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Travis Bickle is a fictional character and the
anti-hero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actio ...
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
of the 1976 film ''
Taxi Driver ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying ...
'' directed by
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...
. The character was created by the film's screenwriter
Paul Schrader Paul Joseph Schrader (; born July 22, 1946) is an American screenwriter, film director, and film critic. He first received widespread recognition through his screenplay for Martin Scorsese's ''Taxi Driver'' (1976). He later continued his collabo ...
. He is played by
Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...
, who received an Oscar nomination for his performance.


Biography

Travis Bickle, a military veteran, is a former U.S. Marine who served in the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. Living in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, he is a paranoid 26-year-old who was given an
honorable discharge A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...
in May 1973, and has had "not much" education. With few friends, and suffering from
PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...
, depression, loneliness, existential crises, and severe and chronic
insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...
, he takes a job as a graveyard shift
cab driver "Cab Driver" is a song written by Carson Parks and performed by The Mills Brothers featuring Sy Oliver and His Orchestra. It reached #3 on the Easy Listening chart, #21 on the '' Cashbox'' chart, and #23 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in ...
to occupy his time, working grueling 12–14 hour shifts 6–7 days a week. Working late at night in dangerous neighborhoods, his customers tend to include pimps, drug addicts, and thieves. He is visibly angered by them, and begins fantasizing about "cleansing" such "filth" from the streets. Bickle becomes attracted to a woman, Betsy (
Cybill Shepherd Cybill Lynne Shepherd (born February 18, 1950) is an American actress and former model. Her film debut and breakthrough role came as Jacy Farrow in Peter Bogdanovich's coming-of-age drama ''The Last Picture Show'' (1971) alongside Jeff Bridges. ...
), who works in the local campaign office of presidential candidate and
United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...
Charles Palantine. Bickle often spies on Betsy from his cab, and finally enters the office with the pretense of wanting to support the candidate, and asks her out. They meet for coffee, and Betsy finds him strange but charming, and agrees to see him again. He then takes her to a
porn theater An adult movie theater is a euphemistic term for a movie theater dedicated to the exhibition of pornographic films. Adult movie theaters show pornographic films primarily for either a respectively heterosexual or homosexual audience. For the patro ...
he frequents, which disgusts her and makes her refuse to see him again. After Betsy rejects him, Bickle becomes increasingly paranoid and starts acting out his fantasies. He buys several guns and takes to carrying them secreted about his person – taped to his limbs, for example, or in hidden spring-loaded holsters. He begins a physical training regimen which consists of doing 50 pushups and 50 pullups every morning and practices an intimidating, thuggish presence in the mirror to use on whoever challenges him. Eventually, he shaves his head into a Mohawk. He attends one of Palantine's speeches, apparently intent on shooting him. However, he attracts the notice of
Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. Fo ...
agents and flees. He later becomes obsessed with protecting Iris Steensma (
Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the hono ...
), a 12-year-old prostitute he has seen on his route. He pays her pimp, Matthew "Sport" Higgins ( Harvey Keitel), for her time, but is not interested in having sex with her; instead, he tries to persuade her to leave prostitution and return home. Iris rebuffs him, only increasing his anger and resolve to take her away from a perilous life. He confronts Sport and shoots him in the stomach, leaving him to die on the street. He then goes on a rampage through a brothel with his concealed weapons while Iris is servicing a client. Bickle shoots the approaching bouncer's hand off as soon as he walks in, but he in turn is shot in the neck from behind by a dying Sport. Bickle begins to advance only to have the wounded bouncer attack him while going up the stairs. Iris' client, a Mafioso, overhears the previous gunshots; he sneaks up behind the distracted Bickle and shoots him in the arm. Bickle kills the mafioso and the bouncer, and then turns the gun on himself, but finds that he is out of ammunition. Severely injured, Bickle collapses on Iris' couch. When the police arrive, Bickle stares at them and smiles, pointing his finger like a gun at his head. The newspapers hail Bickle as a hero for rescuing Iris. While in hospital he receives a letter from her parents, thanking him for returning their daughter to them; she had been sent home after the police arrived and found out she was a runaway. After recovering he sees Betsy, who tells him that she read about him in the news; when she gets out of the cab and asks him how much the ride costs, he smiles and drives away.


