Taxi Driver & Shame

 

To really explain the notions of isolation and loneliness one has to look into the mind frame of someone living in the conditions of paranoia and madness. For someone to know that they are insane or they are going insane reinsures person that there is some sanity left in them, knowing that this person is aware of his or hers mind frame. However for someone to not know what is happening to their mind unaware that they are just simply going insane creates a sense of loneliness and to be paranoid of the surrounding public can make someone believe that they are truly isolated. New York City being one of the most over populated and the busiest cities in the world any mood can be amplified significantly. To feel lonely in a small town with a small population can feel very normal but to feel lonely in a massive busy city with a high population you would feel very secluded. Going insane in a big city can also be much more intensified rather than in a small town. The violence and crime rate is a fine example of comparing the small city to a larger city. Looking at Travis in Taxi Driver we are taken into a journey of insomnia, paranoia, obsession and slowly descending to madness. If we look into Shame addiction can also show notions of isolation and loneliness. Both films have similar ways of expressing these notions with particular scenes; the positioning of our protagonists, how other characters treat the protagonists and how Travis and Brandon see the world through the projection of their own mind. With Travis’s mind fixed in paranoia, obsession and driving him to madness and Brandon with sexual addiction slowly taking over his life.

In Taxi Driver we are always subjected to the back streets of New York. In most films we’re always taken around the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building. In Taxi Driver we’re constantly driven around the more dangerous and crime ridden areas. We’re in the city centre but not Off Broadway but perhaps Off Off! Broadway. With Travis’s day and night Taxi routes we are relentlessly exposed to these areas and his repulsive views on New York. “I think someone should just take this city and just... just flush it down the fuckin' toilet.” In most New York films the cinematography is always typically the same; bird’s eye view shots looking down the busy streets of New York,  low angle shots looking upwards to monstrous like buildings over shadowing the people and the glamorous typical locations of Times Square, Brooklyn Bridge and  Broadway. Through the cinematography we only truly see New York through Travis’s taxi cab almost as if we’re in the cab with Travis looking out into New York. But being inside with Travis and his cab we begin to feel confined and trapped with him and his paranoia. For someone to look into world as a film rather than as a reality is the first stepping stone into paranoia and madness. Having Taxi Driver as an opening sequence of the cheap shady bars, strip clubs, 24 hour liquor stores and adult movie cinemas, of course the people we see are the typical crowd that hang out in these areas; street hookers, pimps, drug addicts and alcoholics. All these elements help fuel the illusion for the projection of Travis’s mind. What Travis sees is what the audience sees and what Travis feels is what the audience will feel. All the mise-en-scene and cinematography that Martin Scorsese uses are all an external projections of Travis’s mind. Through Travis’s mind we are taken through New York on his perception of what New York is and we see his sanity slowly slip with the inner monolog.

Too get a better understanding of who is Travis we have to look at the emotional physiological and physical journey he undertakes in this film. Suffering from insomnia there’s a persistent feeling of been wide awake and charged. Every time Travis takes medication there’s always a Non-diegetic sound. In the taxi carriage scene when Travis takes his medication both inside the cab and out there’s an electric charge in the background. Both times Travis’s actions give the impression that he is being filled with adrenaline and almost as is he being recharged. The second time he takes his medication is in the café. This scene creates a misconception that Travis’s brain is being almost vaporized or perhaps mesmerised. When Travis puts the tablet in the glass he begins to bizarrely stare at the glass as if he loosing himself from reality. The dissolving tablet in the glass is a perfect visual example of Travis’s inner mind slowly loosing grip in reality. As Travis slowly becomes more delusional the atmosphere of Taxi Driver begins to question what is real and a figment of Travis’s imagination. To help fuel the illusion of Travis’s imagination the use of colour is heavily over whelming in particular scenes. The red, amber and green of traffic lights or the flashing lights from the bars and clubs are a fantastic visual expression of Travis’s moods. The framed shots of the reflection of Travis’s eyes in mirrors are not a reflection of Travis eyes but a reflection of his paranoia. When we first see Travis we only see the reflection of the rear view mirror of his eyes and at the end when he drops off Betsy the last we see of Travis is darting paranoid eyes looking into the rear view mirror as if to say the paranoia and madness is only at bay and that he’s a ticking time bomb waiting to explode once again.

