He was unstable. Probably my favorite visual allusion to this happened in the restaurant when Travis or somebody else dropped an Alka Seltzer or 2 into a glass of water and Travis just stared into the glass. Scorsese focused on the dissolving tablets and the agitation of the water around them for a moment. It was just brilliant.

Agreed. Also the lack of reaction from Travis during certain situations. For example the scene where he pulls out the revolver and shoots the pimp in the gut. Then inside of the brothel he calmly finishes off Sport/Matthew before shooting the doorman and the mafia member.

Given his experiences fighting in Vietnam, and subsequently suffering from insomnia/PTSD, it is not wholly surprising he was mentally unstable.

And at a guess, after returning to the streets of New York and picking up fares from a whole range of demographics (some of them real low ball characters), coupled with the lying politicians who in some indirect way forced him and millions of young men to fight a war in Vietnam that they knew nothing about, it is probably no wonder he held a grudge or two

Yes. Travis was in fact unstable. My guess though the illness was always there lying dormant. The sleaze of NYC at that time and what he saw as corruption most likely triggered the "bad ideas" in his head. I can't help but think if Wizard had payed more attention to what Travis was trying to tell him the movie might have ended a different way. Regardless of that Travis still shot and killed Matthew or Sport as Iris called him. (I think the newspaper clipping on the wall said his real name was Charles Raine but I can't be sure). As well as the mafiosi and the doorman/timekeeper. I think that was inevitable. There was a second argument about Travis being racist. I'm not sure sure about that. After all he did say he didn't care who he picked up as a fare nor did he care which which part of the city he went into. (The diner scene kind of gave me the impression he wasn't used to black people hence the staring at the pimps or the teenagers on the street). Being from the midwest one does not see many black people so it could have been cultural shock for Travis. I'm sure this will be a seperate discussion.

Sure, the PTSD was probably set off by the cess that Travis encountered day and night. Let us not forget that he was a Vietnam War veteran. Those guys went through some very horrible, messy fights in the jungles of Asia, if my memory serves me correctly. I kind of feel like the bloodbath in the brothel was a forgone conclusion for the film. I mean Paul Schrader, the screenwriter, disclosed that he wrote the script in a very short period of time, a matter of days, with a handgun beside him on the table or desk the whole time. Still, I get your point. Some care for Travis' PTSD might've changed the story's outcome.

About Travis and bigotry or racism: I'm not sure how much water your statement about his being from the midwest being a cause of this holds. I mean, there's Detroit and Flint, they both have plenty of black people. Being a Detroit boy myself, I'm used to looking at every shade of black person under the sun..... they don't call it "little Africa" for nothin.

Wasn't the chick whom Travis flirted with and failed to get a positive response from in the cinema a black girl?

You do have a very valid point re Detroit. I had the feeling that Travis was from someplace where you just didn't see black people. (On a side note I am from Kansas). Yes if I remember right the woman behind the candy counter in the porno theater was african-american. I was confused by this because earlier in the "They all come out at night" monologue Travis used the slur spook to mean blacks. Travis just seemed to be unsure in those situations. I'm fairly certain he was suffering from a personality disorder as well his ptsd. Perhaps in certain parts Travis as the narrator is unreliable. When he was watching the black kid slow dancing on tv and holding the .44 he seemed upset. Not sure now if it was connected to racial dislike or not.

@BuckR said:

You do have a very valid point re Detroit. I had the feeling that Travis was from someplace where you just didn't see black people. (On a side note I am from Kansas).

In retrospect, I see I kind of conflated Michigan, my home state, with the midwest in general. My bad. I'm sure there are places like what you describe in the midwest.

Yes if I remember right the woman behind the candy counter in the porno theater was african-american.

I'll answer my own question: She's a black woman who also acted in Scorsese's The King of Comedy. Her name's Diahnne Abbott. Someone on IMDb once stated that she was once actor Robert De Niro's bride. You must know ol' De Niro has his thing for African-American women.

I was confused by this because earlier in the "They all come out at night" monologue Travis used the slur spook to mean blacks. Travis just seemed to be unsure in those situations. I'm fairly certain he was suffering from a personality disorder as well his ptsd.

Why a personality disorder? I didn't see any evidence suggesting this, aside from perhaps the hair change to the mohawk around when he decides to assassinate Senator Palantine.

Perhaps in certain parts Travis as the narrator is unreliable. When he was watching the black kid slow dancing on tv and holding the .44 he seemed upset. Not sure now if it was connected to racial dislike or not.

Travis as an unreliable narrator... what an interesting idea.

While it wasn't explicitly mentioned some of Travis's behaviors reflected that of someone with a personality disorder. If you go back and rewatch certain scenes it may become more evident. The diner scene in particular and the mirror scene. (The "You talking to me" monologue as well as the things he was writing in his journal lead me to believe this). Also the fact that Travis wasn't part of the group even though he was also a cabbie. He didn't fit in. Taking Betsey to the porn movie and the idea that he and he alone could save Iris from Sport and a life of child prostitution alone. He even tells Iris over breakfast he didn't get along with certain types of people which is associated with those who suffer from Schizotypal disorder.

@BuckR said:

While it wasn't explicitly mentioned some of Travis's behaviors reflected that of someone with a personality disorder. If you go back and rewatch certain scenes it may become more evident. The diner scene in particular and the mirror scene. (The "You talking to me" monologue as well as the things he was writing in his journal lead me to believe this). Also the fact that Travis wasn't part of the group even though he was also a cabbie. He didn't fit in. Taking Betsey to the porn movie and the idea that he and he alone could save Iris from Sport and a life of child prostitution alone. He even tells Iris over breakfast he didn't get along with certain types of people which is associated with those who suffer from Schizotypal disorder.

I don't know anything about Schizotypal disorder. When it comes to this type of thing, I have only done a little studying of NPD (narcissistic personality disorder). The mirror / "You talking to me" scene does perhaps sound like it could indicate an issue there. I wasn't sure if it was just Travis trying to put himself up to do some carnage or what. Not everyone who served in that war did acts of violence there. Travis' past is left pretty vague for us to fill in some blanks, so his exact capabilities are unclear up until the film's third act.

At any rate, thanks for the input!

De Niro studied mental illness in prep for his role as Travis. According to the original script Sport, the mafia guy, and hotel clerk were all black. Scorsese changed them to white men because he felt it would stack the deck in racism. This was in conjunction with other events. Travis was socially awkward and most likely suffering from paranoid psychosis.

@BeckR403 said:

De Niro studied mental illness in prep for his role as Travis. According to the original script Sport, the mafia guy, and hotel clerk were all black. Scorsese changed them to white men because he felt it would stack the deck in racism. This was in conjunction with other events. Travis was socially awkward and most likely suffering from paranoid psychosis.

True. De Niro is well known as method acting.