Walk The Line

I have previously seen the movie “Walk the Line,” many times, but this time I realized how motivation and emotion really drive this movie to become such an interesting drama. While watching the movie again I noticed how a lot of Johnny Cash’s behaviors were linked to what is known as autonomy. Autonomy is defined in the textbook as the desire to make your own decision and make those decisions when you want meaning you have the freedom and flexibility to make your own choices (Reeve 2009). The first example of autonomy that caught my attention was during the scene when Johnny Cash played by Joaquin Phoenix returns home from his first short tour. Johnny’s first wife informs him about a new rule she is implementing. Her rule states that when Johnny is home from touring he is not allowed to talk about his tour or what experiences he has had. Johnny freaks out and yells that he already has too many rules in his life and doesn’t want to deal with more at home. Understanding autonomy can help explain why Johnny gets so upset in this scene. Without autonomy a person may become frustrated because they have lost their right to choose and make decisions on their own. They don’t get to pick what they like to do because someone else is choosing for them. In this movie Johnny lacks autonomy in his home life so he begins to enjoy his abundance of autonomy when he travels on tour. Yes there are times when he has to follow strict rules during the tour like when and where he plays, but Johnny lashes out in certain ways in order to gain more autonomy. For example Johnny chooses to do drugs, and he makes the rules when and where and why he takes the drugs. Through autonomy a person can express their likes and dislikes with certain behaviors and actions. One major example of Johnny’s autonomy is his romantic interest in June Carter. For a person to feel well balanced and truly happy they want their behaviors and actions linked to their wants and desires. During the entire movie it is obvious that Johnny is looking for that balance by begging June to tour with him and even later marrying him. It must be understood that a feeling of autonomy is a psychological need, and without it they may lose motivation to act or behave in a certain way. Johnny’s touring days were autonomy supportive meaning the environment left plenty of slack for Johnny to make his own choices. Whether it is choosing to cheat on his wife or to do drugs he had the freedom to decide on his own. On the other side, one could say his touring days were controlling his autonomy because he did not have the option to choose when and where to play, what hotel he would stay at, or how long he would be away from his family. This is just a small part of how autonomy was represented in this movie.

Anyone can see how Johnny and his father’s relationship hindered Johnny’s happiness in life. His father was a tough love type of man who put a world of blame on Johnny’s shoulders since he was a little boy. Psychologically speaking, you could say his father definitely controlled Johnny’s autonomy. What made life even harder for Johnny was the ways in which he attempted at motivating his son. In my opinion, I feel that throughout his entire life Johnny’s father was trying to motivate his son to be a strong willed independent man. He did not always use the best motivating techniques, but even negative motivation can make someone change. Johnny’s father used motivation techniques such as fear, guilt, shame, and anxiety. These techniques formed Johnny’s future lifestyle, and his entire life he spent trying to show his dad that he was a successful hard working man who demanded respect. Even later in life, he wants to hear his dad’s approval of the large house he bought on his own along with a large amount of property. Still, his dad finds a way to bring him down by saying you don’t have anything but an empty house with no family and a nice tractor that sits in the mud. This specific scene is a perfect example of how the father uses a controlling motivating style. This scene shows aspects of controlled motivation with the father’s lack of approval and how he threatened Johnny’s self-esteem. This movie was very real to life and is a great example of how important autonomy is to people. It shows both supportive and controlling autonomous environments and even goes on to show how these environments can impact a person’s motivation to behave and act a certain way.

"Walk the Line" had quite a few examples of autonomy. John had a great need for autonomy. One scene that expressed this was when Vivian (his wife) wanted him to go work for her dad but John wanted to try things out with his band. Another scene that expressed autonomy was when Vivian wanted to make it a rule for John to never talk about his music while he was at home. John said in return that he's tired of people making rules for him. Both of these scenes show that John wanted freedom to make his own decisions and to do things the way he wanted to do them. It frustrated him that Vivian wasn't interested in his music and dreams.

June had an autonomy-supportive motivating style. With this style, she motivated John by identifying and nurturing his inner motivational resources (his interests and psychological needs). She kept him on track with his music career and supported his decision to do a live recording at Folsom Prison. She helped him get through his drug addiction by being there for him when he was going through the withdrawal and chased the drug dealer away. She also told John to start taking credit for things and to love himself.

June satisfied John's need for relatedness unlike Vivian did. June genuinely cared for his well-being and was responsive to his needs. John gravitated toward June, who he trusted, and drifted away from Vivian. John's marriage to Vivian wasn't emotionally satisfying for him and seemed to be full of conflict, stress, and criticism. His marriage to June, on the other hand, was very supportive and emotionally satisfying. John functioned better when June was around. When she wasn't, he took more pills, got drunk, and was destructive. All of this shows that relatedness was an important motivational construct for John.

John's relationship with his dad (Ray) didn't satisfy his need for relatedness. This is because his dad wasn't supportive of him. For instance, after Jack died, Ray told John that the wrong son was taken and that John was nothing. John was always looking for his dad's approval. This was definitely shown when they were having Thanksgiving at John's new house. John asked his dad what he thought of the house and didn't receive a comment whatsoever. His dad never gave him positive feedback on any aspect of his life. He also never gave him praise on his successes.

John sought out an optimal challenge to satisfy his need for competence when his band and he went to the recording studio to audition for Sam Phillips. Sam didn't think John had enough feeling in his music. He suggested John sing something that told people who he was. John started singing a song he wrote back in the Air Force and that got him on Sam's label. Thus, John made progress on developing his skills which satisfied his need and gave him satisfaction.

John's drug addiction definitely brought about the motivational states of wanting and liking. He wanted to try the pills because he was told that Elvis took them. Once he got hooked on them, his liking for them increased. This caused him to rely on them. His addiction caused him to do a lot of bad things. The following are some of the bad things he did while taking the pills: he lied to June about taking the pills, made a fool of himself and passed out on stage while performing drunk and high, walked all the way from Nashville to see June while high, and went to jail for smuggling pills. His drug addiction became his downfall until June took over and helped him get off them.

I really liked this movie and how unique John's music is! It was touching to see how much John loved June and what he'd do and go through just to be with her. It was great to see that John had a happy ending to his life after all he'd been through. I'd highly recommend this movie!

Let me start of by saying that I enjoyed "Walk the Line" FAR better than "Ray". Almost everything about this movie was better in comparison. Not only that, but I feel as though the acting truly inspired in this film. Not that the acting in "Ray" wasn't, but I was far more drawn into the plot and music in "Walk the Line", and I am not even that huge of a Johnny Cash fan. Learning about his life was both informative and fascinating.

