The Arts in New York City

Oh my gosh! I don’t think there have ever been two more powerful and emotional works of art than The Metal Children and “Taxi Driver.” In both, the protagonists are harmed emotionally by society, in ways unimaginable to most. Tobin and Travis, although they react differently, are both are brought down into depression by society.

In The Metal Children, Tobin’s bodyguard nearly had to force him to go to the town where his book was being banned. Tobin really didn’t care much. I mean, his wife had just left him for another man…who cares much about life after that? After being forced to go to Midlothia to fight the ban on his book, he is abused, beaten, and pretty much torn to pieces. But then again, he does nothing to stop it. He’s just a lonely man, desperate to find his way in life again. He is sad and pathetic, not only because his marriage fall to ruin, but also because he lacks the confidence to do anything about it. He is too calm to stand up to the challenges life throws in his face, and he just sits back and watches everything going on around him. He has no control over anything that happens. He lets his wife leave without a fight, calling her only to sound desperate and foolish…he lets Vera undress in front of him, and then succumbs to the temptations…he lets the town ban his book, not bothering to put up a fight…and finally at the end of the book, he lets Vera have her way once again, by giving her the money she needs and letting her keep their baby with a non-committal agreement to visit one day.

Unlike Tobin, Travis in “Taxi Driver” stood up to the establishments of his society. Although he was like Tobin in that he was a lonely, sad man, he was different in that he took action when things didn’t go his way. Because Betsy didn’t accept his invitations out after one little mistake he made, he decided to take away what was important to her: Palantine. Travis felt that rather than being with him, Betsy had decided to support Palantine instead, and this hurt Travis because it felt like betrayal. Rather than sit back and watch her choose another man the way Tobin watched his wife leave with another man, Travis plots to assassinate Palantine. His attempt, however, is thwarted, and he instead decides to go after another girl. Not in an emotional-relationship way, but instead in a friendly and caring way. So he tries to help Iris escape the brutal environment she is “working” in. He eventually succeeds in his assassination of her pimp, Sport, finally overtaking society’s limitations and becoming a proclaimed “hero.”

Throughout both works, the protagonists are shot down by society like a deer during hunting season. Neither really stood a chance against what they were faced with. Tobin realized that, and didn’t bother trying to change it. He accepted his defeat, and let things collapse around him. Travis on the other hand, also knew things weren’t going well for him, but rather than sit back like Tobin and be miserable about it, he decided that if things were going to be horrible anyway, he might as well continue the trend and get rid of the man that was causing him pain. By assassinating Palantine, he would have hurt Betsy, which would have made him feel better, but he also would have been sent to jail. But he was nearly caught in his attempt. Instead, he went after Sport. With all his pent up anger and rage, Travis was able to take out Sport as well as a few other men who were a part of the prostitution chain. It was for a good cause, he knew, and for that reason, he didn’t care that it was illegal. What an unexpected shock it was when he was hailed a national hero for ridding society of these evil men.

The only thing shared between the two men is that they both gave into the sad lives they were living, but whereas Tobin did nothing to either fix or worsen it, Travis reacted in his own way, knowing that he could make it worse, but knowing that it wouldn’t matter, because without the girl he wanted, life would be miserable anyway. So although he ended up being a hero, he only did what he did to make himself feel better about his nearly non-existent position in society. Travis and Tobin were both in the same life situation, although under obviously different circumstances, but each reacted in their own way, doing what they thought was fitting for their specific situation. In the end, we can see which man came out on top, with a better life, and which is still sitting at home, moping.

When I first saw the cover of The Metal Children, I have to say it didn’t really draw me in. And then, after watching the trailer for Taxi Driver I didn’t even really want to watch it. Two assignments I had to complete but thought that I would dread. I was dead wrong. Although I didn’t fall completely in love with the play and the movie, I did enjoy them.I believe that Tobin and Travis shared more differences than similarities and to tell you the truth I really liked Travis and kind of hated Tobin.

