Why I Take Uber: Taxi Driver Review

There are numerous factors into what breaks a person. The mundanity of life for anyone can be taxing on the mind. Routines become torturous, and the environment becomes a living prison, the mind becomes toxic. Is Bickle a product of his environment, or has the environment influenced him?

          

  Bickle struck me as a down on his luck guy, an everyman, a symbol of lower middle class America. He seems like swell guy, until you see his darkness creeping out early in the film. His driving reveals his own disdain for other people: homosexuals, people of other ethnic and racial backgrounds. These are likely contributing factors toward his declining mental health, which from the start of the film is evident.

          

  His interview, which may have been an intricate and rehearsed lie, shows that he is an insomniac with PTSD. PTSD can manifest in different ways, which does depend on the person and their resources. Bickle is not a man of great wealth. His lack of anything substantial, like a career, and a partner, had negative effects on him.

          

  Loneliness is a painful thing to endure, especially for long periods of time. Isolation, poverty, and likely PTSD, are major contributing factors to Bickle’s stress.

           

 Bickle has what I consider a common trait in several psychopaths: obsession. His obsession with women is a very disturbing part of his character. However, this shows another, more vulnerable side to him: his timidity. He stalked Iris for what may well have been several days. This is also indicative of his own self-doubts, poor social skills, and lack of support.

           

 Bickle’s environment cannot be overlooked. He lives in near squalor, making what may have been enough to live on in the time of the film, but given his living conditions, I am forced to believe he is in denial about his own standing, or his is ignoring it.

           

 I can’t help but see some similarities between Travis Bickle and Dandy Mott (American Horror Story, Freakshow). Mott felt he deserved the best and he should get what he wants, a very entitled existence. Whereas Bickle doesn’t have much, but he desires to have what others have. Neither of the can have it, but for different reasons.

          

  The theme is one that is present in every generation: that poverty is a trap meant to deprive people of their humanity. Or that is what I got from this film. Bickle’s struggle with finances is a chaotic spiral, one that may be so gradual, he doesn’t notice it until he sees the coils above him, and realizes how deep he has gone.

             

The music is one aspect of the film that could not be overplayed, but it was effective. In some parts, namely at the beginning, the score gave this dream-like quality to the film. The score had underpinnings of distance and something is under considerable pressure right from the start. Again, the score gave this dream-like quality to the film that contributed to the feeling of being “there” but not really. In some odd way, the score reflected Bickle’s mind. It had high notes and it had the low notes. The moods changed as Bickle’s changed. The score added a sense of instability, like it was about to fall apart at the seams.

Helter Skelter: A Cold Hard Review

Is this fiction or non-fiction? I couldn’t tell. That was a good thing in the long run. It read like a very distant 1^st person or a distant and omniscient 3^rd person perspective. The tone and atmosphere was mainly due to the matter-of-fact and objective quality to the writing. It could have easily lost my attention given the shear amount of information that came from the murders. Its objectivity was the strength and structure that lends power to the piece. There’s also something about the writing that has a personal spark to it, as if the narrator incorporated his own thoughts and experiences into the piece.

The nature of the murders is something which play a central role in the piece. It is not just the fact someone murdered another, or 5 people for that matter. It’s the severity in which the act was done. The details in the pages about the murders, coupled with the cold, objective language adds a certain depraved tone to the piece. “She was you, blond, very pregnant” (pg 9) doesn’t dull the edge. The ritualistic aspect to the murders is another thing. Brutality in murder may certainly be considered part of a ritual. To inflict as much pain and do the most physical damage to one’s victim may be part of a ritual murder. There are also the weapons used in the murders. A revolver, which per the text, does not leave a casing and a bayonet. Considering the human monster behind these events has a god-complex, it is not unreasonable to think along those lines.

There’s another aspect to the Manson murders, which have earned the monster himself a level of celebrity. Journalists had a hand in generating a fair amount of confusion and coupled with the tight control on information by the police and other entities involved, a frenzy generated by morbid curiosity came to be.

In a way, the relationship between the investigators, the media, and the public became strained. The public is a curious entity and the media is an extension of the public. Inadvertently, this may be what attributed to Manson’s celebrity. If you keep a monster in the dark, you keep the interest in it.

Also, consider those who followed Manson and what that says about Manson as a person. His followers do have similarities: they wanted something that only Manson could give them. In a cult, there does seem to be a desire among the members for an ideal existence outside of society. This is a weakness to be manipulated by someone like Manson. The profile generated by this text indicates Manson preyed on the least mentally stable, the easily swayed, the idealists. Garretson is one such person. The information provided indicates that his is unstable, and yet thrives for attention.

Overall, this book takes a hard, objective consideration of the Manson phenomenon. It reads much like fiction, with aspects of first and third person. The cold detached presentation of the information and the narrative flow created a fusion of the two forms of writing.

The Dirty Birdie Review: Misery Review

Dirty Birdie!

One thing that was most present, though subtle, was how Annie and Paul became reflections of each other, with Annie being the darker reflection. Both are academically inclined, but that is where the comparison ends.

Annie, visibly displays bipolar disorder. Perhaps this garners her some sympathy, perhaps not. Her instability and obsession with Paul makes her more dangerous. Her personality seems to be trifold: she has this caring side to her, a vindictive, wrathful side, and a side that seems to be a mix of both. In a strange and dangerous way, Annie has childish tendencies which is coupled with her callous side.

Annie is more complex than what most would view her. If taken from the context of the story, Annie has a child-like spirit to her, one that enjoys stories, but not how they are made. She gives herself to a story, and given the way she laments Misery’s passing giver Annie this innocent sparkle to her character. However, shadows have a way of not letting go.

Paul on the one hand is more simple and straightforward of a character, who at time mirrors Annie with his intent to do harm, but this is for self-preservation. He even contemplates it, which in and of itself is psychopathic behavior. His reason and fear are at constant ends, adding to his frail condition. He lapses into episodes where he teeters on the edge of insanity.

I could not help but draw a connection between Misery and Jane Eyre. I see Annie and Paul in a similar light to Jane as they are victims of circumstances beyond their control. For Paul, his circumstance is his car accident, for Annie it is a bit obscure but societal pressure is a strong reason for Annie’s mental state as it may have been for Jane Eyre. In Jane Eyre, Jane is more of a prize to be had, it’s very much the same in Misery.

For the part that did the most damage: the writing. King has this method where he delves into the minds of his characters and moves on; he says what needs to be said and moves on. King’s use of language reflects his characters: he only speaks when his characters cannot do so for themselves.

Going further into the writing, King maintains his focus on Paul as if Paul is retelling the story in Third-Person. This adds a certain air to it, as if as the story is progressing, the line between Paul’s psyche and the narration merge and become nearly indistinguishable from each other.

Overall, Misery is certainly aptly titled. King weaves a menacing story that does not relent. Anne may be the more complex character in this novel, but I think my bias for antagonists is showing. Or maybe I’m just imagining Kathy Bates as Annie as I read this?