Why wasn't Travis arrested at the end of Taxi Driver?

He killed about four men. Even though they were running a child prostitution ring, he still killed them, and killing and vigilantism are illegal. So, why wasn't he arrested?

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The ending was all a dream as he lay their dying.

>their
>shitty reddit 'it was all a dream' fan theory
"no"

things work differently in america

The cops were glad that somebody killed those guys, and just accepted that it was "self-defense"

S E L F D E F E N S E

It was the 70's

Because it takes place in the greatest counter on Earth

>their right.

If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
if you pardon, we will mend:
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call;
So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.

70's New York was pure mayhem

There was a crime epidemic in NYC in the 70's. Police couldn't keep up... so when a taxi driver with a clean record killed some pimps and criminals, they just put it down on self defense because there was a lot worse shit going on. Him not being arrested and actually being regarded as a hero for cold blooded murder is a social commentary on the state of NYC at the time.

>So, why wasn't he arrested?
to make it appeal to vigilantes and school shooter types

Kinda sad that people need this spelled out for them.

70s New York. That was the point. Microcosms of it were absolutely the sort of dystopia that Travis envisioned. His attitude, disconnection and extremism are what complicate Travis in his already complicated world; his world view isn't all wrong.

Of fucking course he should have been arrested, and probably was, but that's not the point. Whatever his punishment was, if any, he was back on the same streets at the end; nothing had changed but for him being recognized and by whom is the ironic icing on the shitcake.

Why wasn't he punished? Many people saw the same shit as he did but didn't do anything. That's not really a part of the story we're clued into. One way or another, they gave him a pass. Travis didn't want a pass, because if Travis knew anything, he knew that what he was doing wasn't going to fix but a tiny part of the filth. He didn't die in Vietnam (for nothing), so maybe he'd die here (for something).

The last thing Travis wanted was to go back a world unchanged, with the only difference being he's something of a folk legend.

It's also possible that crooked cops were involved with the ring, and that caused the whole of it to be swept under the table, but that's conjecture and really wouldn't do much but reify Travis' world view. I prefer to think he got a pass.

Taxi Driver is the only movie where the "it was a dream" theory isn't shit.

cops dont give a fuck

i thought he died

>implying it isn't still

It's just a movie.

The moment he does a double-take in the rear view mirror, seeing the white light of Heaven, is the moment the dream (and his life) ends. It was pretty obvious to me the first time I saw it.

I'm pretty sure the director and writer have both said that they didn't mean for it to seem like a dream.

>everyone is american

well threads over guys this dude is pretty sure.

i thought the point of the movie was that there is little difference between societies hero's and its villains. If Travis had killed the senator he would have been a villain , but since he killed some 'bad guys' he was a hero - but he was just angry and alienated and wanted to kill somebody.

If the ending is a dream, the movie is pretty much meaningless. Sure all films are open to interpretation, I just don't understand the appeal of this one.

Remember that his original plan was to assassinate Palantine. He didn't kill all those people in the whorehouse because it was "the right thing to do," but because Palantine's security recognized him and chased him off, and he still felt amped-up and ready to kill someone.

If he'd killed Palantine, he unquestionably would've been arrested. He got off the hook because he killed "bad" people that the police didn't care about. But it was just a matter of chance, both actions came from the same indiscriminate urge to kill people, and there's no guarantee that Travis's next victims will "deserve it" in the same way.

She was so fucking pretty

What are your favorite Scorsese films?

>Goodfellas
>Taxi Driver
>Casino
>Cape Fear
>The Departed

In that order.

Intentional fallacy. But I agree with them in that I believe it's real, that it has more weight because it is real.

>Goodfellas
>Taxi Driver
>Raging Bull
>Mean Streets
>Casino

>calls America the greatest
>in a post with spelling errors
pottery

Deniro was too sexy

He killed more than two hundred people, yet the police not only did they not arrest him, but they asked for his help to clean the streets.
So, why wasn't he arrested?

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Plauche

>taxi driver
>silence

The police couldn't get organizized.

It was a different time

Because that's literally what the film is trying to tell you.

He should have been arrested, he's clearly deranged and could be seen as an "evil" person. But society hails him as a hero because he killed a more "Public" type of bad guy. It's meant to show how dual standards affect everything.

This is why I love Taxi Driver, it's a very symbolic film and you catch new things every time you watch it.