Visual Design - Taxi Driver

Visual Design – Taxi Driver The first two and a half minutes of the film Taxi Driver (1976) begin with a close-up shot of a cab rolling through the hazy miasma of a dark, musty street. The camera then fades into the eyes of a weary driver, seemingly unfocused as he stares ahead in the same fashion he must do every single night. He’s bathed in red from a nearby traffic light, and his line of sight reveals an out-of-focus panorama of pedestrians crossing the street. They’re illuminated as well; little smudges of red dancing across his vision. Nothing about him really stands out, yet it is later revealed that he is a mentally unstable war veteran honorably discharged from the U.S. Marines after the Vietnam War. His only escape from himself appears to be watching porno movies, driving customers during the graveyard shift, and purging the community of its rampant filth and corruption. Moments like these make it later apparent that Taxi Driver strategically employs the use of props and colored lighting to convey the message that Travis Bickle (Robert DeNiro) is a disillusioned man who is tortured by his own personal nightmare of social rejection and powerlessness. Red is the color of excitement, passion, and love, emotions that Travis longs to feel. However, it is evident that he has no prior experience exploring these qualities, and comes across as awkward with human confrontation. We see him reinforce this notion with his own thoughts: “All my life needed was a sense of someplace to go. I don’t believe that one should devote his life towards morbid self-attention. I believe that someone should become a person like other people.” During his first break from work we see him walk into an X-rated movie theatre and approach a concession stand worker. However, instead of the usual refreshment request we would expect, we see him attempt to act upon his earlier musings by introducing himself then repeatedly asking for her name. Although from an objective point of view one