connielane (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
connielane) wrote2008-06-12 07:38 pm
connielane) wrote2008-06-12 07:38 pm
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What the Movies Have Taught Me About NYC, Chapter 2
Monday was What Breakfast at Tiffany's Has Taught Me About NYC. Tonight I give you...
Lesson Learned: Language of Love is not really a "first date" kind of movie (though it could have worked okay for Alan Strang, I suppose, if he weren't so hung up about horses).
What's funny to me about Travis Bickle taking this white bread, pristine girl to a see a Swedish sex ed film is not that he actually thinks it's a good idea, but that the girl doesn't end the date right there and instead actually sits down, intending to watch it with him. That's rather amazingly open-minded of her, I think. :P
What can I say about Taxi Driver that hasn't been said a million times? It's like trying to talk about Citizen Kane. It's part of that pantheon of great films that are themselves significant lessons in movies and moviemaking. But this is not a post about Taxi Driver as a film - it's about what it has to say about New York.
Taxi Driver has long been considered one of the ultimate "New York" movies, and its depiction of urban isolation is painful and fascinating to watch. Here's a guy that drives a cab in the wee hours of the morning and sees all of the grit and grime that Hollywood is reluctant to show us. There had been movies before this that showed us how unfriendly a place New York could be, but not like this. We see the city through Travis's windshield, and the lights and color give you the bleary-eyed feeling of an all-night shift. The city is this kind of heart of darkness that Travis navigates throughout the movie, and at times it can be terrifying.
No Really, Here's the Real Lesson: Get a life, man, because the city can be a lonely, lonely place.
There's no better picture of isolation than Travis walking down the street, surrounded by people yet utterly alone. It's the theme of the whole film, and it's emphasized again and again, because Travis has this uncanny way of reinforcing his isolation. Betsy calls him a walking contradiction, and that's very true. He decides he's going to change, and then what he does to accomplish that change is exactly counterproductive.
This is probably the film that scares me the most in terms of moving to New York. I doubt I'll ever sink as deep into myself as Travis Bickle does in this film, but I'll tell you what ... if I ever find myself looking in the mirror and practicing how to scare strangers I'm leaving ASAP. :-)
What Taxi Driver Has Taught Me About NYC
Lesson Learned: Language of Love is not really a "first date" kind of movie (though it could have worked okay for Alan Strang, I suppose, if he weren't so hung up about horses).
What's funny to me about Travis Bickle taking this white bread, pristine girl to a see a Swedish sex ed film is not that he actually thinks it's a good idea, but that the girl doesn't end the date right there and instead actually sits down, intending to watch it with him. That's rather amazingly open-minded of her, I think. :P
What can I say about Taxi Driver that hasn't been said a million times? It's like trying to talk about Citizen Kane. It's part of that pantheon of great films that are themselves significant lessons in movies and moviemaking. But this is not a post about Taxi Driver as a film - it's about what it has to say about New York.
Taxi Driver has long been considered one of the ultimate "New York" movies, and its depiction of urban isolation is painful and fascinating to watch. Here's a guy that drives a cab in the wee hours of the morning and sees all of the grit and grime that Hollywood is reluctant to show us. There had been movies before this that showed us how unfriendly a place New York could be, but not like this. We see the city through Travis's windshield, and the lights and color give you the bleary-eyed feeling of an all-night shift. The city is this kind of heart of darkness that Travis navigates throughout the movie, and at times it can be terrifying.
No Really, Here's the Real Lesson: Get a life, man, because the city can be a lonely, lonely place.
There's no better picture of isolation than Travis walking down the street, surrounded by people yet utterly alone. It's the theme of the whole film, and it's emphasized again and again, because Travis has this uncanny way of reinforcing his isolation. Betsy calls him a walking contradiction, and that's very true. He decides he's going to change, and then what he does to accomplish that change is exactly counterproductive.
This is probably the film that scares me the most in terms of moving to New York. I doubt I'll ever sink as deep into myself as Travis Bickle does in this film, but I'll tell you what ... if I ever find myself looking in the mirror and practicing how to scare strangers I'm leaving ASAP. :-)