You want to know something? I’ll let you in on secret. I don’t really enjoy reading. Not all the time at least. But don’t get be wrong! Occasionally I stumble upon a rare find that compels me to read. Something so ingeniously written, so perfectly composed, in fact, it was a lot like the perfect pizza. Thin crust with the right amount of toppings that is neither overwhelming nor difficult to finish. It’s insane isn’t it, me reading? But I got to hand it to Professor Healey on this one; I loved “The Metal Children”, almost as much as I love pizza. No I lied, sorry. But you want to know something else? I loved “Taxi Driver” too. Not as much as I love pizza but enough so that if it was a slice of pizza, I’d be tempted to eat it. Ahah. Don’t worry, for the purpose of brevity, I’ll limit the introductions.
So what exactly did I like about the play? And what exactly did I like about the film? Well for one thing the protagonists were amazing. Whether it was their eccentric personalities or all the shit that they get themselves into, it was difficult not to feel anything but admiration and sympathy for Tobin and Travis.
Tobin is one sad dude. I genuinely feel sorry for him. I mean everyone literally pushed him into settling the whole book-school dispute. I mean come on; if I were a character I’d raise hell to give the man some space. Cut him some slack, he just lost his wife dammit. Putting my sympathy asides, Tobin is extremely passive. He lacks a backbone, has sex with a minor, and also has kidney stones. He is practically asking for it when others step all over him. I feel sorry for the man but I still think he needs to man up. He could have avoided all the violence and ass whooping if he wasn’t such a sitting duck. But I guess the book wouldn’t be as interesting if that happened.
Travis. Travis. Travis. Good old crazy Travis. OMG, this guy blew my mind. It was like watching a scene from Terminator I or II, not III because it wasn’t as good. I mean Travis was like the governor in several ways. He represented all the things men stood for. Raw courage, pure strength, and an obligation to save women, and/or girls. He also represented all the bad things men stood for. Violence, anger, and an unmatched desire to kill the senator. Travis did everything to go against society. He was like a screwball running loose on the streets. Personally I don’t think Travis could’ve justified anything he did. I’m pretty sure he just wanted fulfillment or a purpose in life. He was willing to be remembered as the infamous senator-killer or the teenage prostitute-savior. Either way, Travis did all that he could to stand up against the harsh society he grew up in. I’m pretty impressed though. There aren’t that many people that are impervious to bullets. The exception being Superman.
Tobin and Travis are two very different characters. Actually, they are kind of like polar opposites of each other. Tobin being the submissive type who mopes over his lost marriage and Travis being the bullheaded macho man who is willing to go all the way. When pit against an unforgiving society both men were shown to react very differently from one another. It’s very difficult for me to want to compare such a passive character with a volatile one, so I can’t really label a common theme for the two.
I think this just goes to show that all men are different.
“Not all of us are assholes.”