Okay...on to the actual assignment now. The first thing I want to explore is the intrinsic motivation that gets Johnny Cash into the music business in the first place. We know that Johnny Cash is intrinsically motivated because he is willing to sacrafice everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING he has to make sure he is able to have music be a central part in his life. Even as a little boy, he would defy his father's wishes and not turn off the stero when he was asked. This is one of the first things we see in the movie. Young Johnny Cash is sitting in his beroom with his older brother, Jack, listening to the radio. Their father yells up the stairs to turn the radio off and that it is time to go to bed. Instead of turning the radio off, Johnny simply changes the station. When he hears a young June Carter sing, he is even more inclined to listen to the radio. He wants to hear the music. It is not until Johnny's older brother Jack comes to turn the radio off that Johnny finally listens.

Later on, when Johnny Cash gets older and starts a family of his own, the music is still the most important thing to him. Johnny Cash's wife, Vivian, even arranges a fantastic job opportunity for him. Vivian's father has a job that would ensure that Johnny and Vivian would be taken care of, along with their two little girls, for the rest of their lives together. This, however, is not nearly enough to keep Johnny away from his music. He still insists that he stay with his band and try and land some sort of a record deal. This part of the movie really irritated me. Even though it is clear what Johnny's passion was, it is hard to see a guy put his family's needs and desires so far behind his own. Even if he had taken the job with his father-in-law, he could have still worked on his music. Maybe not as much, but there would still have been time. Even if he had to wait until he and his family got on their feet, it still would have been worth it. In the end, however, Johnny Cash lost his wife Vivian and hardly ever got to see his two lovely daughters. The motivation he felt inside himself to become a musician must have been pretty strong if he were willing to give up all of that in his life.

Johnny was also intrinsically motivated to go after who he thought to be the love of his life, June Carter. We see this manifest itself because, even though he had a family, he still had this urge to go after June. He fell head-over-heels in love with her. Johnny couldn't even manage to follow his wife's request of not putting pictures of her up in their home.

Johnny's brother Jack was a healthy combination of intrinsically and extrinsically motivated. Jack was extrinsically motivated by the desire to have approval from his father to help out more and be a hard-working son. He wanted to make sure he helped take care of his family. Even though he knew the work was hard, Jack was willing to get it done. We see this when young Johnny Cash goes up to his brother and makes the comment that maybe their father will let them quit their chores early to go fishing. Jack's immediate reply was that they would go fishing some other day. Work was more important to Jack because he knew there were people counting on him. Wanting to please his family may have also played into his desire to become a preacher. You could tell he was more intrinsically motivated with his desired career choice, however, when we see him sitting up during the night reading his copy of the Bible. Jack was reading the bible purely on his own and, as far as we can tell, no one had told him to and no one came to check up on him to make sure he was doing it. This shows some sort of intrinsic motivation to read the Bible and for Jack to prepare himself for his future.

June Carter seemed to have been a little more extrinsically motivated when it came to music. She loved it and it made her happy, of course, but you could tell that it wasn't all that she wanted to do in her life. Also, she started singing at a very young age. Johnny Cash listened to her sing on the radio when she was only ten years old. Don't get me wrong, ten year olds can be capable of knowing what they want, but it is also quite plausible that June's parents had something to do with it. June even had a sister that sang, so you could tell that music was something the majority of the family did. June also had dreams and goals outside of just music. She wanted to settle down and take proper care of her daughters. She wanted a family. When you are more intrinsically motivated to do something, there is little to nothing that will get in your way. June was far more intrinsically motivated to be a good mother and be a good person.

The most shocking thing, to me, was how much of an alcoholic and pill-taker that Johnny Cash turned out to be. It is unclear where the motivation from this comes from. My best guess is that the emotions from having watched his brother die and having been raised by a father that always said Johnny Cash wouldn't amount to anything had something to do with his desire to start. The alcohol and the pills may have helped Johnny numb these negative emotions. It also didn't help that Johnny would drink with his fellow musician friends at times. A pattern I started to notice was that Johnny would always be at his worst when something bad happened in his life or when he was feeling quite negative about something. Examples of this are when his marriage ended and June kept refusing his marriage proposals and another time when Johnny Cash was at the Thanksgiving table with his family and started talking to his dad about his brother's death. These were stressful events that Johnny didn't really know how to handle. These were also the times where he seemed to be at his absolute worst. After having taken the alcohol and drugs so often, Johnny became extrinsically motivated to keep taking it because his body had this craving for those substances.

Staying on track with his alcohol and pill usage, this is a great example of psychological needs. As briefly touched upon before, Johnny Cash developed a bodily need for these substances. The pills he was taking, along with the alcohol, formed in Johnny a clear addiction. He felt as though he literally needed these substances to keep himself from going crazy. Ironically, he went crazy by taking them as well. Johhny's addiction led him to lose his original family, caused a negative uproar in his career, and almost made him lose the true love of his life. What Johnny really needed was to quite cold-turkey and detox his body. Also, it did not help that Johnny would drink with his bandmates. This sense of relatedness helped Johnny feel as though it was okay to drink and that he was not alone. At this point in the movie, Johnny didn't really have the strong relationships he needed. Sure he had his family, but he never saw them and never really took the time to talk to them. Johnny was on the road all the time and only really had his bandmates to talk to, and they were clearly not the greatest of influences. The scene that always sticks out in my mind whenever I watch this movie is when June walks in to the rehearsal stage and sees Johnny and his band sitting together drunk on the stage. She proceeds to pick up their empty beer bottles and throw them in their direction. Thanks to June and his father, Johnny was able to totally detox himself later in life. Those were the kind of relationships he neede from the beginning. June seemed to be one of the only people that was finally able to keep Johnny grounded and get his life back on track.

In summation, "Walk the Line" was a fantastic movie ripe with wonderful examples of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. It also had great examples of psychological and relationship needs in life. Johnny Cash and June Carter both symbolize what is great about music, that being the passion people put behind it. It is important to be motivated to do something because you want to do it and feel that it will make you and others happy and successful somehow in life. I would reccommend this movie to anyone and everyone.

Motivation is a major underlying theme in the movie Walk the Line and the previous movie Ray. Johnny Cash’s is also similar to the life of Ray Charles. Each had a brother who passed away while they were in their childhood which continued to be an influence in each of their lives as they grew up. Johnny and Ray struggled with addiction and lived very public lives in the music industry. Johnny’s life takes many twists and turns throughout his career and around each corner is another obstacle that he overcomes because of his motivation.

