MovieChat Forums > Walk the Line (2005) Discussion > Was Cash's first wife really this stupid...

Was Cash's first wife really this stupid?

posted 8 years ago by Hythlodaeus
16 replies | jump to latest

Okay, so I empathize that his first wife had it hard. But did she really think griping at him all the time was gonna help?

This is very much the way it is for men in a traditional marriage. We are working our tails off to try to provide all the stuff our family needs but then our wives gripe that we're never home, or that when we are home we can't help falling asleep sometimes.

Such women never get to sleep, but they also don't deal with some of the pressures that working men deal with and stress produces exhaustion and if we can't rest at home, we inadvertently take that stress out on our families. This is why many men retreat to their work and become workaholics because they cannot figure out how to please their wives when they are at home and figure at least they can keep the money rolling in.

Then when the inevitable divorce comes the woman tells everyone and the court that the husband didn't care about the family and the man loses his kids because the wife is the one who knows all the kids' friends and all the teacher's names and takes care of all the doctor's appointments that the father would love to know and be involved in but HE HAS TO WORK. And if he doesn't work and tries to be a father-mother then she gets on him for not working enough and tells the court that he is lazy and didn't provide monetarily for his family.

Now in the modern two-wage-earner family - husbands need to be smart and have their wife work enough such that she can bear some of that burden and he can spend time with his kids. That way the marriage can work and if it doesn't he can still make a case for custody of his kids.

What hump? 

[–] flicky-3 8 years ago

this is a great post/point.

I'm glad the modern family has evolved to the point where both husband/wife understand that they have to understand each other's needs (financial/emotional).

Johnny and Vivian didn't seem to have that.

I wonder if Vivian really understand Johnny's world away from home. Probably not. I think if she did she would have/should have backed off from him a little bit.

I don't think the movie presents any judgements on either of them (Johnny/Vivian) but at least is showed how they were pulled in opposite directions.

[–] Hythlodaeus 8 years ago

Yes, I don't think the movie judged either of them (maybe Vivian a little and maybe John too little) but the modern family has to evolve - right now having one foot in the past and one foot in the future is actually the marriage having one foot in the grave.

What hump? 

[–] flicky-3 8 years ago

Can you explain your comment?

I'm a little confused.

Do you mean the marriage is doomed if one partner thinks the marriage should be old fashioned and the other thinks the marriage should be modern?

[–] Hythlodaeus 8 years ago

Yup you got me - that's what I meant - but I also meant that all of society has to evolve.

[–] flicky-3 8 years ago

Hythlodaeus thanks for clarifying and I agree with your thoughts

[–] smolo82 8 years ago

In real life she wasn't as crazy/mean as this movie made her to be. They wanted to make June a better woman since she was more or less the "home wrecker". While June and Johnny were better together then they were with other people they were worse partners to the previous ones.

Read cash biographies.

[–] Wartle 8 years ago

In real life she wasn't as crazy/mean as this movie made her to be.

I'm not sure I agree with you...I mean this is the woman who, in her own book, wrote that the song Ring Of Fire was never co-written by June Carter, that all Carter's stories about writing the song were BS, and that in reality the song was written solely by Johnny Cash when he was pilled up and drunk and that the song was about a vagina. She does come across as incredibly vindictive, petty, and mean spirited in the real world.

[–] OnlyRocknRoll 8 years ago

Vivian was expecting a traditional marriage. You don't get that if you marry a musician. She was not expecting to marry a musician. And don't forget that J. R. Cash wanted HER and went after HER. Her family did not like or want him for her.

Once he had children with Vivian he should have kept it zipped. You don't abandon/reject children in order to play music, take drugs, and cheat on your wife and then act like you are the offended party.

His career amazes me since he could only sing two notes.

The only reason there needs to be a two-wage family today is because of the INFLATION caused by Nixon and perpetuated by Reagan.

Husbands need to understand COMMITMENT both to the marriage and their FATHERHOOD.

_______________________________________
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED??!!

Maximus Decimus Meridius

[–] Hythlodaeus 8 years ago

Agreed on all you said, usually I would take your position. However, my point is that Vivian also (as portrayed) needed to realize the pressures he was under.

Marriage is about two people both trying to forgive and figure out how to do what the other needs.

I suspect with Cash, he didn't really know what he needed and was figuring that out through his career.

What hump? 

[–] LukeLovesFilm28 7 years ago

Vivian was expecting a traditional marriage. You don't get that if you marry a musician. She was not expecting to marry a musician. And don't forget that J. R. Cash wanted HER and went after HER. Her family did not like or want him for her.

Typical. You make women out to be so weak in the knees for men who "want" them, they become too incompetent to make decisions on their own. Johnny didn't hold a gun to her head. He's making all of the sacrifices by trying to give her the traditional marriage she wants. He doesn't get to be with his daughters. He doesn't seem to even get a fcking break.

Are you like his dad who says that what he does is nothing?? He needed her support. He needed her to be cool. And right from the fcking start, she shows him that she is not there for him... only what he can give her.

Get off your soapbox while I play you a tune on the tiniest violin.

[–] evilcookiepixie 8 years ago

Are you for real? Johnny is out having fun, chasing his dream, taking drugs, drinking and having sex with groupies and then the wife is in the wrong because she pissed off that after being stuck at home alone, raising their kids, she doesn't even get to spend time with him when he's home? You have got to be kidding me.

[–] Hythlodaeus 8 years ago

I used to be more judgmental of people until I realized that people deal with pain and fame and any sort of pressure in different ways.

I never said he was right just that Vivian wasn't going to be successful if she pushed him further away.

[–] LukeLovesFilm28 7 years ago

I see. A man who is following his dreams is having fun. At one point, we see that he is taking drugs. But it doesn't get really bad until their first big fight in his den. And look how she treats him in that scene. She doesn't care to hear him talk or tell her stories. She doesn't want to listen to him or treat him like a human being. All he is to her is a human doing. Someone she can take from and that's it. Why do people like you make staying home, raising kids out to be as bad as jail?? That's the life Vivien wanted. That's not jail. He's busting his ass, WORKING on his craft. That doesn't mean he's always having a good time.

Get off your soapbox while I play you a tune on the tiniest violin.

[–] dellahicks 8 years ago

I read an article after the movie was first released, that indicated Cash's daughters, especially Kathy were not pleased with how their mother Vivian was portrayed. The movie only scratched the surface of Johnny's addictions and unfaithfulness to his first wife.

[–] MayoGalway 8 years ago

Read the trivia pg. I always do before hitting the message board. It deals with relationships and reactions. Good informative read.

[–] 8 years ago

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