Presenter (Anne Smith):
Good evening, Australia. I’m Anne Smith and this is Sunday.
Tonight, we will be travelling back in time to review the heart-warming romance, Grease (1978). This will be followed by a review of the blockbuster comedy, Zoolander. However, yesterday, we remembered the loss of music legends Johnny and June Cash (née Carter). To begin the show, we have Dilki De Silva with us to give her critique of Walk the Line (2005), the award-winning biopic of these two legendary singers.
Dilki:
Thank you, Anne. Do you ever question your biopics? If you don’t, please start now.
Directed by James Mangold, Walk the Line (2005) is indeed a glorified cinematic achievement which portrays the fame, folly and fortune of Johnny Cash, an eminent musician of 1950s. Tonight, I will be discussing how the techniques of privileging, foregrounding, cinematic devices, gaps, silences and marginalisation position the audience to view the film as a true representation of Johnny Cash’s life. Through the use of these devices, the film offers a dominant reading that reinforces the representation of Cash as an anti‐hero guided by June Carter’s prevailing love– while silencing his true identity as an alcoholic, drug addict who has failed to love his mundane wife.
The film’s dominant reading depicts …show more content…
It was seen that the film offers a dominant reading which reinforces the representation of Cash as an anti‐hero, guided by June Carter’s affection. However, this was a result of the concealment of his true identity and converting it into a resistant reading. Aided by cinematic devices, privileging, foregrounding, marginalisation, silences and gaps, it constructed a biased perspective towards him. Therefore, although the film is indeed a musical marvel dazzled with fairy tale love – which we all love and adore –, it does not reveal the real Johnny Cash who once walked the