but also ends up killing two men: “Scout,” (Harvey Keitel) the pimp of which underaged-prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster) was affiliated, and her “customer”.  This lashing-out could be seen as the rash outcome to such a prolonged period of anger, however Travis is anything-but rash. Beginning from the point where Bickle reached his limit of tolerance for the crime in New York City, one can see his former life as a Vietnam-era Marine begin to creep back into his character. The intense regiment he assigns himself, consisting of “…50 pushups each morning, 50 pullups. There will be no more pills, no more bad food, no more destroyers of my body. From now on will be total organization” (Taxi Driver).” In particular, his assertion of “total organization”