An Integral Analysis of Martin Scorsese´s 'Taxi Driver'

By Daniel Roth

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Comparative Literature, grade: 1,5, University of Trier, course: The Films of Martin Scorsese, language: English, abstract: Introduction Starting point for my term paper was the question of how to approach such a complex work of art, since I had no previous experience or theoretical knowledge in the analysis of films. It quickly dawned on me that a literal analysis of the film s plot and its characters under particular consideration of the author s intention, that I was used to in the field of literary studies, would be dysfunctional, since there were too many creative sources involved in the genesis of a film. To further complicate matters, I became in my search for appropriate secondary literature quickly acquainted with some post-modern scholars such as Robin Wood, who sees Paul Schrader as a "neo-fascist," "whose films amount to a systematic repudiation of all minority groups and any possible social alternative, in order to re-assert a quasi-mystical sense of male supremacy, heterosexual superiority, and a total spurious "transcendence." ...] the film's interest is inseparable from its sense of confusion, its failure to define a coherent attitude towards its protagonist." (Wood) Since I was convinced that there was more to Taxi Driver than its "sense of confusion" and, that a coherent, clear analysis was possible, though coming to a definite conclusion might not be possible due to its character s ambivalence, I intended my term paper to be a step out of this academic mingling of terms by the use of an integral approach. I use the word integral in a Wilberian sense, which is "to include as many perspectives, styles, and methodologies as possible within a coherent view of a] topic." ("integral thought" -Wikipedia) Part one of my paper is generally a brief summary of the main underlying motives that I identified in the secondary literature on Taxi Driver. These motiv

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 365613068X
• ISBN13: 9783656130680
• Release Date: February 2012
• Publisher: Grin Verlag
• Length: 24 Pages
• Weight: 0.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 5.8" x 8.3"