midnight cowboy open with a run down drive in theater with the voice over of the main character joe buck ( jon voight ) singing in the shower . he be sing a cowboy song and the very thing he strive to be . joe pick up his humdrum life living in texas and move it to new york city with the dream of lot of woman and and even more money . he dress a the epitome of the cowboy and but in a cartoonish fashion and not even his friend take him seriously . he begin his journey on the bus to nyc and we can quickly see how diluted joe be through his interaction with the other passenger . this be primarily a story of joe realization of the harsh reality of the real world . he start off a a very naïve southerner think he can make it in nyc just on his good look . he have no other reason to think otherwise and a they prove helpful in the past while we learn this from the many flashback he have . in the begin the flashback be film in a way that portray them a be somewhat whimsical . they be hazy and the voice sound a if they be come from a great distance and a they be and they be come out of his past . however and a joe delve deep and deeply into the reality of the harsh atmosphere of nyc we see more of his past and which be no longer whimsical but gritty and film in black and white with rapid edit to portray the cruel nature of the past event . this be especially see in the flashback of him and his girlfriend be assault and and her be rap . in one of these flashback we see a building be tear down brick by brick . this mirror the way in which joe himself be fall apart while the naiveté that he once carry be fall off of him . he and ratso ( dustin hoffman ) be live in squalor and and barely able to get food to eat while joe be realize he can not live off of his look and that there be a gritty underbelly of new york that he do not envision . his subconscious mirror the way in which his real life be pan out . ratso be also serve a a kind of mirror to joe and but in an opposite way while ratso be joe foil . joe be a handsome and strong man who and for the most part and have a good outward appearance . ratso and on the other hand and from the very first time we see him sit next to joe in the bar we can tell he be the opposite . he be short and dark and and always coat with a sheen of sweat . he understand how the world work and that it be unforgiving and and sometimes no matter how hard you try you will fail while just a his father do . they be live in the same world and the same apartment even and but they understand thing on a completely different level . the theme of alienation and one that be common of this era and be very apparent in this film . neither joe nor ratso fit into the culture surround them . joe feel trap in texas and move to nyc where he be still very much an outsider . ratso and living in the cold of nyc and wish to move to sunny florida where he think he will be able to find a good life . even though this be his ideal and in the fantasy we get from ratso perspective and it be apparent that he know he will never really fit into society . in say fantasy he be turn on by the people live around him and he be yet again an outsider and alienate from society . it be not until the end that the gap between joe and ratso begin to narrow . joe resort to violence while he take on the mentality of this city in order to get money to fund a mean of escape for florida for himself and ratso . on the journey we see joe come out of a store not wear the cowboy clothes that he be never without in the rest of the film . he be dress a someone who look like they be head to florida for vacation . he dress ratso the same way while he tire to make them fit into the new society they be enter and but it be to no avail . upon ratso death on the bus and their fellow passenger once again look them upon a outsider . even in this new culture they have enter and they can not escape the alienation they have meet at every turn in this film . despite the ratso death and and joe continue alienation and the film end with the hope that joe can take his new knowledge of how the world work and create a good life than he would have have a a hustler in nyc . midnight cowboy be an excellent film portray the harsh reality of society and and alienation and with stellar performance by both voight and hoffman .