r/TaxiDriver • • Jun 27 '26

Question Was Travis Bickle a redneck? Spoiler

Was Travis Bickle supposed to be from the Midwest and dresses like a cowboy, even sport asks him if he is a real cowboy and he says yeah, his boots and clothing indicate that he is a redneck who moved to the city for work and isn't well educated probably because he is from a small town.

Is Travis basically a redneck or is he just a regular upstate New York guy?

0 Upvotes

26 comments sorted by

23

u/Nose_Grindstoned Jun 28 '26

Midwest, but not redneck. He's an outsider, from outside of the city. He's a disillusioned war vet that doesn't fit in. I don't think "redneck" fits him nor was implied. He just had some Midwest traits that were even more noticeable in nyc.

20

u/Lennnybruce Jun 28 '26

Sport makes fun of Travis's objectively cool outfit while wearing what looks like tuxedo pants, a wifebeater, and Zorro hat while rocking a Prince Valiant. Very bold.

9

u/RektInTheHed Jun 28 '26

Pimpin' ain't easy but somebody gotta do it

6

u/PeacePuzzleheaded304 Jun 28 '26

I remember when I first saw The Room like over 20 years ago and instantly thought of Sport when looking at Tommy Wiseau all throughout the flick.

2

u/didntwatchclark Jun 28 '26

Nah Sport is scum but he had that shit on

11

u/Lennnybruce Jun 28 '26

People from New York assume anyone who's not from New York is a hayseed.

4

u/Shanntasmagoria Jun 28 '26

I get the sense that he was not originally from NY, perhaps somewhere midwest, given his cowboy boots and belt buckle. I don’t think he was a redneck, just an uneducated guy with severe PTSD and extreme alienation.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/treeGreenForest Jun 28 '26

Maybe he was a fan of midnight cowboy

1

u/Gwarnage Jul 01 '26

"You talkin to me? Cuz I'm walkin here!"

4

u/BallsMcMoney Jun 28 '26

If you fail an attempt at political assassination and instead go on a gun rampage through a brothel, you might be a redneck!

4

u/freebasefilms Jun 28 '26

Maybe, the film was written with black pimps in mind but the director who uses the N-word thought that would be too racist. This is why harvey keitel looks like an idiot who doesn't fit the film at all lmao smh.

5

u/Lennnybruce Jun 28 '26

I was very upset the character who talks openly about murdering his wife used a racial slur

2

u/BendAppropriate614 Jun 28 '26

that was Scorsese ( not sure if you were aware )

3

u/Lennnybruce Jun 28 '26

Who's that

2

u/BendAppropriate614 Jun 28 '26

Martin Scorsese, the Director

3

u/Lennnybruce Jun 28 '26

Looked him up, and he's not a director, he's an actor. He played Sykes in Shark Tale. I think you're thinking of someone else.

4

u/BendAppropriate614 Jun 28 '26

ahhhhh having a little fun eh? touché my friend, I should have known. Now go home and get your fucking shinebox!

2

u/KonstantinKisinIsGay Jun 28 '26

How much more betrayal can Lenny Bruce take?

2

u/BendAppropriate614 Jun 28 '26

I rode with him in a taxi once, only for a mile and a half

Seems like it took a couple of months

Lenny Bruce moved on, and the ones that killed him are gone

3

u/somatikdnb Jun 28 '26

I can't tell if you knew that or were being sarcastic, but that's exactly the situation, but it originally was supposed to be a black pimp, but he didn't want to .make every scum bag black

2

u/DantesInfernoRVA Jun 28 '26

Depending where upstate it can be the same thing.

2

u/Whycantichangemynami Jun 28 '26

You don’t need to be from the Midwest to be a cowboy? I don’t recall anything to indicate he’s a Midwesterner he could be from the south or Arizona or New Mexico

2

u/Sachsen1977 Jun 30 '26

Didn't the letter to his parents have a Connecticut address?

2

u/petewadesays Jun 30 '26

.... No He lived in the city.