The beginning of the movie portrays Johnny’s life as young boy growing up in Arkansas. It becomes clear that his father is not doing the job of being a father. Johnny and his brother Jack are seen listening to music and you can overhear their father yelling at them to turn it off. The connection between the brothers clearly shows their bond with one another. Sadly, Jack dies after an accident with a saw while cutting wood for a man. Johnny had been watching after his brother while he was cutting the wood, but was becoming increasingly more anxious to go fishing so his brother told him he would be okay and that he could go. Johnny’s father quickly places the blame upon him and always gives Johnny a grim look as if he’s never moved on from that day. A Thanksgiving dinner scene later in the movie shows how much of his motivation came from his father. Johnny eagerly wants to hear his father tell him he’s proud of what he’s accomplished but rather his father tells him he has a big house, but it’s empty. He has an expensive tractor that Johnny got stuck in the mud. He continues berating Johnny and telling him that he himself was able to get rid of his drinking problem but it was obvious that Johnny hadn’t along with his pill popping addiction. Johnny becomes so angry he run outside and attempts to get the tractor out of the mud. Johnny wants his life to be so much better than his and needs to hear that from his father. Johnny is striving for autonomy. The textbook defines autonomy as the psychological need to experience self-direction and personal endorsement in the initiation and regulation of one’s behavior. Johnny wanted to be able to make all those decision for himself rather than allow other people to make them for him.

Music was an intrinsic motivator for Johnny. From listening to the radio and being able to name the artists to purchasing his first guitar, music always motivated Johnny. The day that his brother Jack’s accident occurred, Johnny was fishing and humming music and signing lyrics. He saw music as his way out. Even though Johnny had many struggles throughout life, music remained a primary motivator. (Before Johnny made it big, he joined the air force.) Johnny met and married Vivian who struggles with Johnny’s music career. Before his career takes off, he provides for his family as a salesman but Vivian is concerned it won’t provide now that they have a daughter. Johnny still believed that his music could be the financial reward that his family needed. He continues pursuing his music career and before long he is out touring with June Carter.

June Carter also became a motivator for Johnny. June’s motivation was both intrinsic and extrinsic. She was able to guide him to follow his interests and to exercise his capacities. He strived for growth in his musical career. Johnny now had a growing family and as one would think a great life. But Johnny has always had a thing for June Carter. While in the air force he would swoon over her pictures and now he was on the road with her. Johnny’s drinking and addiction to pills increasingly became worse. Even though June came to care about him a lot, she stopped touring with him because of his actions.

Vivian quickly becomes leery of June and her ability to relate with Johnny because of their music career and experiences on the road. Relatedness is defined in the textbook as the psychological need to establish close emotional bonds and attachments with other people, and it reflects the desire to be emotionally connected to and interpersonally involved in warm relationships. They had the ability to relate to on another because they were on the road together. They had great chemistry and it became an audience favorite when the two of them would perform together. Therefore, Vivian makes a rule that while Johnny is home he isn’t allowed to speak about anything that happens in the road. While out on the road Johnny was able to do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. At home, it was a different story. This is another example of Johnny’s desire for autonomy in his life. It may be that the drugs and alcohol were in a way his way of over compensating for the lack of autonomy at when he’s at home.

Johnny’s intrinsic motivation is also present when it comes to the persistence for a relationship and marriage with June Carter. After his own marriage falling apart and June’s marriages ending, Johnny is continually asking for her hand in marriage. She repeatedly turns him down but that never stops him. He has loved June Carter since the first time he heard her on the radio and saw her pictures in the air force. June Carter experiences a lot of major events in Johnny’s life. Specifically, she is the primary reason Johnny quits drinking and stops taking the pills. After the tractor crashes into the water, June keeps Johnny in his house and begins to sober him up. She relates his life in that moment to walking a line. Johnny also showed his intrinsic motivation when he went to his record company and told them of his idea to record an album live at Folsom prison. They didn’t want to do that at all. They were okay with the idea of recording an album live, but not from a prison. Johnny tells them he’ll be there recording on that date and he was going to do it no matter what. This album turned out to be very successful.

Johnny Cash never really had an easy life but he managed to stay motivated and keep his music career in his sights at all times. Many obstacles attempted to bring him down such as the drugs and alcohol but at those time people in his life were able to help pull him back up. Johnny ends up marrying the love of his life and they continued touring. Walk the Line was a great movie and I enjoyed watching it!

I am a fan of Johnny Cash’s music, so I thought the movie was quite interesting. Although some parts were nearly depressing, I really enjoyed watching this video. While watching the movie, I chose to think about some examples that support the information I learned in chapter six about Supporting Autonomy.
At a young age, Johnny and his brother Jack loved to listen to June Carter’s songs on the radio. The boys’ mother also loved music, especially songs written in hymnals. However, the boys’ father disliked music and demanded that the boys never listen to the radio. The fact that Johnny’s father forbids listening to music in the home interferes with Johnny’s autonomy—trying to steer Johnny away from his dream. With the support of his mother and memory of his brother, Johnny chose the “opportunities for self-direction” and pursued his dream of being a musician (Reeve, p. 148). Johnny’s father seemed to be the only person discouraging his decision of following his dream at the time.
Next, we watch Johnny making plans to get married to Vivian. Vivian supported Johnny’s dreams and hopes about becoming a singer and songwriter. The couple had very high hopes for the future. The couple began having children and when finances ran short, Vivian pressured Johnny to try harder at his job so the family could make ends meet. Vivian’s controlling motivating style influenced Johnny’s attitude about work, trying harder, writing more songs, and making money. It seemed to be a very stressful time for Johnny and his family. Finally, Johnny’s opportunity struck and his small band made a record. Vivian was overjoyed. From then on, Johnny’s fame exploded and the family’s finances increased.
Vivian supported Johnny’s decision to tour. However, while away, Johnny began working longer hours and became more and more tired. When Johnny was home with his wife and kids, Johnny seemed to be very exhausted. Vivian only wanted for the family to be together, without interruption—without any talk about the tour. Yet, her control of the household to suppressed Johnny’s motivation and he began drawing away from his wife. On the other hand, during most of the tour, June Carter became Johnny’s autonomy-supportive motivator. June encouraged Johnny to continue to perform his best and throughout the movie, their friendship grew stronger and a romantic, nurturing relationship became the result.
In the textbook, Reeve states, “People with an autonomy-supportive motivating style motivate others by nurturing their inner motivational resources, whereas people with a controlling style motivate others by using outer motivational sources” (p. 149). During the movie, I noticed June provided the support and nurturing resources that helped Johnny continue to succeed in the music industry. June witnessed the tractor incident and saved Johnny’s life. June also helped Johnny recover from his drug addiction. Through these hard times, June expressed her deep concern and supported Johnny’s recovery almost every step of the way. Meanwhile, it seemed that Johnny turned away from wife who used a controlling motivation in their relationship. Vivian seemed to have given up on the marriage as well. She could not bear to see her husband use drugs and to see him performing with another woman.
In all, Johnny’s musical talent led him to become one of the most famous musicians; however, the journey was not easy. Johnny succeeded in his music career because he had autonomy supportive motivation from June Carter, dedicated fans, and in the memories of his mother and brother. All of these people helped Johnny grow in his personal life as well as his music career. In all, these examples support the idea that the supportive motivating style will help satisfy a person’s autonomy as compared to the controlling motivating style (Reeve, p. 148). In conclusion, I thought this was a good movie!