Both protagonists are lonely characters who seem to be searching for a purpose or meaning to their life. Tobin is so devastated over his wife leaving him that he starts to sort of self destruct in his messy apartment. Thankfully his editor and friend, Bruno, is there to help him pick up the pieces. I believe that when Tobin was first told to go to Midlothia he was just sort of going there to please Bruno but as he learned about the controversy his book started and then also learned that the girls were forming a pregnancy pact he started to become more interested. I have to admit that I was so disgusted when Tobin slept with Vera. I couldn’t believe it and that is also when I started to hate Tobin’s character. I think because Tobin was desperately looking for a purpose to his life he, like Travis, went to the extremist side and decided to sleep with Vera knowing that that might lead to him fathering a child with a minor. Where Tobin differs with Travis is that I don’t think he really is reacting much to the established authority, which in this case would be everyone against his book. To me he seems a little nonchalant about the whole thing. Travis on the other hand stands up against the established authority and takes matters into his own hands.

Like Tobin, Travis also felt extremely alone and simply wanted to feel alive and find someone to spend the rest of his life with. I love Travi’s character because he is so naive. Even though he took Betsy to a pornographic movie, I felt so bad for him when he was apologizing to her and sending flowers and she coldheartedly turned him down. Another reason why I like Travis more than Tobin, is that when he is confronted in a room with a young girl trying to make moves on him, just like Tobin and Vera, Travis is actually disgusted by it and turns her down multiple times. He understands why it’s wrong on so many levels, and vows to help her escape from all of this. He is not afraid to take matters into his own hands and stand up against the authoritative figures. Even though he did murder the Pimp I think that in these situations the ends justify the means. In the NYC that Travis lived in, the cops were not much help so if Travis had not taken matters into his own hands there really wasn’t anyone who could have saved Iris.

A common theme that I noticed between these two pieces is loneliness. As we see in the end both protagonists are left alone even though Vera and Betsy both go to see them. Although both women had their own selfish reasons for going. Vera needed money and Betsy only started liking Travis again because of his fame. Where was she when he was calling her and sending her flowers?

“… I’m waiting for the sun to shine.”-Travis Bickle

By the time I finished watching Taxi Driver and reading The Metal Children, I decided, these two main characters are hardly noble. If they have anything in common, it’s that they are both instigators who are borderline crazy. I found Travis to actually be more interesting as a character because he was so psychotic; throughout the whole movie he was searching for an identity. I can actually see the rhyme to Travis’ madness; he spent the whole movie searching for romance and a way to affirm his masculinity. Around him though, the decaying city showed everything around him being tainted. Sex was tainted by prostitution, and he was part of a relationship tainted by Palantine who was condescending towards Travis. He came home from Vietnam a war hero, but of an unheroic war. He dressed as a cowboy vigilante and posed as a CIA agent, but none of them seemed to fit his persona. He was is affect a lost soul. He takes the fate of the city in his own hands by finally standing up and being active, though in his deranged ways.

Tobin, on the other hand, is so passive that it’s painful. He is nothing more than a disgruntled man upset about his circumstances with regard to his wife. She left him for the editor, so he copes with this by writing a book venting his anger, letting his smoking and drinking habits get out of control, and letting his apartment become a mess. What kind of way of coping is this? (I’ll admit it’s better than killing gangsters, but it’s still a shame.) He was a good writer, he could possibly have had a promising future, but instead decided to let his problems gain control of him. Then instead of being happy that he had achieved controversy through the medium of art, he was passive and uninspiring when he addressed the students of the high school who had supported him. He also takes no accountability for the repercussions of his book in his community and basically sweeps them under the carpet. He bottoms out by sleeping with Vera; it seems as though he was confused at the time.

Tobin and Travis hardly evolve as characters, they are stuck in the past, and unwilling to move forward. Travis looks in the mirror and asks, “Are you talking to me?” in the memorable moment that shows the ambiguity of his identity. His mind is shattered, and we don’t even know if he’s questioning and reflecting inward or showing his anger to the perversity that surrounds him. Tobin’s mind is shattered too. He does not know what his role in society seems to be anymore, is he for what the girls in the small community, or does he have disdain for them?

