For my case study, I would like to examine the film “Taxi Driver”. It has been my favorite film since I watched it four years ago. I can tell you the exact time and place in which I watched it, and so can many other people. Having watched the film, for some, is like having been alive for the Kennedy Assassination. It is something you remember.
Taxi Driver is the story of Travis Bickle, a war veteran looking for work because he cannot sleep. Through a series of well planned and choreographed shots intertwined with haunting narrative, we discover that Travis believes it is his place to clean up New York City and there is nothing that is going to stop him. Many people identify with this mindset, to the point that some have event killed.
John Hinkley Jr., is the best case of a man influenced by Taxi Driver. He shot President Regan after seeing the film and becoming obsessed with Jodie Foster. In his mind, killing the President would not only garner her attention, but also encourage her to love him. This was wrong, much like Travis Bickle was wrong about how life could be in Taxi Driver.
Hinkley is one of many people who have been inspired by Scorsese and Schrader’s masterpiece. Many others have connected to the loneliness that taunts Travis Bickle to the point that one crazed man even barged into Schrader’s office and demanded to know how the writer had discovered his life story.
My case analysis will focus mostly on John Hinkley Jr. and his motivation to attempt to assassinate President Reagan. Since his victim was the leader of the free world, the action inspired by Taxi Driver, for one man, effects many people. To put this case into context, however, I will also offer brief exploration of people in similar situations after seeing the film, even if they did not act on a such a large scale.
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