I have seen the movie "Walk the Line," many times. It had been quite a while since I had actually sat down and watched the whole thing from the beginning to the end. I want to say that I really enjoy listening to Johnny Cash. He is a very talented, famous and well known singer. Another reason I really like him is because my dad used to do music gigs up at our local bar and I would watch him sing Johnny Cash songs. I would also listen to the Johnny Cash cd with my father and tip back a couple of beers.
In the movie,” Walk the Line,” we see the movie start off when Johnny is a child in Dyess Arkansas in 1944. We see Johnny’s brother tragically die and his father basically blames Johnny for his death. He asks him where were you? Afterwards his dad screams that God took the wrong son. He tells Johnny he is nothing. I think this is the first thing that really motivated Cash. Johnny Cash’s next motivation in the movie is his wife Vivian. Vivian’s father does not approve of Johnny but Johnny tells her all of his goals that he will accomplish. These are what motivated him at the beginning of the movie. He tells Vivian
1. I am your man. 2. I am going to be on the radio. 3. We are going to live in Memphis with a nice house. 4. We will have a family and he will love her forever. The book explains that the higher the individual’s motivation, the more persistence they will have. This means they will be more likely to stay motivated to accomplish these things when obstacles may try to stop them.
Johnny shows this persistent motivation because in 1955 we see that they have moved to Memphis. His employment, Home Equipment Company, shows no success as we see person after person slamming the door on Johnny’s face when he is trying make a sale to them. This type of extrinsic motivation was money. If he would have sold something he would be rewarded with money. He would then be able to pay his rent. In the movie we never see Johnny sell anything. There is another problem and that is that Johnny’s band has gone nowhere. They need money and this becomes his main external motivation. Johnny is really motivated to get money because we see they have an eviction notice and will have nowhere to live. Extrinsic motivation is explained as arising from environmental incentives. Johnny also wants to become famous to get money. But money is not the only motivation he has. He also is extrinsically motivated to be on the radio. He wants to be famous and be recognized by everyone. He finally walks into a recording studio and plays them a song. He plays him the one song and the man is not impressed. He tells Johnny that if you could play one song to let God know how you feel about your time here on earth, what would it be? Johnny then becomes motivated to impress the man of the recording studio and he and his band nail it and make their first record. Even though Johnny’s wife says he was not much of a singer and wanted to go home to be with her mother Johnny was very motivated to achieve his goals and was persistent.
When Johnny’s band plays their first gig they are extrinsically motivated to impress the crowd. If they impress the crowd they will be rewarded with recognition, smiles and cheers. They nail it. Johnny also runs across June Carter, a famous singer who he had followed and watched since he was younger. This becomes his next motivation. He becomes motivated to win June over and is led astray from his wife and family.
In chapter five the book talks about a positive reinforcer for motivation. A positive reinforcer is an environmental stimulus that, when it is presented, increases the future probability of desired behavior. When the band receives its paycheck, it is an example of a positive reinforcer. When the band receeived its cheers, approval and recognition, it was also a positive reinforcer.
Unfortunately, Cash turns to taking pills. He tries it when he is out drinking with some friends. The man tells him that Elvis takes them and Johnny slams one down with his beer. Johnny eventually turns to taking more pills and drinking more alcohol. We now see that Johnny has completely changed what he has been motivated for from the beginning of the movie. There is another scene in the movie where we see Johnny go into what looks like Mexico and buys pills and alcohol from a man off of the street. Eventually he puts pills and June Carter in front of his band and family. One night after popping a bunch of pills and drinking a bunch of alcohol, Cash passes out on stage. June doesn’t want him taking pills anymore and after this stunt, the band members and June take his pills away. This is an example of a negative reinforcer. A negative reinforcer is when an environmental stimulus is removed, it increases the future probability of desired behavior. June is motivated and wants the pills gone so she can see the real Johnny Cash that she once knew. If Johnny quits taking pills, June will get the desired behavior of him being sober and being his normal self again.
Johnny shows persistence and continues going after June, asking her to marry him several times. Finally, Johnny asks her to Marry her while they are on stage and June is hesitant at first, but she begins to cry and says yes. Johnny had a lot of persistence and was extremely motivated to marry June. The only problem is that he has lied to his wife, Vivian, and betrayed his love he once had for her.
In the end of the movie we see that many prisoners absolutely love Cash. He finds many letters from them telling them how much they love his music. Cash is touched by their letters and goes to a prison and plays for them. He is rewarded with their cheers and smiles.
I believe that Johnny cash was motivated not only to show that he can become the famous rock star he was destined to be, but also to prove to his father that he can achieve the things that he wants. Even when Cash has shown this, his father finds the negative in him and makes fun of him for having an expensive tractor stuck in the mud and calls him a Mr. pill poppin rock star. Johnny’s dad is very hard on him but this does not stop cash from achieving his dream.
I would also like to add some more definitions from the book. I consider Johnny cash to have a lot of autonomy. This means that he is in charge of what he does and has the freedom to do as he wishes. Johnny was able to go after June and take pills. His wife was angry but it didn’t stop Johnny. Johnny’s band put up with a lot of things, but Johnny pretty much drank and took pills as he wished before they finally got taken away.
I also think that music was still an intrinsic motivator for Johnny. Even though Johnny turns to alcohol and pills, I feel that in the end of the movie that deep inside he still has a true love for music.
The last thing I would like to add is emotional engagement. The book explains that emotional engagement expresses the extent to which the person’s activity is characterized by positive emotion, such as interest and enjoyment, rather than by negative emotions such as being upset or unhappy. When Johnny went after June Carter, we see how happy he is when she finally says yes. Cash finds himself truly happy and when she says yes we see a very big smile by Johnny as June begins to cry on stage.

