Schem 1.
Michael Schem
Nancy Park
English II, Film Noir
7 April 2012
Taxi Driver, The Vietnam War, and Film Noir
The Vietnam War was one of history’s most gruesome wars of all times. The war
its self-lasted from 1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975, and all the solders that survived it
when home, but the effects of the war lasted long after and perhaps will never completely
fade. During the Vietnam War weapons were used that created not only death but also
torture. One such weapon was the flamethrower. One of the flamethrower’s key
strengths is its ability to, “create panic among enemy units as they see its blasts of fire
destroy their installations. Flame is a tangible, visible threat. The impulse to flee from it
is powerful. Pockets of resistance sometimes crumble even before the flames from this
weapon have seared them” (Bowler, 186). With the use of weapons like the
flamethrower solders were exposed to some of the most painful and unimaginable deaths
possible. The effects of this war have been noticed and studied all across the United
States. A study conducted by the center for Disease Control found that Vietnam Veterans
were twice as likely to have enduring physical problems when compared to other military
veterans (Roberts 1988). After returning from the war many did not lave their experience
behind. Many bought them into their family life, some internalized the problems, and
others simply could not blend into society as it had developed without them. This typical
display of the damage psychological and physical hardships experienced in the Vietnam
War came to be known as a symptom called PTSD or posttraumatic stress disorder. As
Schem 2.
shown by the American Psychiatric Association in 1987 characteristics of PTSD include,
experiencing an event that is outside the range of normal experience, re-experiencing an
event through one’s thoughts or memories, avoiding situations of things that may
remind them of a certain psychologically or physically traumatic event, and persisting
symptoms of increased stress. Many solders claimed to not be able to blend with society
in the same way the could before as compared to solders that did not show effects of
PTSD.
At around the same error a filming technique that had been developing for years
had finally become popular in movie theatres across the states. This filming technique,
marked by its violence, sexual content, crime, detectives, and darkness, seemed to mirror
many of societies dominating issues. Many filming and lighting techniques came out of
the film style like chiaroscuro lighting which was originally derived from techniques
found in paintings during the renaissance period and whose name is taken from the Italian
language directly translating to the phrase “light-dark”. This style of filming focuses on
shots where lighting and contrast dictates the importance of subjects on the screen.
Another filming technique that came out of the genre was known as known as shotreverse-shot. This technique makes use of camera’s ability to combine multiple shots of
characters faces talking towards the camera on opposite sides of their shots in order to
give the simulation of a conversation where the viewer is able to see the facial
characteristics on whatever character the director thinks should be seen at any one point.
These characteristics and more are what primarily contributed to the classification of one
movie as in the genre of Film Noir.
Schem 3.
In the same general time frame of the end of the Vietnam War and the explosion
of film noir techniques in American society a couple of films, stood out. On such movie
was Taxi driver. Written by Paul Schrader and Directed by Martian Scorsese, two of the
most authoritative figures in Film Noir at the time, the movie was quick to become a
success. In the film the taxi driver, Schrader and Scorsese were able to find a perfect
combination of the issue of solder coming back from the war with PTSD and the crime
that was occurring especially in densely populated cities like New York. Schrader even
wrote in his 1972 seminal article Notes on Film Noir that “The disillusionment many
solders, small businessmen and housewife/factory employees felt in returning to a
peacetime economy was directly mirrored in the sordidness of the urban crime film…The
war continues, but now the antagonism turns with a new viciousness toward the
American society itself” (Schrader PAGENUMBER). This quote encompass the movies
intent to show how a solider coming back from Vietnam has a hard time blending with
society due to the many dysfunctionalities found in the everyday life of a common man
living in New York City. Scorsese uses Film noir techniques to allow the audience to
become fully engulfed in the scrum that Travis Bickle experiences in order to make a
powerful statement about the how the new enemy of society is itself.
In the movie Taxi driver we are confronted with a main character Travis Bickle
who is a veteran of the Vietnam War. He says in opening lines that he was honorable
discharged from services and the audience is lead to believe that there is no reason why
he has any issues with society. As the movie continues Travis becomes more aware of
the crime that takes place in New York while driving passengers all night. He sees things
such as a husband raving about firing a .44 into his wife’s “pussy”.
Schem 4.
As the viewer absorbs the lasting images in the film noir movies the symbols
come more apparent and the tools used become more transparent to reveal the intent of
the director. In the case of Taxi driver at the end of the movie it is clear that Scorsese
attempting to draw parallels between the tragedies of the Vietnam War and the tragedies
of society, specifically the role of the enemy and who the enemy actually is. While the
sides of a typical war is easy to tell the “good” guys from the enemy, in society it is
harder to accept that society is actually its own enemy in some ways. This is perhaps
why Scorsese used such a dark genre to portray his story.
Schem 5.
Work cited
Roberts, L. (1988). Vietnam's psychological toll. Print.
Bowler, J. (1985). Flamethrower Kills. Society for Science & the Public. Print.
Hendrix, Charles. (1993). Impact of Vietnam War Service on Veterans’ Perception of
Family Life. Nation Council on Family Relations. Print.
Scorsese, Martin & Donato, Raffaele. (2007) An Interview with Martin Scorsese on
Documentary Film. Indiana University Press. Print.
Phillips, Michael & Bill, Tony(1976). Review by Michael Dempsey. University of
California Press. Print.
Schickel, Richard. (1976). Rerunning Film Noir. Wilson Quarterly. Print.
Taxi Driver. Dir. Martian Scorsase. Perf. Starring Robert De Niro Jodie Foster Albert
Brooks Harvey Keitel Leonard Harris Peter Boyle Cybill Shepherd. Bill/Phillips
Italo/Judeo Productions, 1976. DVD.