Thematically though, we see this ambiguous feminine theme throughout the movie and the book. The girls think they can achieve freedom through having birth and gaining control over their bodies, but they do not realize that they are still slaves to the child and raising him/her once the baby is born. Iris, in the movie, thinks that running away to New York is her way of escaping, but she finds that she has to be part of a prostitution ring in order to support herself and attain protection from the elements. If anything, the overriding theme is stupidity. These girls felt these were their only escapes, but they did not look at the bottom line. If anything, the movie and the book commented on isolation, selfishness and the notion that no matter what, humans will follow their motives or missions, and once their minds are made up, nothing can stop them.

What has life to give? Everything.

What do people have to give? Nothing.

Human beings. We have so much potential yet we waste it. Life gives us so much yet we throw its gift away. But there are times when other human beings make us realize our purpose, our goals. They help us create them. In the end, we have to help each other to survive. If not, we’ll be running blindly in a maze.

Adam Rapp explores these ideas within his play, The Metal Children, by letting the main character, Tobin Falmouth, travel to Midlothia to passively defend his book, The Metal Children. By having a story within a play, we can see how the events will work out.  The girls take Tobin’s book as an epiphany because they realize that through pregnancy they can achieve freedom. Do we really need to “sacrifice” ourselves to gain “freedom”? Honestly, purposely being impregnated is going too far. The girls may be getting their “freedom,” but, essentially, they are going to be restricted with the births of their children. If that is their “freedom,” let them have it. In addition, the entire time Tobin was in Midlothia helped him to move on because the way the majority of the townspeople acted toward him helped him to create a book – one that is for adults. Furthermore, the conversations with Vera Dundee and Stacey Kinsella help Tobin to open his eyes to the people around him and how they react to things unknown to them. In the end, Tobin slowly moves on as he creates his novel which Bruno says may be a bestseller, but the past comes back. Vera visits Tobin with their baby, something he and Miranda couldn’t have, and it strikes him, hurts him inside because Vera is too focused on her mission. And then Tobin cries. This catharsis releases all the emotion built up inside of him and the reader.

Martin Scorsese, on-the-other-hand, has his protagonist, Travis Bickle in the film, Taxi Driver, to show the ideas. Travis was a veteran of the Vietnam War. His mind has been affected and the world he sees in New York City is trash, especially at night. But later on in the film, after meeting with Betsy and losing her, he realizes that all people are the same. Only the morning hides it behind the light while the darkness exposes the truth of the city. Because of this Travis finds his goal to save a prostitute from her “owners.” He saves her because he believes it right. But was it necessary to kill the pimp, bouncer, and the client? No, he could have done it a different way, but it comes to show you how people will act differently on a killing because of the type of person(s) killed. Before, when Travis shot a black man, nothing happened, but this time he kills three white men and he is taken as a hero. Shows you where our priorities lie.

But one main theme that was expressed throughout both works was FEAR. Fear? Yes, fear. We fear the unknown. We fear the darkness. We fear for our safety. And in our fear, we hurt others. Through our fear we can act ignorantly and cruelly. Fear is what drives our actions. Our fear to be ridiculed causes us to conform. The news drives fear. Fear drives us. Why are we hostile to people with different views? Tobin Falmouth and Stacey Kinsella were harassed and almost killed because of their views. They weren’t forcing their ideas. They were exposing them to it. Betsy feared Travis because of her high status she feared she would lose it. She realized this after being brought to the sex movie.  It is all to the person(s) to decide what to do with the information: ignore it, take it to heart, expand on it, or blow it out of proportion.

Different media, similar stories. Everything can be connected. Life flows from one person to the next. Fear slowly transgresses in the human mind. It affects everyone.

What drives fear? Humans.

What drives humans? Fear.

Nocturne

The Metal Children by Adam Rapp and Taxi Driver by Martin Scorsese were both very interesting and fun to read and watch. At first, I thought to myself, “Ahh a old movie… this is going to be so boring!” However, that was not the case as I was very impressed by how much I liked the movie. Additionally, the Metal Children was very engaging also and kept me anxious to find out what would happen next.

Getting right to the point, I felt like both characters were put in situations that were unexpected. Tobin who doesn’t even realize what the effects of his book would do to Midlothia, has to deal with this situation. Even though he’s EXTREMELY submissive to all that is going on, he still has this problem to deal with. Also, Travis was living his life, but his character is so unpredictable that he ends up wanting to kill Palantine and finds some meaning in is life. He’s motivated and determined to achieve his goal.

