Representation of alienation problem in metropol in cinema: Taxi Driver

Alienation concept is one of the important concepts within sociology today. It is one of the social problems that people become isolated and alienated from theirselves and environment more and more in large cities where differentiation and overcrowding is such intensive with increasing urbanization in the present age. This concept establishes main framework of the study. The aim of this study is to review the description of alienation related to metropolis (the capital or chief city) of Georg Simmel, one of the philosophers in sociology field, through one of the social realist works in world cinema, Taxi Driver (1976). The claim that the film reflects social reality is grounded in this study. Visual analysis method, one of the qualitative research methods, has been preferred for the study. Research questions have been formed as suitable for the purpose of the study. These research questions have been analysed by visual analysis method from Taxi Driver and content analysis method. In the consequence of analysis and evaluations, it has been observed that in the New York metropolitan life of 1970s in Taxi Driver chosen for analysis, there are Georg Simmel's ideas and evaluations about alienation and experience in the film reflect these thoughts. At first, there is a similarity between the causes of alienation formed in the metropolis in Taxi Driver and those of Georg Simmel. Secondly, the option offered by Taxi Driver to escape from alienation and the concept of 'noble personality' which is offered by Georg Simmel against alienation are similar. Moreover, there is a similarity between the idea in the film that there is no escape from alienation in the metropolis and objective culture and Georg Simmel's thought that there is no escape from alienation and objective culture in monetary metropolis and also individuals will adapt to this objective culture with trauma. Key Words: Alienation, Metropolitan life, Money