Critical response and analysis

''
Taxi Driver ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying ...
'', ''
American Gigolo ''American Gigolo'' is a 1980 American neo-noir crime drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader, and starring Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton. It tells the story about a high-priced escort in Los Angeles (Gere) who becomes romantically ...
'', '' Light Sleeper'', and '' The Walker'' make up a series referred to variously as the "Man in a Room" or "Night Worker" movies. Screenwriter
Paul Schrader Paul Joseph Schrader (; born July 22, 1946) is an American screenwriter, film director, and film critic. He first received widespread recognition through his screenplay for Martin Scorsese's ''Taxi Driver'' (1976). He later continued his collabo ...
(who directed the other three films) has stated that he considers the central characters of the four films to be one character, who has changed as he has gotten older.Interview
with
Paul Schrader Paul Joseph Schrader (; born July 22, 1946) is an American screenwriter, film director, and film critic. He first received widespread recognition through his screenplay for Martin Scorsese's ''Taxi Driver'' (1976). He later continued his collabo ...
, BBC Radio 4's Film Programme, August 10, 2007
De Niro received a nomination for the
Academy Award for Best Actor The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The ...
for his performance as Bickle. In the
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...
's AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains, Bickle was named the 30th greatest film
villain A villain (also known as a " black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. '' Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a charact ...
of all time. ''
Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' magazine also ranked him 18th in their "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters" poll. ''
Premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its fi ...
'' ranked De Niro's performance as the 42nd best in cinematic history.


Cultural influence and controversies


You talkin' to me?

The character has often been referenced in popular culture due to his famous "You talkin' to me?" monologue. The scene was listed by IGN as the 4th best moment in film history when counting their top 100. Bickle sinisterly utters the line while he stands in front of the mirror, clad in a
USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...
jacket, threatening his unseen foes with the gun up his sleeve. The line has been parodied multiple times throughout film history, including by De Niro himself in the film '' The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle''. The line can also sometimes be heard in famous game
Grand Theft Auto III ''Grand Theft Auto III'' is a 2001 action-adventure game developed by DMA Design and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 1999's ''Grand Theft Auto 2'', and the fifth instalment o ...
when the player tries to steal a taxi by forcing the driver out.


John Hinckley Jr.

On March 30, 1981,
John Hinckley Jr. John Warnock Hinckley Jr. (born May 29, 1955) is an American man who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C. on March 30, 1981, two months after Reagan's first inauguration. Using a .22 caliber revolver, Hinc ...
attempted to assassinate United States President
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
in an attempt to impress the actress
Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the hono ...
, who played Iris in ''Taxi Driver''. Hinckley's inspirations for his assassination attempt were directly linked to Travis Bickle's attempted assassination of Charles Palantine in the film, with Hinckley even fashioning his appearance to resemble Bickle's mohawk and army jacket. Ironically, Bickle's character was inspired by Arthur Bremer, who attempted to assassinate presidential candidate
George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Alabama for four terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best remembered for his staunch segregationist a ...
on May 15, 1972. Upon hearing of Hinckley's assassination attempt, ''Taxi Driver'' director
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...
considered quitting the film industry.


Contemporary art

Several contemporary artists have directly referenced and appropriated Travis Bickle and ''Taxi Driver'' in their artwork. These include
Douglas Gordon Douglas Gordon (born 20 September 1966) is a Scottish artist. He won the Turner Prize in 1996, the Premio 2000 at the 47th Venice Biennale in 1997 and the Hugo Boss Prize in 1998. He lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Work Much of Gordon' ...
in his video installation '''Through a looking glass (1999), which features the well-known scene in which Bickle asks, "You talkin' to me?" while gazing into a mirror. In Gordon's piece, the scene is projected onto large dual screens placed on opposite walls of a gallery space and plays on a continual loop. This artwork can be seen in the collection of the Guggenheim Museum, New York. The art duo Beagles & Ramsay created an artwork titled We Are The People – Suck On This (ICA, London 2000), which featured a video based on re-staged, downbeat version of Taxi Driver. Ramsay was dressed and styled to appear like Travis Bickle, complete with mohawk, and handed a petition into the British Prime Minister Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street. This artwork can be seen in the Glasgow Museums Collection and includes the petition which reads ''We Are The People – Suck On This,'' which is signed only by the two artists.


