Walk the Line

The movie I chose was “Walk the Line”. The biography chronicles the early lives of Johnny and June Carter Cash and the struggles they dealt with in their personal lives and careers. Johnny (or J.R. as he was originally named) was one of Ray and Carrie Cash’s seven children and grew up on a poor cotton farm in rural Arkansas. As the movie begins, it introduces the viewer to Johnny’s mother, who taught him to sing gospel songs, his father, who was a heavy drinker and verbally abusive at times to his family, and to Jack – the brother that Johnny looked up to. While sawing wood at a neighbor’s one day, Jack told Johnny to go fishing and he would finish the work. After Johnny left, Jack had a terrible accident and died from his injuries. His father seemed to blame Johnny for not being with Jack when he was killed. As an adult, Johnny’s singing career grew, but his marriage to his 1st wife crumbled as he started drinking heavily and taking drugs and falling in love with another woman (June Carter), June was dealing with her own issues of insecurities about her talent and her 2 failed marriages. Over time, they help each other face insecurities, guilt, and overcoming Johnny’s addictions and rebuilding his career. They also build a relationship together and Johnny and his dad come to reconcile by the movie’s end. The movie depicts several issues associated with the sociology of families. Issues like, social class issues, blame, guilt, verbal abuse, drug abuse, self-esteem and acceptance. Johnny did not receive emotional support from his primary group as a child (Chapter 1, pg 7). He suffered “psychological maltreatment” (emotional abuse) from his father when he blamed him for his brother’s death, criticized and put down his talents and achievements (Chapter 14, pg. 393). His own guilt made Johnny feel responsible for the brother’s death (source 2). Johnny’s father’s behavior might best be explained by the “patriarchy (male dominance) theory”, which is when men feel