I Walk the Line
There’s a scene in the movie “Walk the Line” where Johnny Cash is auditioning to get a record. In a desperate attempt to earn money, Cash resigned to singing his own song, “Folsom Prison Blues”, as opposed to performing covers of gospel music.
From the moment the first word was uttered in Joaquin Phoenix (the actor) lips, I was mesmerized. Suddenly, nothing mattered. There was no such thing as time, space, or anything else. All that existed within the 2 minutes were Folsom Prison Blues, its beautiful lyrics and Joaquin’s captivating voice. I thought: it is no wonder why Johnny Cash became so hot! That heartfelt performance was nothing short of captivating.
Weeks after I’ve initially seen the movie, I bought the album of Johnny Cash, surprised to find out that what I heard in the movie wasn’t actually either Johnny Cash or June Carter, but Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon imitating their voices.
I was dumbstruck. How could actors of musical biopic movies sing so damn well that you’re convinced it’s not actually their voice, but the dub of the character they’re portraying? “Ray” of yesteryear did not require Jamie Foxx to sing! How fantastic it is that Joaquin and Reese was able to pull it off without dubious decrease of quality! Are they even considering entering the music industry? Far as I can tell, they have the nuances under control!
This made me realize one thing: that I should not limit myself to learning only the things that is part of my work. My English teacher taught me that in order to fully grasp the language, I have to go for variety. But it does not take “improvement of (any) language” for one to choose to have variety. It’s actually what one needs to do in order to keep life interesting. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to live a life where I’m stuck with doing the same thing ad nauseum.
So I’ve decided that I will keep learning great many things. Yes, I have to improve on my hardware and my software skills. Yes, that’s because I want to earn more money. But aside from those, I want to be able to create something of artistic quality; something that doesn’t require the esoteric to fully appreciate; something that makes me a more transparent and interesting man as opposed to the stereotype of someone who sits in front of the monitor all day speaking his own languages. This is definitely the time for me to improve, but also the time for me to expand my abilities, and to explore more. And thus, I’ve written to the sands awaiting the ocean to take me away to the vast ocean of knowledge, excitement, and repertoire.
P.S. Oh, I forgot to rate the movie… 5/5!
