I have one word to describe Adam Rapp’s play The Metal Children – AMAZING! Once I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down. I didn’t find Taxi Driver to be as entertaining, but after watching the movie for a little while, I began to enjoy it more and more.
I don’t think that Tobin, the protagonist of The Metal Children, wrote the novel with the intention of liberating teenage girls and giving them a sense of independence. He wrote the novel to help him cope with his own problems in his life and to achieve fame and notoriety. Additionally, I firmly believe that his book should not have been banned. Teenagers have a right to read about the problems affecting other kids of their generation. Many parents don’t properly inform their children about issues such as teenage pregnancy, which could put them in an uncomfortable and dangerous position when they’re in the real world.
The main reason why I believe Tobin was only acting for his own self-interest is that he proceeded to put Vera in a dangerous position. Although Vera went after Tobin, and not the other way around, if Tobin had wanted to help teenage girls, he would not have become involved with Vera. Vera told Tobin about Boy X and the mission, but this did not cause Tobin to ask Vera to leave his room.
Also, Tobin even states, “Uh, I didn’t write the novel for any particular reason. I was still in my twenties and things weren’t going so well for me.” At the school board meeting allocated for the discussion of his book, he openly admits that he didn’t write the book with the teenager girls in mind, but as a result of the troubles in his own life.
Tobin is both similar to and different from the character of Travis in the movie Taxi Driver. Both Tobin and Travis take action in pursuit of their own selfish interest, and in the process, inadvertently help a group of people. In the play The Metal Children, Tobin inspires the teenage girls with his book. Similarly, in the movie Taxi Driver, Travis protects prostitutes by exposing the prostitution ring. Although it is possible, in the end, that Travis did indeed want to help Easy, his original plan was to kill Palantine, which in his mind would give his life a purpose.
Throughout the whole movie, Travis is attempting to be someone who he’s not. In order to win the approval of Betsy and the rest of the people who work for the Palantine Campaign, he puts on his red jacket when he enters the office. Also, in his letters to his parents, Travis appears to be an important worker for the government who is making a lot of money. Similar to all Americans, he is trying to achieve the American Dream and make something of his life. He finally kills the man responsible for the prostitution ring and as a result earns his title as a hero.
The desire to escape your background and to become someone new is a common theme in both the play and the movie. Vera also wants to take on a new role in society. She was orphaned as a young girl and she becomes involved with this mission in order to give her life a purpose. Tobin published his written work as a young adult novel because he felt it would earn greater publicity than if it was classified as an adult novel, showing that he also wants to become famous.
Both Tobin and Travis ignore the laws and authority of society. Tobin writes a novel targeted for teenagers about a controversial topic. The truth is, however, that the parents had a problem with the fact that the students were reading the novel as part of their English class. I don’t think the book would have incited so much discussion had the novel merely been available at the library or bookstore. In the movie Taxi Driver, Travis resorts to killing people in order to reach his goal. There are morals and laws against hurting other people, but he completely disregards these standards.
Overall, I found both The Metal Children and Taxi Driver to be entertaining. I firmly believe that the viewing of art should not be limited by an “authority” that claims it “inappropriate.” Often, the “inappropriate” art is still based on reality, and banning the viewing of this art is only a way for society to attempt to ignore the issues.