The story of Johnny Cash is an interesting one. While watching the movie I focused in on three key psychological needs. The three psychological needs presented in chapter six are autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
Autonomy:
I believe one great example of the need for autonomy in Johnny’s life is when he walks up to the recording studio. I believe this is when the need for self direction and personal endorsement towards music becomes real. Self determination is also presented when Johnny goes to the recording studio and tells the owner “I can’t wait that long”. He was determined to get an audition before he left Memphis. During his audition Jonny refuses to give up even after the owner tells him to leave; instead Jonny plays a song for him that he wrote while he was in the air force. Lastly, The rock star life style that Jonny was now living is an example of how Jonny experienced a negative time as okay. I am pointing at sleeping with other women, drugs, and alcohol. Also, the decline of Jonny marriage, but on the outside Jonny excepted it all as okay. The drugs continue to be perceived as okay even as Jonny begins to establish an intimate relationship with June.
Competence:
The first example of competence in the movie that jumped out to me was during the show in Texarkana. Johnny was really excited about the crowed and was quick to call his wife to tell her about the positive feedback he had received. Another example of competence is the positive feedback Johnny is receiving for his music. Evidence of this is when Jonny and his band are number 14 on the billboard. This is also a huge perception of progress.
Jonny is given a second chance at competence and it is because of this that he is able to come back strong. The state of flow is very evident the second time around. He also gets a huge boast form the letters he receives from the people in jail. It is from this that Jonny gets his new sense of competence.
Relatedness:
The first example of relatedness in the movies is the strong bond Jonny had with his brother. Evidence of a strong their strong relationship was proven after Jonny loses his brother. He is now portrayed as lonely, as if he lost everything he had. Even as he walks toward his bus before leaving, Jonny runs a few steps then stops just as he use to do with his brother. Jonny even refers back to his brother when talking to June in Texarkana. Furthermore, Jonny refers back to Jack during the thanksgiving meal. At a young age Jonny has been stripped of a warm relationship with his father.
Another example of relatedness in the movie is Jonny telling the girl on the phone that he loves her even though he hasn’t seen her in two years. He tells her “I’m going to love you forever”. The relationship that Jonny continues to pursue with June is an example of relatedness. He constantly longs to be loved by her. This implies Jonny’s desire to have that strong connection forever. The emotional connection between the two is so powerful that Jonny wants to hang pictures of June in his own house. The relatedness component also becomes real to June as she develops feelings for Jonny. Evidence of this is when she stops driving and starts crying. Also, when she finally says yes to marrying him! On the other hand, A negative example of relatedness is the toll that the tour is taking on Jonny and his wife’s relationship.
Finally, the book says “Human beings process a natural motivation to learn, grow, and develop in ways that are healthy and mature” (Reeve, 169). Jonny Cash hits rock bottom and spirals in the exact opposite of learning and growing in a healthy manner.

I focused on several motivation and emotion terms while watching “Walk the Line”. First I focused on internal motives. More especially I focused on psychological needs like competence and belongingness. Needs as defined by the book are conditions within the individual that are essential and necessary for the maintenance of life and for the nurturance of growth and well-being (Reeve 2009). First Jonny’s dad is always putting him down and making him feel like crap. He makes comments like, is that the way you treat your stuff, when he sees the tractor stuck in the mud. He is also always giving Jonny disapproving looks. Jonny wanted to be good like his brother Jack and he wanted his dad to love him and be proud of him like he was of Jack. Jonny really wanted was the belongingness to his father that he had never had and he hoped that his fame would give him that.

Jonny experienced a range of emotions. Jonny felt inferior to his brother Jack. Jonny thought that Jack was a better son and was better behaved. This showed up in a scene when the boys were lying in bed and Jack was reading the Bible. Jonny also shows happiness when he is holding fishing pool getting ready to go fishing. Part of his happiness is because he and his brother Jack used to go fishing together and that was some of the good times he had with him. The other reason why he was happy was because he was with June. We also see a lot of anger from Jonny’s wife. She is very angry that her husband spends more time with his music than with his family. This shows up in a number of agruements they have. We also see Vivian’s anger toward June Carter. This comes up when Jon is hanging pictures of June and the two of them together. We also see the anger in Vivian when she tells June to stay away from her children. Part of the anger Vivian is feeling comes from fear that she will lose Jonny to June. John also felt some disappointment when he found out that June helped him get clean was because she had a friend in need of help.

Another aspect that goes along with emotion is the cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex is responsible for generating and regulating motivation and emotional states. Another thing the cerebral cortex does is control thinking planning and remembering. We see the remembering part of the cerebral cortex come into play when Jonny talks to his dad about the events surrounding Jack’s death at Thanksgiving. We also see that he remembers back to his childhood with Jack while he is in the process of getting clean from his addiction from drugs. John has a hard time regulating his emotions around June. We see this at the awards show when June sits down and John makes a mean commit about her marriage. After June gets up and leaves John goes after her and is really nice to her, telling her he wants to tour with her again.

A big part of the movie is Jonny’s addiction to pills. Addictions are reinforces because their repeated usage produces hypersensitivity to dopamine stimulation. Jonny first takes the drugs because everyone else he is on tour with is taking these pills and he wants to fit in with the group. He also was told that Elvis was talking these pills which made John also want to talk the pills. Then he continues to talk the pills, even though they are causing problems in his life, because he likes the way he feels when the pills are in his system. His addiction must have been pretty strong for him to continue using drugs with the risk of ending his career, proving his dad right about him and losing what he has with June Carter. June was the one who helped John overcome his drug problem and stay clean.

We also see during the movie that John had a need for autonomy. We see this in a few scenes. The first one is when his wife Vivian wanted them to move so John would take the job that her father was offering him. He told her he didn’t want to talk the job because his band was here and he wanted to continue to work on his music. Another scene occurs when Vivian wants John to no longer talk about his tour when he is at home with his family. John gets really upset and says that he is tired of everyone telling him what to do. This shows that John wanted his own freedom and the right to make his own decisions.

Extrinsic motivation also played a part in John’s life. The attention that Jonny received from his fans and especially form the female fans motivates him to keep singing and to become a bigger star. Another extrinsic motivation was the money he received from going on tour. We can see that his was not a big factor in the reason that Jonny played music, but it did have its part. Another extrinsic motivation was to get praise from his father. John was making something of himself and he hoped that his father would finally give him the praise that he had always wanted and needed.

Incentives which are environmental events that attracts or repeals a person toward or away from initiating a particular course of action. Also incentives also precede behavior. One incentive for John to keep going with his music was hearing and seeing the crowd and how they loved his music. The compliments and smiles he gets from people make him want to keep receiving those. Also John likes the way the pills make him feel which is an incentive to keep taking them. John was also learned that his dad thinks poorly of him so he was an incentive to make his dad think better of him.

Relatedness is the last term I will focus on. John and June’s relationship is the most important one in the movie. We can see as a young boy, John would love to listen to June sing on the radio. From the first moment they meet, there was chemistry between them. We can see though the movie that John and June cared for each other, even though all the turmoil they encountered. June gave John a positive communal relationship or interaction, something that John never really received from Vivian. We really see how much June cares for John when his tractor goes into the water. June is getting ready to leave with her family and her mother states that June should go down there with John. June tells her mom that she is not going to be a part of it and go down there with him. Her mother states that she is already down there with him. After the tractor goes into the water, June and her family stay at John’s house to help him get clean. We can see how much see really cares for John and that she was his welfare in hand.

I thought “Walk the Line” was a great movie. The part at the end when it states that June passed away in May 2003 and four months later, John followed. I think this shows the true love June and John shared. Once June died, John also died because he wanted to be with her and since she was in heaven that is where John wanted to be.

