Analysis: The meaning of Taxi Driver is that our identity is defined by how others see us.
Examples that support this Taxi Driver analysis:
References to eyes
– Travis’ eyes in the rearview mirror (the film opens with this)
– Travis stares at Betsy
– “I saw it in your eyes”
– “Looks aren’t everything”
– The character name, Iris
– The ring with the eye on it
References to glasses as a way of hiding identity
– Travis wears sunglasses at the political rally
– Betsy wears glasses when she first catches Travis watching her, and she tells her friend Tom to “put on your glasses”
– Iris wears the wild sunglasses when she goes out to lunch with Travis
References to mirrors
– “You talkin’ to me?”
– “Didn’t you ever try looking at your own eyeballs in the mirror?”
– Travis looks at others in the cab through the mirror, and that is how they look at him
References to identity
– Travis labels his customers as scum, filth, and animals
– Travis wants to know the identity of the woman who works at the movie theatre
– The secret service agent wants to know Travis’ identity
– Sport labels Travis as a cop
– At first, Travis writes about how he doesn’t want to be self-absorbed, but instead he wants to be a “person like other people”
– Then, he seeks to form an identity of infamy but then changes his plan and decides to assume the role of hero for iris
– Essentially, he wants an identity that is beyond a simple taxi driver, and this is why the film is called, Taxi Driver
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