MovieChat Forums > Midnight Cowboy (1969) Discussion > What the hell was wrong with his grandmo...

What the hell was wrong with his grandmother?


Why was she abusive and at times perversely so to Joe Buck when he was a child, what was wrong with her?

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She had Texanitis.

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Which caused her to be so abusive towards her young grandson like that and even perversely so at times? Also, what happened to Joe Buck's parents, did they die in WW2 or something?

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Joe's mother was a floozy, and we see her drop him off at Sally Buck's so she can party. He never knew whom his father was. I didn't see Sally as abusive...maybe neglectful. Anyway she died. It was all an effective dreamlike flashback during Joe's bus ride.

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Texanitis? My grandmother was a Texan, and was the sweetest granny a kid ever had.

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