To show more isolation and distance from people, the framing on Travis always seemed to make him the centre of the screen. Walking around the streets of New York or in the R rated movie theatre people always seem to stay away from Travis and keep their distance. Even when Travis is with his fellow cabbies he’s almost distant from them both physically and emotionally. The cinematography always frames Travis in isolated positions and the locations used always seems to be a representation of Travis’s own coffin. The major element of what’s making Travis go insane is insomnia and his insomnia his fuelled by his paranoia which he gets from driving his cab. So the one thing that Travis seems to have is actually killing him. Throughout Taxi Driver the cab is a symbol of Travis’s perception of New York and inside the cab is a window into what he thinks is the world. For someone to feel that they are looking into society rather than being a part of society fuels the mind of being isolated and lonely.

 New York City is full of millions of people who walk by each other; share the same train carriages and busses but each individual are disconnected with each other. We see all kinds of people that represent different class status of New York; Pimps represents the womanising dead beats, the prostitutes are a representation of sex, drug addicts are the corrupted and men in businesses suits that look like they work in Wall Street are the yuppie culture. In a city fuelled by this inner electricity to be surrounded by people, not to feel so isolated they surround themselves in tight overcrowded places, though physically they are surrounded by people however emotionally they a miles apart. In Taxi Driver we can see such urban isolation not only with Travis but with other characters in Taxi Driver. Though Travis is positioned and seated in way to show that he is distant from them the other fellow cabbies and Wizard all hint at they also don’t have stable home lives and they too have to work nights and weekends to keep busy. With Brandon’s sister “Sissy” is another example of someone with an unstable home life. Constantly moving around deciding to move to New York but once again she finds herself alone. Singing the Cover of “New York New York” which is meant to glamourizes the city. Sissy sings the original lyrics but performs the song that presents her and Brandon which is being so distant and isolated. Perhaps Sissy represents the naïve dream of going to the big city and becoming a big star but a dream that is shattered. When we are first introduced to Tom and Betsy at the Palatine HQ it seems that the two of them are slightly flirting with each other and not working when the other volunteers are rushing around working. However the two have no personal connection and the only scene we see them talking is them two having small talk. Scenes when Travis picks up customers they completely ignore him and act as if he doesn’t even exit. The violence and hate he sees on the streets seem to work its way into the back of his cab making him almost believe that New York is hell. In one of Travis’s monologs he says “Each night when I return the cab to the garage, I have to clean the cum off the back seat. Some nights, I clean off the blood.” The cum is representation of the prostitutes, R rated theatres and brothels and the blood is the violence, madness and hate. When Travis picks up the two passengers the businessman and a prostitute the both of them seem to be going at it at the back seat of the cab. Travis looks at them through the rear view mirror. Which shows two things; the first being that the two people have no disregard for Travis and the second is just like the windows in the taxi cab the rear view mirror is a representation of Travis’s window into his paranoia which we see at the start and end of the film. This vicious circle of paranoia is the same in Shame but instead of paranoia it is sex addiction. How we see Brandon have sex with countless women at the start and he gazes upon a married women on a train and we never see her again until the end of the film, which shows again that his addiction to sex is never gone and that we’re back to square one.  

