“Taxi Driver and the Rage of the Incel” (2022-2023)

Since Taxi Driver was a movie I enjoyed watching several times in high school, I was amazed when I watched this movie again and realized its relevance today despite having been made in the 1970s. It was really interesting for me to explore the different reactions that people have had to this film. My first impulse was to question how the meaning of a work changes as society changes. It seemed obvious that Travis’s character symbolizes something very different today than he must have in the 1970s. But I soon found it fascinating that I was able to draw a parallel between Travis Bickle and Joker in the 2019 film Joker, as both characters are portrayed sympathetically despite being male terrorists empowered by violence and misogyny.

Through drafting and redrafting, I learned how to use a research question to dive deeper into a topic. I initially simply tried to connect Travis Bickle to the term “incel.” My research question at first was “Is Travis an incel?” I thought that an elaboration on the term and pointing out its relevance would be sufficient. Then, at some point, I started to wonder about the more difficult question of how movies like Taxi Driver set up a problematic form of empathy for a certain kind of man who weaponizes his self-pitying hatred toward women. It was challenging, but I realized that I really needed to ask myself: “What does it mean to call Travis an incel but still feel weirdly sympathetic to him?”

Stanley Yang, ‘25, is currently in a seven-year pre-dental program (BA/DDS), which will allow him to graduate with an undergraduate major in biology from the College of Arts and Science. He aspires to study oral and maxillofacial surgery. Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Stanley hopes to continue to pursue his academic curiosities at NYU. As a curious and open-minded research scientist with an eye for detail, he is eager to expand on his experiences outside of the classroom through research, community engagement, and practical application. His essay investigates incel culture, exploring his fascination through an analysis of fictional incel characters.