Submitted by Rocky_Johan t3_ypjvtn in movies
Both Scorsese and Shrader has suggested Bickles is a Vietnam veteran. Now this has never sat right with me. I simply do not buy it but it wasn't until i read Quentin Tarantinos chapter in his latest book "Cinema Speculation" that it became clear.
QT writes:
”Even Paul Schrader—in regard to Travis Bickle—slightly invests in this type of character Tom Foolery by suggesting Travis is a Vietnam veteran, and that he did a tour of duty during the war. Horseshit.No fucking way was Travis in Vietnam. The extent of Travis’ paranoia of black males is only credible if they are an other that he has only had superficial contact with. How do you do a tour of duty in Vietnam and only have superficial contact with black dudes? The answer is you can’t. Okay, say he did serve with black dudes in Vietnam, does that mean he has to like ’em? No, not necessarily. But it’s not convincing he would fear them the way Travis does. In the movie, he fears them as an other. If you serve in war with six or seven black guys (officers and enlisted men) they wouldn’t be an other (unless, possibly, if Travis was an MP). I don’t have a problem with Travis’ fraudulent claim in the movie.
The only proof the movie offers up of Travis’ military service (no Vietnam flashbacks) is his account to Joe Spinell and his jacket. Fine, Travis spends the entire movie demonstrating to the audience that he’s an unreliable narrator, completely delusional, and he constantly presents himself to characters in a fraudulent manner (usually to get something he wants at the moment).
He bought the jacket in an Army Navy Store.”
- Quentin Tarantino. ”Cinema Speculation”
What are some other arguments or counter-arguments to this?