 

Just how Scorsese frames Travis cab windows and mirrors to represent a movie, Brandon in Steve McQueen’s Shame is always positions and framed in similar ways. When Brandon walks through the streets of New York and gazes upon an apartment block. Each window is almost a representation of computer screen. When we see two couple having sex it’s almost as if the pornography that Brandon watches day and night on his computer is the same thing as looking at this apartment block. Showing that where ever he goes there’s no hiding that he’s addiction seems to be everywhere. The same as Travis with his cab slowly killing him Brandon’s addiction is starting to take its toll on him. How this relates to isolation and loneliness is the constant reminder in Brandon’s day to day life how is addiction is isolating him. When Brandon’s sister and friend meet up and begin to get hot and heavy in the cab with Brandon sitting right next to them. Again Brandon is in the same position as Travis was with the prostitute and businessmen. Both of them being pushed aside with total disregard the two couple in Shame and Taxi Driver isolates our protagonists. Just how the constant reminder of sex and prostitution in Taxi Driver follows Travis, Brandon has to follow his sister and friend to his apartment block the only time he is physically alone is when they get inside the lift without Brandon.

 

 

By looking into the physiological and physical perception of Shame and Taxi Driver you can see how both our protagonists reside in New York. New York City labelled as the city that never sleeps it seems ideal for Travis to work in. Keeping busy, working nights and weekends surely seemed like a reliable way to work yourself to sleep or perhaps death but instead it drove Travis insane. With already an unstable mind being a Vietnam veteran and drinking during the day to keep his inner demons at bay. Brandon being addicted to sex is the same as a person addicted drugs. There’s always a need for a reliable source get your fix and New York is the place. At the start of Shame we see Brandon having sex with different women everyday he seems to pay for some or perhaps he pays for all of them. Both our protagonists have chosen to live in New York to get what they wanted but it only fuelled their paranoia or obsession, resulting them for being so isolated and secluded. To live in a city so alive and full of people to feel so alone, isolated and disconnected must be so much more amplified

 

 

EQUILIBRIUM

 The title of the film itself is self – explanatory, when all or any conditional system are competing or against each other are balanced to an equal state of stability. So in state of a variety of contexts in the film, the core equal state of balance is the ideology film has created. The ideology the film created is one of a kind. Taking key factors existing ideology and crafting it into its own unique form and presenting itself as a form of Nazi like dictatorship regime. This fascinating look into ideology of the film fascinating enough, Equilibrium is set in a dystopian future but what makes this film even more unique to analyse is the film itself can never age. Though the film is a science fiction movie genre we are deliberately never shown any kind of futuristic gadgets or technology. If we look at past science fiction films like “Minority Report” or “The 6^th Day” the technology used seemed to be a fantasy but many years later we now have the technology the film has so making them obsolete. So many future science fiction films will lose its prestige of a future world because the technology they are using is already exits. Kurt Wimmer created Equilibrium in such a way that the film can possibly be a hundred years old and still can be seen as the future. This alternate reality doesn’t focus on the gadgetry like other science fiction films but rather on; the ideology, dystopia, the regime and the people. By not showing any technology it means nothing in the film can be obsolete and dated.

When the film starts we are presented with the title “EQUILIBRUIM” in immense white capitals. The title is another fine example of the film and what lies ahead of the audience. If we look at the title and the architecture in the city of “Libria” both are a fine representation of each other. The architectural influence the film gained from is Fascist architecture which is a combination of modernism and nationalism which the Nazi’s used to unify their citizens to create nationalism into their hearts bringing a new era of nationalist culture making it possible to rule the entire nation. Equilibrium had the same idea of portraying Libria as nation under ruthless regime. It was important to make the audience feel like a citizen of Libria by making gigantic government buildings presenting itself as a powerful symmetry fortress with thick solid walls to make the individual seem insignificant. Many of the locations used in the film are actually surviving buildings from the Third Reich. By comparing both the city of Libria and Adolf Hitler’s grand design “Welthauptstadt Germania” (World Capital Germania) the future vision of Germany of reshaping Berlin into the capital state of the Nazi Reich both cities look almost identical.

World Capital Of Germania

 

Libria

 

Born On The Fourth Of July & The Best Years Of Our Lives

In each returning vet films they focus on the soldiers who individually suffer from post dramatic stress disorder, either being physically wounded or emotional traumatized. Each film focuses on soldiers returning and coping in society. But there are many differences between both films; being two totally different wars, one was won when the other was lost, the cultural change in the US, when the US government was being questioned and was acceptable to question authority and the public view differences between World War 2 and Vietnam.

