The eventual withdrawal of troops during the Vietnam War is seen as the pivotal move, stabilizing a struggling America after a series of social and political movements of more and more antagonistic in conflict. The history leading up to this point is often referred to as the tumultuous sixties because, from the outset of the Korean War, deep social and political divisions caused social unrest and, in my view, d a considerable deterioration in the quality of life in cities. . For the first time in American history, civil disobedience was highly publicized and capable of influencing the actions of ordinary citizens. Through the civil rights movement, the feminist movement, the anti-war movement, and the emergence of the counterculture, people living together with different perspectives caused riots, violence, and a deterioration of daily life. The ultimate result of the civil movements of the 1960s continued into the 1970s and had a fairly notable impact on America's urban centers. Nowhere has the emergence of anarchy been more evident than in New York. According to Vincent Cannato in The Ungovernable City: John Lindsay and His Struggle to Save New York, "Between 1966 and 1973, New York's murder rate rose 137 percent... car thefts increased 84 percent, thefts – 209 percent, assaults – 64 percent, rapes: 112 percent. “In addition to the massive emergence of violent crime, the culture of New York City,” Cannato asserts, “has transformed into one of public fear. Cannato, through the words of New York Times reporter David Burnham, claims that citizens were too afraid to go about their daily lives and developed habitual paranoid precautions. Cinema has undoubtedly served as an effective means of expressing this state of society. According to a film critic... middle of paper ... create a realistic depiction of what life was like in New York. As a result, Taxi Driver provided a more realistic account of the state of the city and the sense of helplessness that accompanies it. According to Scorsese, this was accomplished both visually and through Travis' actions. Scorsese claims that Taxi Driver's considerable visual influence stems from "[my] impressions of growing up in New York and living in the city." As for Travis' vigilante actions, Scorsese argues that due to Travis's experience in Vietnam and the general feeling that accompanies life in a big city, "society is in a state of decadence; the police forces are not doing their job by authorizing prostitution on the streets... this feeling of frustration swings the pendulum. Travis was forced to respond despite his inability to produce change..