“Walk the Line” had many viable constructs to evaluate that correlated with the ideas present in the textbook. The very extensive construct of motivation was undoubtedly evident throughout the entire story. Johnny was initially intrinsically motivated by music; the simple act of singing songs with his mother or listening to the radio brought immense joy to him. Other than the relationship with his brother, it was the only other presence in his early life that we see him take an interest in. Johnny’s was extrinsically motivated by numerous sources in his life; his brother, his father, Vivian, June, music, other musicians, money, among others.
We’re introduced very early to the type of relationship that is held between Johnny and his father. Ray Cash is a very scrutinizing cold individual. His morals and beliefs resemble that of a man who had nothing, was given nothing, and depended solely on himself if he wanted anything in life. I could not fathom having your father tell you that “you are nothing” at such a young and tender age after the passing of your brother and closest friend. To have death wished upon you in place of another could psychologically impair and individual immensely. His father may have been his biggest motivator although it seemed he may have wreaked more havoc than lend assistance, but if you look at it from the perspective that if Johnny never had such a strong driving force to be respected in his father’s eyes, or driven merely out of spite, his success may not have been as paramount.
Autonomy, as talked about in chapter six along with competence and relatedness, is apparent within Johnny in many aspects of his life and career. Autonomy can be described as the desire to have choice and decision-making flexibility; we want to do what we want, when we want to, and how we want to (Reeve, 2009). Essentially it is the sense of freedom in choice or psychological freedom in one’s own actions. We want to decide how we spend our time and Johnny had increasing constraints on how he was able to spend his time. From his exhausting tour to a deteriorating home life, his liberties and freedoms were minimizing. Vivian mounted the amplifying pressure and limitation that was superseding Johnny’s life. She even made a regulation that while Johnny was at home their dialogue remained “regular” and he wasn’t able to discuss anything related to the tour. Every facet of John’s life revolved around sovereignty and self-direction. He made the decision to audition for a record deal, dabble in drugs, live promiscuously, follow his heart, and make the music he wished to make. Many of his choices hurt the ones around him and he soon became cognizant of the fact, but what ultimately lead to his success and happiness was sustaining autonomy.
The second universal psychological need that is discussed is competence or the idea of effectively managing one’s own environment. It also reflects our desire to put into effect our capabilities and talents to master the most favorable of challenges (Reeve, 2009). Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two as they were first known, had their first large scale performance in Texarkana along with June Carter, Jerry Lewis, and Elvis Presley. Johnny was so enthused and overly excited to tell his wife how well the show went and how well he performed. He felt the energy through the audience and could sense the growing relationship between himself and the crowd. It was the first time he was able to exhibit his talents publicly and receive social feedback; so when Johnny was able to perform and showcase his skill, rise to the challenge, and develop his skill he felt an enormous amount of competence.
The third and final psychological need is relatedness or the sense of being cared for and connected with other individuals. Johnny had a strong sense of relatedness with the relationship he and his brother held, as well as the relationship he had with his mother. We only see a small portion of the influence that his mother had on him except one major aspect; music. It is where his love for melody and song stemmed from. His brother Jack was his closest friend as a young child and Johnny often wondered how he could be so good. Losing his brother had a profound impact on his life and how his father treated him thereafter. In regards to wanting to belong, Johnny used drugs as a venue to gain acceptance from his band mates and other musicians. We see Johnny hesitate and ask “what is it?” as he sees Elvis indulge. He’s socially influenced to do the same and wants to belong; his mood following the interaction with June may have also had a direct impact on his decision to use. A relationship where he has never felt relatedness is the relationship he shares with his father. Johnny is never good enough, never successful enough in the right sense, and not worthy of the love and respect of his father. It’s this absence that drives Johnny so deeply to gain approval and acceptance. The relatedness between June and John was the strongest relationship we saw throughout the movie. Both cared deeply for the other, June and her family were the sole reason Johnny was capable of extinguishing his addiction to prescription medicine. She was profoundly invested in his well-being and success and John had felt a strong love for June since he was in the air force. Although through his actions he repeatedly hurt her he continually cared and loved for her. This relationship led to the demise of relatedness between Vivian and John. They grew increasingly farther apart from a once nurturing and loving partnership to a distant uncomfortable relationship. The lack of interaction and connectedness supplemented by the unfaithful and unequal partnership was what led to the eventual downfall in the marriage.
When all three universal psychological needs are met individuals: 1) initiate behavior in which they are intrinsically motivated, 2) Internalize and integrate external demands, 3) experience multiple cognitive benefits such as increased creativity, flexibility, and conceptual understanding, 4) experience positive affect involving increased satisfaction and well being, 5) and lastly are able to stick with and maintain behavior change for a longer period of time. We can clearly see the times when all three psychological requisites are being met for Johnny what a successful and compelling individual he can be and how all of the aforementioned benefits can contribute to the overall well being of an individual. We’re also able to clearly recognize and distinguish the opposite end of the spectrum when the needs aren’t being met. It’s great that we can examine the benefits and potential disadvantages of satisfying or neglecting our psychological needs in the film. Johnny Cash is a prime representation of fluctuating psychological needs and what one experiences when one or more needs are non existent.

The last time I saw Walk the Line back when it was in theaters. I was always stunned at all the different types of relationships he goes through in his life. He struggles with relatedness over and over again. When he is young the only person he seems to truly be related and have a communal relationship in his family is with his brother, Jack. When his brother dies he states "please don't leave me alone" to his brother. The death of his brother widens the gap between his father and himself. His father is known for saying "God took the wrong son." While his mother is present, we don't see much about their relationship. This strained relationship continues throughout all of their lives due to his father's lack of seeing him as a compentant man.
During the war, he tries desperately to convince Viv that he loves her and needs the reinforcement of knowing that she loves him too. Once he starts pursuing music and touring drives a big wedge between them. Vivian doesn't feel that he is giving her all that he promised and the relationship feels like it has moved from communal to almost an exchange relationship. Johnny's friendship with June puts additional strain on his marriage.

June is the main communal relationship in the movie. They form a friendship by sharing stories about their daughters at the diner. The relationship continues to progress with the help of their common intersets such as music and fishing together. At the same time June is feeling a lot of During his time on tour however he satisfies his physical need for sex with young female fans,atleast that is what we are lead to assume. Eventually the friendship with June and John waviers while his family with his wife continues to deteriorate. The relationship begins again as an exchange relationship when he offers June a job touring again. Eventuallyt he proximity gives way to a sexual relationship, yet June ends the relationship. Johnny however is persistant in having that relatedness again even at the sacrafice of his previous marriage. It isn't until later when June has to help Johnny deal with his addiction does their relationship begin to flourish again. This has definetly become a very infamous relationship including inspiring the song "A love like Johnny and June's."