In Best Years Of Our Lives and Born On The Fourth Of July both film focus on returning vets with a physical or emotional trauma and focuses on getting back into society. The wars veteran’s wounds are both physical and emotional. He is seasoned by hard experience and wary of new experience. The war veteran’s fighting spirit, however, is not necessarily diminished, although his determination to survive might be compromised and society may receive him rudely upon his return. In Born On The Fourth Of July when Ron returns home he is seen as upbeat and proud for taking part in the Vietnam war when his family and neighbours are awkward and embarrassed on his return home. However his proud family is short lived when Ron’s brother doesn’t believe in the war and represents the growing society of questioning the government why they are in Vietnam. During Independence Day parade when Ron is encountered by protestors and is seen as a “Baby Killer”.

Best Years of Our Lives shares a similar view in the post dramatic stress disorder with the three protagonists. However the outcome of the War was very different. Each narrative element in each movie closely presents and discourses of veteran’s problem in both abled and disabled veterans who now has to readjust to their new state of body or mind. Each three returning veterans have to adjust to society with different elements to post dramatic stress disorder. Homer who lost both his hands has to adjust go to his disability and accept the love of the sweet heart next door, Al who creates a habit of drinking and struggles to sleep with having anger problem and Fred who suffers from a recurrent nightmare in war with his acquisitive wife and no decent job.

Although both films show their protagonist having post dramatic stress disorder the cultural and the view on the war in both films are very different. When Fred returns home his wife is always seen pushing him to wear his uniform showing him off to friends and the public. In Born on the Fourth of July wearing the uniform during the Vietnam conflict was seen very controversial. Unlike in World War 2 when the US was fighting the Nazi’s and the Empire Of Japan the US soldiers always found themselves rounding up villagers, farmers and people who were never a threat. There was never a clear enemy for the soldiers and found themselves fighting a guerrilla warfare. “On the one hand, the veteran’s heroism and sacrifices are celebrated and memorialized and debts of gratitude, both symbolic and material, are paid to him. On the other hand the veteran also inspires anxiety and fear and is seen as a threat to social order and political stability” (Gerber 1994:546) this quote by Gerber is a great example of separating both films through different hands; the first hand representing Best Years of our Lives and the other hand representing Born on the Fourth of July.  

Jarhead

A coming age journey of a young man desire to join the marines like his father and grandfather and become somewhat of a war hero but instead takes a nose dive into madness and obsession for his first kill. Set in the Gulf War Swofford (Jake Gyllenhall) encounters first at hand how his voyage takes him into war and learns from first at hand the first casualty of war is ones inner self.  Watching Jarhead we first at the how modern warfare today is so very different from previous wars such as the Vietnam War. We see first at hand how Vietnam War may have had more of a death toll then the Gulf War but the psychological impact on the soldiers war far more greater being that the Vietnam War so un-glorified compared to the first and second world wars.

From an external view Jarhead is a story of a young man whose ambition in life was to become this glorified sniper returning home from battle to be greeted with parades and people waving flags. But if we look at Jarhead from an internal view Jarhead is comparing the wars between the Gulf and the Vietnam War. Comparing the two we see how both Wars so different from the public view being that the Vietnam War veterans who was spat on and Swofford in the Gulf War was welcomed back with open arms and as a hero. However his own personal battle with on conscious drives him to question what he actually did in that war? Being that he never did fire his weapon once and the never did kill an enemy. For Swofford the only real enemy of the Gulf War was the blazing heat of the Middle Eastern deserts, countless hours boredom and that his idea of the Band of Brothers of war is not memory of battles but rather him and his fellow soldiers were taking the piss out of each other and relying on each other’s sense of humour.