''Joker''

Todd Phillips Todd Phillips (né Bunzl, born December 20, 1970) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He began his career in 1993 and directed films in the 2000s such as ''Road Trip (film), Road Trip'', ''Old School (film), Old School'', ...
' 2019 film '' Joker'' pays tribute to Travis Bickle and ''Taxi Driver'' through the character of Arthur Fleck (played by
Joaquin Phoenix Joaquin Rafael Phoenix (; né Bottom; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for playing dark and unconventional characters in independent films. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academ ...
). The character's descent into madness and chaos was seen as reminiscent of Bickle, leaving many critics and audiences to speculate whether the character was an homage to Bickle or simply the use of familiar storylines. The film further references the character by having Robert De Niro play the character of Murray Franklin, a talk-show host pivotal in Arthur Fleck's descent into madness and subsequent transformation into The Joker. De Niro's casting was also a reference to another collaboration between him and Scorsese with their 1983 film '' The King of Comedy'' and his character Rupert Pupkin. The film includes a visual reference to Bickle miming shooting himself in the head in a scene in an elevator between Arthur and his neighbour, Sophie (
Zazie Beetz Zazie Olivia Beetz ( ; ; born June 1, 1991) is a American actress. She stars in the FX comedy-drama series ''Atlanta'' (2016–22), for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy ...
). Sophie mentions how much she hates living in the apartment block and mimes shooting herself in the head, which Arthur does as well.


Music

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...
song "Red Angel Dragnet" on the 1982 album
Combat Rock ''Combat Rock'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Clash. It was released on 14 May 1982 through CBS Records. In the United Kingdom, the album charted at number 2, spending 23 weeks in the UK charts and peaked at number 7 i ...
references Travis Bickle and directly quotes or paraphrases some of his lines from the movie. Punk rock band Rancid recorded a song called "Travis Bickle", which was released on their 2003 studio album '' Indestructible''. Hip-Hop artist Prime Minister Pete Nice mentions Travis Bickle in a lyric of the song "Blowin' Smoke" on the " Dust to Dust" album.


Other

In the season 4 episode of Oz titled,"A Town without Pity" , Clayton Hughes dresses in the look of Bickle, complete with the haircut and tries to kill Governor James Devlin. Travis Bickle made a
cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...
during the third issue of the 2012
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
'' Before Watchmen: Rorschach'', written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by
Lee Bermejo Lee Bermejo is an American comic book writer and artist whose published work includes interior illustrations and cover art. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Brian Azzarello including '' Lex Luthor: Man of Steel'', the '' Joker'' ...
. Bickle's "finger gun" was also referenced in
season 1 Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012 * ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012 See also * * * Season 2 (disambiguation) * Season 4 (disambiguati ...
of FX horror television series ''
American Horror Story ''American Horror Story'' is an American anthology horror television series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the cable network FX. The first installment in the '' American Story'' media franchise, each season is conceived as a ...
'' in the scene where the police attempt to arrest
Tate Langdon The first season of ''American Horror Story'', retroactively subtitled ''Murder House'', centers on the Harmon family, who, after dealing with a miscarriage and infidelity, move to a restored mansion in Los Angeles, unaware that the ghosts of i ...
after he commits a mass shooting. Tate mimes the finger gun to his head, resulting in the police opening fire, killing him. Bickle was referenced in season 3 of the TV show
Succession Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence. Governance and politics *Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...
in 2021. Natasha Lyonne's ''
Russian Doll Matryoshka dolls ( ; rus, матрёшка, p=mɐˈtrʲɵʂkə, a=Ru-матрёшка.ogg), also known as stacking dolls, nesting dolls, Russian tea dolls, or Russian dolls, are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside ano ...
'' references Bickle in season 2, episode 1, at the 7:36 mark, with her character Nadia Vulvokov speaking the line, "Hey, Travis Bickle, what year do you think it is, man?"


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bickle, Travis Fictional characters from New York City Fictional gunfighters Fictional taxi drivers Fictional United States Marine Corps personnel Fictional Vietnam War veterans Fictional vigilantes Drama film characters Film characters introduced in 1976 Male film villains Fictional murderers Fictional alcohol abusers Fictional painkiller addicts Fictional insomniacs Fictional characters with post-traumatic stress disorder