I did some research online a while back and I think NYC did see a rise in crime during the seventies, but was the city really as disgusting and morally bankrupt as the movie presented it to be? I realize it's fiction, but I'm curious if there was truth there. I guess you could also argue that it was how Travis viewed the world even if it wasn't necessarily reality.
hi! not discouraging NYC historians from contributing here, but fyi there have been a few threads on this topic that you might find interesting
Why did New York City deteriorate in the late 1960s and 70s only to recover in the late 70's and 80's - featuring NYC flair /u/Yearsnowlost
Was New York of the 1970s the shithole movies make it out to be? - more from /u/Yearsnowlost
How did non-Americans regard New York City in the 1980s and early 1990s? - more from /u/Yearsnowlost
Why were the Late 70's/Early 80's a low point for many American cities?
if you have followup questions on locked threads, ask them here & include the relevant user's username so they'll be auto-notified
p.s. the expression "seeing through rose-tinted glasses" means seeing something better than it actually is, being oblivious of the defects