The perfect scenes when both wars come together is when Swofford is in the parade returning home and a Vietnam veteran jumps into the bus cheering the Gulf War soldiers for the accomplishment they done over seas.  But is cheers are short lived right away when we physically see the Vietnam veteran remembering his traumatic war and how Swofford realises that his war so very different from that veteran. If we look earlier into the film Swofford’s father is also a Vietnam veteran. In the only shot we see him in is at the very beginning when Swofford quickly sums up his life and the relationship with his family. In just one shot that’s about five seconds long we see his father wearing robe still wearing his dog tags and looking so disconnected with the outside world including his son sitting right next to him. Another example how Vietnam veterans are so traumatically affected by the Vietnam War. There’s always a constant reminder and comparing between the two wars and how soldiers from the Gulf War glorified by films like the cinema scene when watching “Full Metal Jacket” and playing Vietnam music from their helicopters but in the end it never was the same for Swofford. The only wounds he gained were the feeling of doing nothing but rewarded as a hero. Comparing the Vietnam veteran to Swofford though his war so controversial and he must of killed people when Swofford did nothing and killed no one and he is rewarded and for sees himself a phony hero.

La Haine

 

The film focuses on the suburbs rural areas of Paris following a group of three boys.  Each of them represents the individual that wants to; escape the suburbs and have a better life, one that is in captivated and openingly glorifies the gangster lifestyle and the last that is somewhat in a stalemate between the two friends. Each friend rubbing off on the friend that at one point seems to want to choose a life of crime and the other somewhat is convincing him to do better. Even though La Haine main subject matter is about a racially diverse group of young people trapped in the underclass of sociality in the rural forgotten areas of France. La Haine is was shot in entirely in in black and white that represents the colourless of the world. In that moment of history Paris was seen futureless, dull and that having no colour shows no racial or ethnic difference being that everyone is the same colour.

 

 

Through the cinematography and editing we are subjected to how the group feels in their surrounding environment. By comparing their; ethically mixed, suburban, lower class home, to the middle white class areas of Paris. For the group to feel more at home and familiar with their surroundings the cinematography shows a great deal of; wide, spacious areas however empty which represents how these boys really have nothing and that the area they live in is a representation of their life; ill manners came from being ill-treated, never being able to escape the area even when on the roofs of the apartment buildings. It is seen as a threat to be so high above the police physically and psychologically. This can be seen as a metaphor for being above the law or trying to look beyond the suburbs. Each shot used has a long duration and the scenes are not rushed. When the boys are in Paris they truly are out of place. Both physically and emotionally they do not fit in. This is shown mostly through the quick fast pace cuts and how they a framed in the cinematography; wandering around maze life streets of Paris, constantly being overwhelmed by the tall buildings surrounding them and the busy fast pace city life, being lost and wandering the unfamiliar streets of Paris. When they miss their last train back home, right away we are subjected to feeling what the boys are feeling; left behind, lost and forgotten.

The Woodsman

Kevin Bacon stars in what I would honestly say is one of the most powerful and yet daring films I’d ever seen. Playing the role as Walter, an ex-convict child molester who just finished serving a 12 year sentence and is returning to his own town. Trying to start over and working in a lumber/wood yard. Everyone he knows has turned their back on him apart from his brother in law Carlos (Benjamin Bratt). Trying to live a normal life Walter sparks a relationship with fellow co-worker Vickie (Kyra Sedgwick). Constantly on edge Walter has to also endure horrible visits from detective and parole officer Lucas (Mos Def) who is keep a close eye on Walter hoping he will slip up and throw him back in jail. With his past and the constant temptations of his day to day life, and a detective on his case Walter has to endure his dark obsession and try to live a normal life but his obsession slowly taking hold of him. Walter is conflicted with the question “Will I ever be normal?". The Woodsman is a brilliantly orchestrated and yet thrilling story of a Walter trying to go straight.  The film explores into a very touchy and dangerous territory but the execution of the film is both creepily beautiful and yet disturbing.