Johnny grows up in an environment that isn't autonomy-supportive in his interest in music. His father says there is "nothing" coming from the raido and nothing is what John is. Viv is constantly putting down his music calling his band "2 mechanics who can't play" and asking when he is going to work for her dad. John continuously refuses the job offer from Vivian's father in order to preserve his autonomy. June shows him autonomy-support when she is gives him praise about his songs and how well they are doing on the billboard. Even with his success Vivian and his father continues to criticize Johnny. Once Johnny becomes addicted to pill his father continues with his Controlling methods by incuding feelings of guilt about the problem. June and her family are again supportive when they help Johnny through his withdrawl.

Johnny's motivation for his music varies throughout the movie. At first we see him working on lyrics at the river, similarly to the example of the little girl and the stepping stones in the book. He is working on them just to be doing it and he enjoys it.During his time at the Air Force, Johnny buys a guitar and continues to work on music to exercise his capabilities and to work toward feeling competent(as discussed later). It is also of his free will when he goes exploring at the record studio. These were volition acts. His motivations change when he needs to fill economic needs. He finally goes to audition with extrinsic motivation of the eviction notice.

Competency is something Johnny struggles with as well. When he is young he has a discussion with Jack about how Jack can pick 3 times as much as him. While Jack continues to reassure Johnny that he is better at other things, Johnny dismisses that support because what he does is easy. Later on at his audition for the record company, he takes the initial rejection to mean he isn't competent in singing. John continues strive for positive reinforement from his father to feel competent. His father however never gives that reinforcement. Even in the scene at the house when Johnny outright asks what his father thinks, it leads to another conversation of how Johnny is "nothing " in his father's eyes. He again doesn't feel like he is a competent man so he tries to prove he is when he tries to make the tractor work.

I also like the example of Perceived locus of Causality that June points out. Johnny says he "wears black cause he has nothing else to wear" and "sings the way he does cause he can't do any better" and tired to kiss June "cause it just happened." June tells him to take some credit for what he does. Johnny seems to think he is a pawn to the environment and circumstances.

I really enjoyed watching “Walk the Line” because it had so many examples of people being motivated by their need for relatedness. Our textbook defines relatedness as “the psychological need to establish close emotional bonds and attachments with other people” (p.162). When looking for examples of relatedness I focused on Johnny Cash because throughout the movie he acted out of a need to feel accepted and loved. Our textbook points out that “people seek emotionally positive interactions and interaction partners” (p. 162). While watching the movie I picked up on a pattern in Johnny’s behavior: the rejection of his need for relatedness is a very strong force that drives his actions.

The first incident that showed me how much Johnny’s need for relatedness motivated him took place shortly after he joined the military. We see Johnny in his military uniform making a call to his hometown sweetheart, Viv. He asks Viv to marry him, even though it becomes clear that they have only been dating for a month. This phone conversation demonstrates Johnny’s need to feel loved and connected, which is the opposite of how he feels treated by his fellow soldiers in the military.

After Johnny and Viv are married, Johnny’s actions are motivated by his need to maintain his communal relationship with Viv by supporting his family. Johnny takes a job as a salesman and makes an effort to sell things in order to provide for his family. Johnny cares about Viv’s needs, and wants to be able to support her financially.

A specific example where Johnny is driven to try harder to maintain their communal relationship is when Viv breaks down while Johnny is on the porch playing with his band. Viv tells Johnny that she wants to go home to her father and that they are going to be evicted if he doesn’t start earning more money. In this scene there is the undertone that Viv doesn’t accept Johnny’s musical ambitions (she mocks the idea that he has a band.) Johnny’s need for a strong social bond with Viv is in jeopardy because our text explains that in order to satisfy this need Viv must accept his true self. This motivates Johnny to go to the recording studio and be persistent until Sam Phillips (the owner of the studio) agrees to make a record with him.

Viv continues to discount Johnny’s need for relatedness. After his concert in Texarkana he calls home because he wants Viv to be proud that he had a great show, but instead she tells him that she is busy with the kids and passes the phone off to his crying daughter. Because of this emotional rejection, that same night Johnny makes an effort to form a communal relationship with June Carter. He sits by her in a restaurant and discloses that his brother is dead. This outpouring of emotion may have been meant to create a bond with June, and it seems to work.

Throughout the movie Johnny jumps between relationships with June and Viv. If Viv stifles his need for relatedness he turns to June, and if June rejects him he turns to drugs or back to Viv. The first time that Johnny tries to kiss June she pulls away and tells him that she just got out of a bad divorce. Right after this encounter Johnny uses drugs for the first time. It is obvious that because Johnny is unable to achieve the close romantic relationship he wants with June he tries to self-medicate.

When June gets married to a stock car driver Johnny throws himself back into his marriage with Viv. It seems like Johnny has a very high need for a romantic communal relationship. This need causes him to try to create a bond with his wife again. When Johnny runs into June at a music awards show with Viv, he promptly ditches Viv to try to reconnect with June. Johnny tries to convince June to tour with him again by saying, “I miss the music.” I am not buying this for one second. What I believe drives Johnny to continue to chase after June is his desire for a nurturing, romantic communal relationship with her.

The rest of the movie is basically Johnny pining over June, asking her to marry him repeatedly and her saying no repeatedly. Again, Johnny has a high level of need for acceptance and relatedness. When June rejects Johnny it motivates him to self medicate and he falls deeper into his prescription drug addiction. Finally it is June herself who saves Johnny from his drug problem by sticking by his side (and finally fulfilling his need for relatedness). Eventually June accepts Johnny’s proposal of marriage and Johnny is able to live a healthy, fulfilling life.

The acting in this movie was phenomenal, making it easy to follow how Johnny’s need for communal relationships motivated him. Johnny’s difficulty in obtaining emotionally satisfying relationships led his to bounce around between Viv, June, and drugs. When June finally said she would marry him, Johnny was no longer driven by rejection and was able to enjoy his relationship and life.

“Walk the Line” was a very interesting movie and at the same time was entertaining. I did not know that much about Johnny Cash, but after watching this movie I found him to be a very interesting person and thought that as a character he made an excellent example to study motivations.

Obviously, one of the main conflicts in the movie was Johnny’s addiction to prescription pills. Just like in “Ray” Johnny’s actions made you wonder, why is he doing this? When I noticed that he began talking more pills, or abusing them, was when he was in a situation that made him emotionally upset. For example, in the movie we see him take a couple more pills when his father is around and when June decides to leave the tour. I began seeing his behavior of taking pills as a response to the emotional upset so I tried to look at the behavior with the external regulation of motivation.

