There is no denying how obvious the social class differences are in New York City. In almost any given area in Manhattan, one can spot a wealthy businessman, an everyday middle class family, and a homeless person all on the same block. However, oftentimes, us New Yorkers tend to disregard these class differences and not take time to think about what each class goes through. Art plays a huge role in breaking down the class divide, by reinforcing how stringent the social class structure is in American society and how much the middle and lower classes go through in comparison to the more wealthy.
In the movie Taxi Driver by Martin Scorsese, the protagonist, Travis, is a regular lower-class man, working as a taxi driver to make a living. He often works the night shift and drives through the shady parts of the boroughs, witnessing what most wealthy and middle class people in NYC barely ever see: crime. On a daily basis, Travis sees prostitution, robberies, drug use, and more criminal activity, to the point where what he is surrounded by basically separates him from other people in different classes. One of which is the woman he has feelings for named Betsy. This upper-class woman is so sheltered by her wealth to the point where she cannot relate to Travis and only gets offended when he takes her out to see the only kind of entertainment he knows. It seems like Betsy walks out on him because of his lifestyle, leaving Travis lonely and showing how difficult it is for the lower and upper classes to mend and understand each other.
As Travis continues his life without Betsy, Scorsese shows even more intense scenes of what Travis has to see everyday. And eventually, instead of continuing to stand by and watch the crimes, Travis decides to take action by purchasing a grand array of guns. He becomes a part of the violence, which most people in the lower class often have no choice but to do. Travis gets himself involved in the life of a teenage prostitute and in the end saves her by slaughtering those who keep her captive and force her to sell her body. However, despite saving her life, Travis still cannot escape life as a part of the lower class, and continues to work as a taxi driver, dealing with the parts of New York City all the other classes barely know.
Scorsese’s film, and many other films based on the class divide, successfully convey the lives of those in the different classes. They show what the middle and lower classes often suffer through and sometimes, like in Taxi Driver, show that it is almost impossible to make it up the social ladder because of how stringent the class divide is in America today.
