Taxi Driver: A Closer Look At Charles Palantine
It’s no longer a trendy thing to say that politics is bullshit. In fact, that kind of categorization itself is kind of a cliche. A more mature way of approaching politics is from a standpoint of control. The idea of control is nothing new when it comes to the nature of the human animal’s desire for stability and a sense of order that allows it to better structure the sheer unpredictability of the world it inhabits. Politics plays a big role in this given that it often involves a candidate who looks to acquire the votes of masses of people turning to them as a means of having their needs and their desire for stability met. But again, in the end, it’s about control and a sense of order humanity can rarely deal without that they would rather be told what to do as opposed to adopting a more self-sovereign approach.
As a film, and in addition to being a great first-person narrative, Taxi Driver’s take on mental illness is primarily focused on the psyche of one character, that being Travis Bickle (Robert Deniro). However, when examining mental illness as a mass psychosis, then it becomes clear that there is a deeper way of looking at the environmental aspects of a film like Taxi Driver as an embodiment of such an idea. With regard to a character like Charles Palantine (Leonard Harris) and the effect his mild presence carries in the story, it is yet another environmental aspect of the film that works to serve as commentary for a1970’s United States and how that compares to the one it is currently undergoing.
It’s not an outlandish thing to say that Charles Palantine is barely a character within the narrative framework of a story like that of Taxi Driver. In fact, he operates more as a caricature of a political archetype we all have seen time and time again, and still do to some extent regarding the current state of chaos that defies a majority of the political climate we live in.
In the brief moments that Taxi Driver presents Charles Palatine, it is mostly to the standard politically performative nature that allows for a politician to express their stance on key issues affecting the environment which is determining the way in which they run for office. In the case of Taxi Driver’s mid-1970s background, Palantine brings up many key components like the public’s frustration with inflation, unjustified wars (Vietnam), political corruption, and the rampant crime wave that was taking place in the United States during that time. Although these matters are operating from a realm of facts, the fact of the matter is (pun intended), that there is still the overwhelming reality of having seen this type of politician far too many times to think anything remotely exceptional about him.
It doesn’t take a genius to point out the problems inherent to the deteriorating elements within a crumbling society. All it really takes is the kind of honesty few people embrace. In the case of Palantine, as correct as he is about the issues his character mentions which serve as environmental complements in shaping the mental perception a character like Travis Bickle has about the society he inhabits, it’s all just standard political rhetoric—or “mouth wash” as Betsy (Cyphil Shepard) would label when trying to sell him to voters.
The closest scene Taxi Driver has in presenting Charles Palantine in a more authentically human level is his first encounter with Travis. Although he does give the standard politician charm that can make even the most politically agonistic attracted to politics, Palantine still comes off as cold and as distant as the same crowd a man like Travis will see as irredeemable simply because of their superficiality. The only indication of authenticity from Palantine at that moment is conveyed more in the disturbing facial expressions he makes in reaction to the rant Travis makes regarding New York and all the “filth” he is incapable of truly defining, despite the passion he expresses when saying a man like Palantine should do everything in their power to “flush it down the fucking toilet.”
It’s not easy talking about a character like Palantine, who isn’t really a character when really he operates more in line with that of an avatar akin to the types of political forces rising in reaction to the state of crises a nation faces. Comparing Palantine to controversial significant figures like Ben Sanders, Alexandria Oscar Cortez, Andrew Yang, Tulsi Gabbard, or Ron Desantis would be understandable given the representation of his popularity within the film, as well as the focus he gives to tackling many critical factors that the U.S. was facing back then such as inflation, rampant crime, and a lot of political dissuasion regarding the war in Vietnam.
The closer look you give a man as politically caricatured as Charles Palantine will no doubt leave you in a state of doubt regarding whether or not there is any true sincerity in his desire to lift up to the very voters putting faith in him. Looking even closer will even trigger feelings of irony given how the same issues that were prevalent within the environment of a film like Taxi Driver, are surfacing as the hot topics of the even more openly politically hostile environment we all live in.
History has a great way of repeating itself, and when comparing the rhetoric of Taxi Driver’s Charles Palantine to that of some of the current figures willfully pointing out all the key issues the current presidential administration has failed to manage, it makes one wonder where this will go. As to whether one particular candidate or a selection of policies can bring the United States into a better state (pun intended) it is difficult to say. At the same time though, if realism is part of this analysis of the political elements within a film as culturally literate as that of Taxi Driver, then it would be far more intellectually mature to look at the matter from a more pessimistic lens. Now, whether a candidate like Palantine, in spite of the lack of deep emphasis, could bring a more restorative influence on the United States is debatable. But because he is primarily seen through the first-person perspective of a psychologically damaged man like Travis Bickle, whose unreliable perception of reality is what ultimately influences the audience's judgment of the story with Taxi Driver, then all bets of absolute certainty are off the table. But then again, our current political climate has ushered in so much hostility and diversity that when the idea of potential secession taking place within the United States is becoming a much more commonly discussed topic given how much insanity was once tied to it, then that only illustrates both the dependency a populace has placed within the realm of U.S. politics and how less of a guarantee can be attributed to it.
If Charles Palantine is truly representative of anything within our current political climate, then it would be fair to judge him from a cynically moot point where he is essentially just another candidate emerging through difficult economic times, expressing the same frustrations so many Americans feel, yet still lacking a sense of connection with the rawness of which the very disparities he mentions ultimately bring on those same people he claims to be for. His exchange with Bickle, bizarre as it is depicted, could paint him in a more sympathetic light given how freaked the fuck out he is by his aggressive demeanor. At the time though, the scene also works again Palantine in its ability to show the distance and overall lack of connection many politicians, even the most openly/sincerely idealistic ones, have with the voters and the environment they have to live, thrive, and ultimately die in 24/7.
As a film operating on many cinematic levels, what makes Taxi Driver truly unique, is that along with the first-person narrative approach in which its story is told, the variety of topics visualized through Bickel’s perspective allows for us to absorb, reflect, and even compare the links several of the topics mentioned ultimately say about the ways in which our cultural climate influences all our own understanding of reality. And the vagueness in which the film tackles Charles Palantine is no exception.
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