A career with impact: Martin Scorsese’s lasting influence on the theme of legacy
By Eliza Hemphill
September greeted me with a collection of Scorsese films. While each orbited the lives of entirely different characters, I noticed a theme of legacy ran deeply through all. As arguably one of the most established directors of our current age, Scorsese and his films have already created an everlasting impact. Yet it is through his study of character that I feel Scorsese’s unique interpretation of legacy shines most bright. “Better to be king for a night than schmuck for a lifetime.” King of Comedy’s Rupert Pupkin exclaims at the climax of his futile legacy seeking scramble. In films such as this, Taxi Driver and his more recent work, The Irishman, Scorsese tackles bitter and unforgiving portrayals of legacy.
Yet it is through his study of character that I feel Scorsese’s unique interpretation of lgeacy shines most bright
While each respective character in focus makes supreme efforts to attain legacy, emphasised only by Scorsese’s directional choices, each are confronted with a cruel reality. Each film explores this concept uniquely, yet each encourage audiences to consider life and legacy in an unconventional way. In these features I found Scorsese’s cold approach most striking. Throughout the films we follow each protagonist with such intensity. We follow them singularly in such an intimate fashion that the audience comes to understand them with an unparalleled level of immersion. We follow as they battle against the tides of life in an effort to grab anything lasting, to make themselves be anything more than another man passing, nameless and faceless, through the battered streets of New York. Despite this, we watch each character’s saga end with a jolting finality. A lingering camera shot leaves the audience to consider the legacy of the character’s lives as they would their own, emphasising the fragility of legacy.
Image: Harald Krichel via Wikimedia Commons
