https://padlet.com/nschmitt01_2/52vhd3uoh0q12j17 en-us 2023-10-22 18:12:01 UTC 2023-10-22 20:05:33 UTC hello@padlet.com nschmitt01_2 https://padlet.com/nschmitt01_2/52vhd3uoh0q12j17/wish/2757921191 In Lunstad's essay she argues for the dichotomy of female roles in gangster genre films, and how they are split into "Good" Women and "Bad" Women. Typically, the good woman is the wife of the male lead role, this character is portrayed most commonly as weak, modest, and family bound, whereas the "Bad" Women is typically a side character like a mistress who's seen as cruel, sexually deviant, and self driven. This kind of mistress character is almost always killed off by the end of the film or show, reinstating an unfortunate thesis that these "bad women"  are irredeemable. 
However, what's interesting to me about Taxi Driver is that Iris is eventually able to be redeemed. While at first she is incredibly unwilling to hear out Travis's desires for her, he eventually sways her into his idea for her to go back to her family being that she's only twelve. At the end of the film we see travis reading a letter from Iris's parents telling him how grateful he is to have her back at home. 
Her storyline makes me really wonder if this was intentional to redeem her as a "bad" woman? or was it to suggest that it takes a man who redeem a "bad" women? 
I'm torn about it myself and I'm not entirely sure how we're supposed to view Iris in this light and whether or not she is redeemed at the end of the film.]]> 2023-10-22 18:32:30 UTC https://padlet.com/nschmitt01_2/52vhd3uoh0q12j17/wish/2757921191 nschmitt01_2 https://padlet.com/nschmitt01_2/52vhd3uoh0q12j17/wish/2757963587 As the only other female role in this film, it can be assumed that Betsy was supposed to represent as more of the "Good" woman type, when she's first seen she's wearing white and Travis compares her beauty to that of an angel, implying this good narrative upon her.
However, due to his failure of common dating knowledge and short temper she insists that he stays away from her,  leaving him in complete disdain of her character. Travis begins to compare her to the scum of the city after this altercation and essential changes her to a "Bad" woman despite her doing nothing truly wrong to him. 
At the end of the film we see her approach him and get into his cab, she tells him that she had seen the papers and seems to respect him for what he had done. However, we don't get too much information on how he feel about her now at the end of the film, all he does is smile as she leaves the cab. I believe the smile can indicate one of two things, either he's happy and hopes to have the "good" woman role back in his life, or the smile is out of smite as he still labels her a "bad" woman who only cares about him now that he had been put in all the papers as a hero.
Overall, I feel more that Betsy was supposed to represent the "good" woman role and that his heroic actions for Iris deemed him as worthy of her now, but it is quite an ambiguous ending in terms of their relationship dynamic.]]> 2023-10-22 19:36:26 UTC https://padlet.com/nschmitt01_2/52vhd3uoh0q12j17/wish/2757963587