Before my students get too involved with their essays, they are required to submit to me via email their theses and then a week later, their full introductory paragraphs. Usually a teacher can tell if an essay is doomed to fail or soar gloriously into the heavens based on the introduction alone.

As is usually the case — with my conscientious students — COPIOUS emails are exchanged. We discuss their interest in the topic and why they chose to analyze that particular film noir (or TV episode or Shakespeare film) over all the other moving-image texts at their fingertips. Literally, Netflix is just a fingertip away.

Then, we look at the first drafts of their theses. We tear them down. We rip them apart. And ultimately, like an Amish barn, we build them (again).

What follows is an example of this process. Over the course of a week and about 15 emails, one of my film noir students and I honed his introductory paragraph for his paper on Taxi Driver (1976). Unlike some students who grow increasingly frustrated with all the revising and my suggestions, this student seemingly understands that writing is tough, time-consuming, prone to lots of redrafting, and based on trial-and-error.

It’s important that Millennials, the epitome of our get-it-fast-and-get-it-now mentality, understand this process. The student’s final introduction is listed first, and his original draft is last.

Final Product

Roger Ebert describes Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976) as dream-like: “The end sequence plays like music, not drama: It completes the story on an emotional, not a literal, level. Is this a fantasy scene? Did Travis survive the shoot-out? Are we experiencing his dying thoughts?” (par. 16).  I agree with Ebert’s emphasis on the film’s dream-state because its primary character, Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), views the world in a surreal, perverted way. Moreover, Bickle’s insomnia forces him to stay awake through the dreary hours of the night, fueling his hatred for the “scum” that walk the New York City streets. According to Andrew Spicer (146), this dream-like sensation is typical of the postmodern neo-noir paranoiac protagonist, so it is this characterization of Travis Bickle I will consider. Moreover, I will look at the film’s cinematography and narration, specifically ___ ___, and ___ [the student is adding this today] and argue that they too reinforce the film’s dream-like effect.

Almost There

Roger Ebert describes the movie Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976) as dream-like: “The end sequence plays like music, not drama: It completes the story on an emotional, not a literal, level. Is this a fantasy scene? Did Travis survive the shoot-out? Are we experiencing his dying thoughts? (par. 16).”  I agree with Ebert’s emphasis on the film’s “dream-state” because its primary character, Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), has a conflicted view of the world he lives in, a negative surrealistic perversion of the world around him. Moreover, His insomnia forces him to stay awake through the dreary hours of the night, fueling his hatred for the “scum” that walk the New York City streets. According to Andre Spicer (pg. 146), “Travis conforms to Schraer’s conception of the late noir protagonist who has lost his intergrity and stable identity, the prey to ‘psycotic action and suicidal impulse.” This dream-like sensation that results is one quite typical of the neo-noir paranoiac protagonist, so it is this characterization of Travis Bickle I will consider. Moreover, I will look at the film’s cinematography and profound narration and argue that they too reinforce this nightmarish, surrealist dream-like effect (Ebert, “Taxi Driver”).

Yup, Still Tweaking

Roger Ebert describes the movie Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976) as dream-like: “The end sequence plays like music, not drama: It completes the story on an emotional, not a literal, level. Is this a fantasy scene? Did Travis survive the shoot-out? Are we experiencing his dying thoughts? (par. 16).”  I agree with Ebert’s emphasis on the film’s “dream-state” because its primary character, Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), has a conflicted view of the world he lives in, a negative surrealistic perversion of the world around him. Moreover, His insomnia forces him to stay awake through the dreary hours of the night, fueling his hatred for the “scum” that walk the New York City streets. The ex-vet’s desolate loathing for the night-scene and corruption that exists in front of his eyes only further delineates his sense of reality. This dream-like sensation that results is one quite typical of the neo-noir paranoiac protagonist. I will argue that this dream-like element has a profound effect upon Travis Bickle and his own view of the world around him and is rudimentarily caused by the post-Vietnam trauma he has suffered (Ebert, “Taxi Driver”).