I also felt like both societies had an established authority to which each character sort of rebels against. Tobin, unaware but still, writes The Metal Children, which becomes so controversial and splits a whole community. Also, from the beginning of the movie, the setting and scenes display Travis’s environment almost hell-like, and Travis is this character who eventually becomes a “hero” in this horrid environment. Both characters have a tremendous effect on society and change what people think about normal issues. Whether it was Tobin who inspired Vera and her friends or Travis who brought to light prostitution to the eyes of his community, both men created controversy and questioned the morals of the people living in their societies.

Another quality that I felt both characters had in common was their contradictive nature. Tobin was this passive person who was trapped in his own world. Yet, the effect that his work made sparked a big commotion and he was caught in the mess of the world around him. However, in the end of the play, Tobin sort of improves himself. Similarly, Travis who seems to be this tough guy, runs into Iris. Even though he’s on a mission to kill Palantine, he still worries about Iris, which portrays he has a sensitive side too. Travis acts like he has no feelings attached to the world when in fact he gets emotional and passionate at times. Both these characters have two different sides to them.

Finally, a theme that was common to both works was isolation and detachment. Tobin’s wife left him and therefore was alone. This parallels Betsy rejecting Travis. Travis was trying to fit in Betsy’s world but also bring her into his but this didn’t work out for him. Betsy felt offended and hence left Travis. The reader or watcher often finds that he/she wants to sympathize with these characters but this is hard knowing their true intentions. Tobin had no motivation to do anything and had no guts to stand up and say something. I didn’t have any respect for him. Also it’s difficult to tell whether Travis was a hero because it’s easy to say he was just at the right place at the right time. Would the outcome have been the same if the secret service agent didn’t catch him? It’s a mystery.

Many times, the pressures of society can influence our actions. However, both Tobin and Travis influence their societies and create a difference. I enjoyed reading and watching these two characters as they made me think about how our society and media affects what we all do and even think about various issues.

Let me start out by staying I LOVED the Metal Children. I literally could not put it down. It was interesting. Unlike most plays I’ve read (including “The Indian Wants The Bronx) the language was accessible, the characters were intriguing, and the plot was exciting on paper. I know that plays are meant to be seen and not read but, with the help of great stage directions, I was able to visualize every scene.

The unique way the play begins immediately grabbed my attention. It took me a few minutes to figure out what the hell Tobin was doing. I think that the lovesick, drunken, self-pitying 38-year-old writer is a realistic portrayal of an artist’s lifestyle. While Tobin doesn’t always make the best decisions, like sleeping with Vera, I have sympathy for him. After losing his wife to a better looking, wealthier man Tobin is crushed and his self-esteem is in the gutter. Loneliness is a powerful emotion that drives people to search for love and acceptance in places they wouldn’t normally look.

I really loved Tobin’s character for two reasons. Firstly, because he was such a smart-ass and secondly, everything he says in Act Two, Scene 1 during the school board meeting completely supports what I said in last week’s blog! When he explains that he didn’t write the Metal Children for any particular reason and that the novel was a product of pain medication and an extremely trippy dream it made my day! I wish that I had read the Metal Children a week sooner so I could use it to support my ideas in last week’s blog!

While I loved the Metal Children, Taxi Driver was a completely different story. I know that as a Sicilian, hating any work of Martin Scorsese is blasphemous, but I couldn’t help disliking the plot-less time suck that is Taxi Driver. While I understand that the film is meant to highlight Travis’ mental instability, the storyline about a crazy, attention- seeking war veteran did not hold my interest. Like Tobin, Travis is extremely lonesome. He feels like an outsider, which is highlighted by the wardrobe, colors, and camera angles used by Scorsese throughout the film.

The difference between Tobin and Travis is that they both seek attention in different ways.  Tobin writes a novel about his ideas in order to give his life purpose or meaning and Travis plans to assassinate a senator. Tobin searches for affection by having sex with random women and Travis prefers to watch other people have sex on a giant screen.

