Martin Scorcese, "Travis Bickel is now the norm"

Don't depend on other people to give your life meaning. Because collectivism is promoted by the modern status quo (because a collective is much easier to control than an individual), it seems one must somehow be part of a group of some sort to have meaning. As always, that is nonsense. Individuals make history. Ignore the crowd. Also, don't feel sorry for yourself. And don't complain. Once you are satisfied being alone, you will move through this world with unparalleled confidence.

In that interview Scorsese says that he saw Bickle as the main character from Dostoevsky’s Notes From The Underground - a self-sabotaging nihilist.

Check out this great summary of the book: https://youtu.be/TxvyLnYuIgo?si=vHNtk5vVGzT_iPne

We see them more now. They were always there. I think we can see them in comics like The Dark Knight Returns. We can see them in the aimless rebels in The Wild One. In fact, if we look closely, we can even see them in the angry, vengeance without thought of Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet.

I think it is more "popular" to be Travis Bickle, or maybe it's just that the Travises have finally found ways to meet up and form groups, but they have walked with us for years.

Time once was there would only be a few Travis types in a society. Actually, smaller tribes might have prevented them to some extent. Hard to be aimless and anti-social in a world where you have to hunt every day to survive and depend upon the other hundred-odd people you live with. Those Travises that emerged would likely have been identified and course-corrected by stronger male role models in their lives. I do think we are missing some of those role models. So, yes, maybe the number has gone up...