 

Kevin Bacon’s performance as a convicted paedophile trying to go straight was no easy task. But with his performance as Walter you can see both physically and psychologically we are introduced to this man contempt by his own guilt, now having to endure an emotional battle within. The scene when we see Walter gaze into nothing shows a great deal of emotional and psychological trauma that Bacon does such an incredible job showing.  Watching the Woodsman we can’t help but feel sorry for Walter but at the same time disgusted with him. This theme of “Will I ever be normal?” runs throughout the drama and we see our protagonist repentant for what he has done. However at the same time we see him delve back into his dark obsession playing with fire once again. Throughout the Woodsman there’s a constant feeling of self-contempt and torn for the crime he did but tries to comfort himself “I molested little girls. But I never hurt them,”

 

What’s so fascinating about watching The Woodsman is the relationship between Walter and the other characters in the film; His parole officer who itching to throw him back to prison, the love interest that discovers Walters past and the only family member that talks to him his brother in law.  One of the tensest scenes is when we are first introduced to detective Lucas. His hostile attitude and disgusted feelings to Walter makes his visits so gut wrenching to watch when Lucas tells Walter stories of previous crimes of mutilated child victims “Have you ever seen a seven year old, sodomized in half?” Having to watch Walter suffer almost what seems to be a psychological police brutality. It’s a captivating scene of which side we should be on?   

Tyson

 

Tyson is a fascinating self discovery story who reflects on his earlier years both his private and publicly viewed life. Reflecting on his childhood years growing up in Brownsville, Brooklyn New York to becoming the youngest ever Heavyweight World Champion. Dealt with bad hand in life Tyson explains growing up in troubled household and a crime ridden area lead him to a life of crime. When Tyson discovered boxing a trainer called Cus D'Amato took him under his wing. Taken from such a deprived area into a Victorian mansion in the country, D’Amato not only psychically trained Tyson but psychologically mesmerized him into being the best. Being bullied all his childhood life, D’Amato taught Tyson discipline and self-respect. Till this day it still brings Tyson to tears. Building his confidence and guiding him to a better path. D’Amato became more than a trainer or mentor but a father figure to Tyson.  James Toback’s Tyson is a captivating and emotional journey of the stages of Tyson life as; Kid Dynamite, Iron Mike and The baddest Man on the Planet. Who better to explain the life one of the most controversial boxing icons that brings a sympathetic and objective light to the story then the man himself.    

 

 

Exploring his upbringings we realise that Tyson’s childhood was a very unforgiving cruel world. As D’Amato took Tyson and looked after him as he was his own. We see that D’Amato had a very profound effect on Tyson both emotionally and psychologically. We realize that D’Amato wasn’t only training Tyson to become a boxing champion but given Tyson a reason to live, change his life from crime and drugs. Through boxing Tyson became a better person, with countless hours of intense training. D’Amato began breaking Tyson down and rebuilding him. It wasn’t just Tyson’s incredible speed and his physical perfection. D’Amato mastered the art of the emotional and psychological elements into boxing and that the key success to being a champion wasn’t physical but psychological. Tyson would become what was known as the “Spiritual Warrior” way of fighting.  By installing fear into the opponents, already before they enter the ring Tyson had already psychological beaten them. With this psychological win the opponent emotionally now has lost the will to win.

 

 

When Tyson become the youngest and undisputed World Boxing Champion, his young age and rise to stardom become both a blessing and cures for the champion. Having achieved so much at such little time his personal issues began to intervene with his personal life also. Being so young and immature lead him to his downfall in life. Going to prison had a very psychological effect on Tyson. Again back to a cruel life but instead of Brownsville, Brooklyn New York it was prison. Having only himself to keep him company, he became his own best friend and began talking to himself. When released Tyson didn’t know how to handle the media or anyone which always lead to furious outburst of rage. It always seemed that Tyson was always surrounded by people constantly using him for their own gain. It seemed that everyone wanted to be his friend all for the wrong reasons. After D’Amato died he signed with what he referrers to as “Slave Masters” taking a third of his wages. He then signed a contract with Don King who stole from Tyson also. Constantly being used he lost all faith in life. Becoming; bitter and sacred it’s almost as if he never left the streets of Brownsville.