While Travis is obviously a nut job and Tobin seems to be sane, I find it ironic that the nut job receives praise for murdering a few pimps and Tobin is ostracized for writing his novel. While Tobin’s drug induced, accidental genius was written for “no particular reason,” Travis actually committed his actions for two reasons: for his own social advancement and to save the teenage prostitute, Iris, from her pimp. Even with the best intentions, to rescue Iris, I still feel that Travis should be treated as a criminal rather than a hero. Just because he murdered bad people doesn’t make murder ok. If Travis’ plan to murder the Senator had been successful, he would have been throne in the slammer. It’s only because he murdered pimps that society deems his actions acceptable. Are there exceptions to the law? Can murder ever be justified?

Never judge a book by its cover, however when I first saw the cover for the Metal Children I immediately thought that this was going to be a really strange story and I probably wouldn’t find it interesting, I mean come on there’s a guy with a pig mask on the cover. However, once I started reading it, my opinion quickly changed and I couldn’t seem to put the book down. Now I know why they say don’t judge a book by its cover. Similarly when I went to my library to get a copy of Taxi Driver, and when I took one look at the cover, I thought to myself that there’s no way I would find this movie interesting, actually I was home alone in a dark room while watching this movie and instead of falling asleep like I thought would happen, I found myself being unable to take my eyes off of the television.

The protagonists in both the Metal Children and in Taxi Driver may seem to be two completely different people, I mean one’s a taxi driver in New York City, and the other is an author who lives alone in his apartment, but when you really thing about it they have more in common than you might initially think. Both Travis and Tobin are isolated from the world. This is one common theme that this play and movie have. Taxi Driver begins the movie with a set of eyes looking through the review mirror, right away from this scene we see that Travis is alone; although the when I first saw this I’ll admit I thought it was kind of freaky that the movie started with just a set of eyes looking at you, but after watching the whole movie it’s clear to me now that this was an appropriate way to start off the movie. After analyzing the scenery and clothing in class it’s even clearer just how isolated Travis was throughout the movie. As much as Travis is isolated, we know that he doesn’t want to be anymore through his efforts of trying to get with Betsy. When we analyze these scenes we see that Travis wears brighter colors when he’s around her and that he’s trying to make an effort to have somebody in his life.

Similarly Tobin in the Metal Children is very isolated from society. He lives alone in a messy apartment and doesn’t feel like doing anything. When he first hears about the movement that is going on he doesn’t even care. If someone were fighting against their whole community in favor of me I think that I probably would show some appreciation and at least try to help out the situation, wouldn’t you? But Tobin just didn’t seem to care about anything, it wasn’t until his agent Bruno convinced him to go to an upcoming town meeting in Midlothia that he finally got out of his apartment and did something. Even though Tobin went to this meeting, he didn’t really help much at all. While writing his book, Tobin never intended to start a revolution, all he was doing was telling a story since he was upset over what happened to him. Basically the book was his way of getting over what had occurred in his life, and then everyone else interpreted his book in a much more extreme manner. Did he intend on making teenage girls want to rebel against the rules within their community and form a whole new community that supports teen pregnancy….of course not!

Travis and Tobin are both responsible for great change that has occurred within communities. However one thing that’s different about these changes is that Travis intended on bringing about change, while Tobin had no intention of it whatsoever.
Travis was tired of the “scum” that he kept seeing throughout New York City, and if no one was going to do anything about it than he would. If people are running around New York City committing crimes and nothing is being done about it, shouldn’t someone take action? Well Travis believed that he should and so he worked out and committed himself to getting fixing the problems in the city. In the end Travis became a “hero” for exposing the problems that everyone just seemed to ignore. Tobin similarly becomes a “hero” to a group of teenage girls. To these girls his book has managed to change all of their lives. These girls all became committed to “the mission”. However unlike Travis, Tobin never intended on making any changes in society. All Tobin wanted to do was vent about his feelings that he had about what had occurred with his wife.

Travis and Tobin clearly lived extremely different lives, I mean one was a struggling writer who was becoming addicted to drugs and hitting a low point in his life, and another was a man who spent some time in the marines, and now didn’t really know what he was doing with his life and so he decided to become a Taxi driver. After hearing this you probably think how on earth could these completely different people possibly have anything in common? Well turns out they may have lived in different areas, and had different careers, but both of these characters shared a common theme, they were isolated and wished to find a way to not be isolated anymore.