Still Tweaking

Travis Bickle, played by Robert De Niro in the movie Taxi Driver (Scorsese, 1976), has a conflicted view of the world he lives in. His insomnia forces him to stay awake through the dreary hours of the night, fueling his hatred for the “scum” that walk the New York streets at night. The ex-vet’s desolate loathing for the night-scene and corruption that exists in front of his eyes, only further delineates his sense of reality. The dream-like sensation that results is one quite typical of the Noir-ish visual and introspective paranoiac protagonist. Bickle’s sleep deprivation, as well as his PTSD pushes the boundaries of civility and causes cataclysmic repercussions, of which the audience witnesses both through the haze of the Noir-ish New York night-time & corruption, as well as the radical behavior portrayed by De Niro. Many critics including Roger Ebert describe the narrative as ‘dream-like’, for example, Ebert states, “The end sequence plays like music, not drama: It completes the story on an emotional, not a literal, level. Is this a fantasy scene? Did Travis survive the shoot-out? Are we experiencing his dying thoughts?” It is these elements that I will consider in my essay.

Tweaking

Many critics including Roger Ebert describe the narrative of the movie Taxi Driver (Scorsese, 1976) as ‘dream-like’, for example, Ebert states, “The end sequence plays like music, not drama: It completes the story on an emotional, not a literal, level. Is this a fantasy scene? Did Travis survive the shoot-out? Are we experiencing his dying thoughts?” Travis Bickle, played by Robert De Niro in the movie, has a conflicted view of the world he lives in. His insomnia forces him to stay awake through the dreary hours of the night, fueling his hatred for the “scum” that walk the New York City streets. The ex-vet’s desolate loathing for the night-scene and corruption that exists in front of his eyes, only further delineates his sense of reality. The dream-like sensation that results is one quite typical of the Noir-ish visual and introspective paranoiac protagonist. Bickle’s sleep deprivation, as well as his PTSD pushes the boundaries of civility and causes cataclysmic repercussions, of which the audience witnesses both through the haze of the Noir-ish New York night-time & corruption, as well as the radical behavior portrayed by De Niro. This element of a dream-like narrative is what I will consider in my essay.

Let’s Work on This

Roger Ebert describes the movie Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976) as “dream-like,” for example, Ebert states, “The end sequence plays like music, not drama: It completes the story on an emotional, not a literal, level. Is this a fantasy scene? Did Travis survive the shoot-out? Are we experiencing his dying thoughts?”  I agree with Ebert’s emphasis on the film’s “dream-state” because its primary character, Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), has a conflicted view of the world he lives in. Moreover, His insomnia forces him to stay awake through the dreary hours of the night, fueling his hatred for the “scum” that walk the New York City streets. The ex-vet’s desolate loathing for the night-scene and corruption that exists in front of his eyes only further delineates his sense of reality. According to Ebert, “Throughout the film, his (Travis’s) mental state has shaped his reality.” The dream-like sensation that results is one quite typical of the film noir visual and introspective paranoiac protagonist. Bickle’s sleep deprivation, as well as his PTSD pushes the boundaries of civility and causes cataclysmic repercussions, of which the audience witnesses both through the haze of the neo-noir New York night-time & corruption, as well as the radical behavior portrayed by De Niro. This dream-like element is what I will emphasize upon (Ebert, “Taxi Driver”).

First Draft

Roger Ebert describes the movie Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976) as “dream-like”, for example, Ebert states, “The end sequence plays like music, not drama: It completes the story on an emotional, not a literal, level. Is this a fantasy scene? Did Travis survive the shoot-out? Are we experiencing his dying thoughts?” I tend to agree with Ebert’s emphasis on the dream-state within the narrative. Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) has a conflicted view of the world he lives in. His insomnia forces him to stay awake through the dreary hours of the night, fueling his hatred for the “scum” that walk the New York City streets. The ex-vet’s desolate loathing for the night-scene and corruption that exists in front of his eyes, only further delineates his sense of reality. The dream-like sensation that results is one quite typical of the Noir-ish visual and introspective paranoiac protagonist. Bickle’s sleep deprivation, as well as his PTSD pushes the boundaries of civility and causes cataclysmic repercussions, of which the audience witnesses both through the haze of the Noir-ish New York night-time & corruption, as well as the radical behavior portrayed by De Niro. This dream-like element is what I will emphasis upon.