To understand this regulation, you have to think about what the book calls operant conditioning. Operant conditioning refers to the process by which a person learns how to operate effectively in the environment, as defined by our textbook. I could definitely see that Johnny’s operate conditioning had become taking pills in order to get through situations that were difficult for him. To understand the language of operant conditioning, the book offers a model by Baldwin and Baldwin that look like this: S:R -> C. The letters stand for situational cue, behavioral response, and consequence. When I apply Johnny’s situation to this model, I believe it looks like this: Uncomfortable situations (Father, June): Taking the pills -> Irrational re/actions (destroying the dressing room, trying to get the tractor out).

Next, I tried to find incentives in these situations. Our book defines incentives as environmental events that attracts or repels a person toward or away from initiating a particular course of action. I think the incentives for Johnny to abuse pills would be emotionally charged decisions or statements by both his father and June because when his father starts saying things that are hurtful it is an incentive for Johnny to take pills to make the uncomfortable situation easier (or so he thinks). I think this incentive also is illustrated in the reinforcer, in that when his father does act like a jerk it just proves to Johnny that it was going to be a difficult situation where he would “need” to take the pills.

The consequences that arise from this response are mostly filled with negative reinforcers. Negative reinforcers are defined by our textbook as any environmental stimulus that, when removed, increases the future probability of behavior. In this case, the negative reinforcer is when his father only becomes more disappointed in him. When this disappointment is removed, and when June’s family accepts that he needs help and do not judge him, this is when he sobers up and his behaviors change.

There are also punishers, or any environmental stimulus that, when presented, decreases the future probability of the undesired behavior, present in the consequences. For example, his father being disappointed and June wanting him to leave her alone are punishers that will probably just make him more upset, causing him to take more pills.

Finally, rewards had a moderate amount of impact on his behaviors. Reward is defined as any offering from one person given to another person in exchange for his or her service or achievement. I say it was only a moderate role because I think that the removal of negative reinforcers made a bigger impact, but it was very important to Johnny to keep June with him and that reward of being with June for being sober was great enough to help him overcome his addiction.

Clearly June was a huge impact in changing this behavior in a couple different areas (rewards, reinforcers), but I found it interesting to also look at what was reinforcing his abuse/addiction, that being his father and their strained relationship. In the end I found this movie very intriguing and a great example for motivation and emotion.

This movie portrays Johnny Cash living in polarized worlds: on the road and at home. Both fulfilling different psychological needs at different times and places over his life course, the traumatic death of his older brother Jack and his father’s authoritarian, controlling motivating style deeply impacted Johnny's cognitions and behavior. His own father’s inability to empathize greatly elicited Johnny’s tendencies to cope with adversity in a regularized, tried-and-true fashion. Throughout the movie's entirety, just short of the credits rolling, Johnny is constantly striving for autonomy, competence and relatedness often in the wrong places.

Johnny’s father-son interactions are plagued by the latent grief and loss associated with losing his brother, Jack, at a young age. In many respects, their relationship was need-frustrating for both father and son: it seems reconciliation is nonpalatable for either party. Johnny’s fascination with the radio advances into a response for threatening stimuli. To Johnny, music provides an escape from his father’s verbal mistreatment and cynical reactions; an escape from the untimely death of his talented older brother; an escape from the confines of obligatory Air Force duties; and, in many respects a way to pay homage to his mother’s influential passion for gospel. Before self-medicating with external substances, Cash is intrinsically motivated to sing and song-write: In Germany, he purchases a guitar and spends a considerable amount of time writing music that is personally relevant and meaningful.

In various forms, the childhood environment characterizing his upbringing largely influenced his own father-child relationships later on. "It Ain't Me Babe" featuring June Carter pretty much sums up his shortcomings as a father, husband, and son; during the performance his family appears to be providing neutral feedback at best. Johnny Cash never really gains the social support from Vivian he had envisioned in his time reflecting on their relationship overseas. Though largely his fault, the climax of their connectedness on screen is immediately after Johnny returns home late after recording a real record with his own songs; though his promises have not yet materialized, at least they have narrowly avoided eviction and an impending move to be closer to Viv’s dad- extrinsic motivators.

Cash, almost overnight, is in a position where he can provide his family with material possessions yet he cannot extend his own time and emotional support: it is a one-way street and his father is unafraid to let Johnny know when it is all but too late. The clearly defined structure of family is difficult for Johnny to conform to; he egotistically spends weeks on the road subsisting on pills and alcohol, playing rock n’ roll and neglecting his obligations as a father, husband, and son. His hectic touring schedule and reclusive nature when home push him into a space where he does not even know his own kids; his personal resources are all but exhausted on substance abuse and longing for his own psychological satisfaction derived from aspects of life on the road (women, wine and wild times). His evolution and development as an artist far-preceded his growth as a family man, due in large thanks to the self-reflection sparked by his father’s brutal honesty.

Though he lacks competence as a father the stage is his playground, and the audience, his humble servants. Though his talents in the household are lacking, his musical inclinations help him develop his own patented sound. Johnny Cash is in his element in the studio and performing in front of an audience. His talent and creativity afford him complete control over the raw and revealing direction of his music both in the studio among producers and onstage in front of the convicts of Fulsom Prison. At a time when everyone is transitioning to the electric guitar, a live album in front of an unruly mob was unthinkable, but even more impressive was Johnny's ability to inspire cohesiveness among a group of prisoners and himself. This is a great example of flow, Johnny disregarding the prison exec's request to exclude negative affect related to prison life. In doing so his relatedness to the audience is solidified even before beginning to perform. Except for his drug-related collapse onstage towards the end, his competency as a musician and relatedness to show-goers is largely unquestioned.

The deviance associated with this youth movement was entirely embraced by Johnny Cash; no more resistant to peer-pressure than the next guy, if Elvis was ingesting prescription pills the obvious response was follow him off of the cliff. What began as recreational use among peers progresses into self-defeating addiction relatively quickly and effortlessly. His drug usage transpires into another psychological need and his down time becomes dominated almost entirely by coppin pharmies and getting loaded (i.e. his arrest returning into Texas from Mexico). In responding to aversive social outcomes, Johnny Cash conditioned music submersion as a near-mechanistic approach from a young age. As Johnny grows , his nearly-predictable and automatic response shifts to employ pharmaceuticals and alcohol as a defense mechanism to cope with the unpleasant realities of today (i.e. relationship strains, father's belittlement) as well as the haunting of his past (i.e. brother’s death). His music is sucked dry of its intrinsic value, instead serving as a means to an end. No longer music for its own sake, Johnny's inner artistic motivations have all but evaporated.

Mutual relatedness, and Johnny's unfailing persistence, ultimately saves him from himself. June is the most autonomy-supporting relationship Johnny has until he goes off the deep end. When it came down to it she was his single unwavering social bond. From rescuing Johnny out of the water after submerging the tractor and engaging the dead man's float, to forcefully aiding in his detoxification, it is as though she is the most necessary external motivator to wean him off of drug dependency and his childish ways.