‘What do you think it is that makes them who they are’? The connections between Latinx stereotypes, claims of white difference, and characters’ deaths in Breaking Bad

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-263
Author(s):  
Mark Bernhardt
Keyword(s):  
Racial Categories ◽  
Critical View ◽  
Breaking Bad ◽  
Walter White

This article argues that while reliant on Latinx stereotypes in character construction, Breaking Bad (2008–2013) ultimately uses them to problematise American racial categories and conquest mythology. Comparing stereotyped Latinx criminals to the main white character, Walter White (Bryan Cranston), who claims difference, reveals that they share traits. In its use of Latinx stereotypes to transfer focus from difference to sameness, Breaking Bad shifts the imperial gaze to offer a critical view of the regeneration through violence myth, so integral to American western expansionism and central in Walt’s story, in that he dies in his attempt to regenerate by killing his Latinx enemies.

scholarly journals WHAT WAS WALTER WHITE AFRAID OF? DRAMA CONFLICT AND MOTIVATIONS OF THE “BREAKING BAD” SERIES

Articult ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 114-129
Author(s):  
Iana A. Parkhomenko ◽  
◽  
Igor V. Kononov ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Breaking Bad ◽  
Walter White

scholarly journals Walter White: From «Apply Yourself» to «Say my Name». Aspects of Political Theory in «Breaking Bad»

conexus ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 101-130
Author(s):  
Josette Baer
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Theory Analysis ◽  
Breaking Bad ◽  
Societal Norms ◽  
Plot Analysis ◽  
Walter White ◽  
Interdisciplinary Inquiry ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Conditio Humana

This text should be understood as an interdisciplinary inquiry into one of the most successful US TV series: Breaking Bad (BB). I use political theory analysis, plot analysis that one could understand as textual analysis of the story, and my interpretations of the series’ main characters. In the first chapter, I present a summary of the story of Walter White and how his decisions affect his family. In the second chapter, I analyse BB according to Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan. What Hobbes meant with his famous saying that man is man’s wolf, thus a deadly reciprocal threat of all against all comes to life in Walter becoming a full-fledged criminal, murder and deception now the tools of his new chosen craft. Walter is breaking bad, ignoring societal norms and ethical values, pursuing relentlessly his plans of making money for his family, enjoying his new self as a powerful provider because that is what men do: they provide. The third chapter is dedicated to an analysis how Hannah Arendt’s definitions of power, strength, authority, violence and judgement can explain Walter’s change from Paulus to Saulus. In the conclusion, I shall present my thoughts about the series and answer the following research questions: first, why is the global public still so smitten with Walter White? Second, what can one learn from BB for our contemporary conditio humana in the 21st century? Third, is Walter White the master of his life, thus self-determined (Selbstbestimmung), or is he dominated by forces outside of his own free will (Fremdbestimmung)?

scholarly journals Teoria dos arquétipos e construção de personagens em filmes e séries

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (54) ◽  
pp. 251-270
Author(s):  
Sílvio Antonio Luiz Anaz
Keyword(s):  
Breaking Bad ◽  
Walter White

Este artigo introduz a teoria dos arquétipos a partir da revisão dos conceitos desenvolvidos por Jung, Campbell e Durand e analisa o uso pragmático de arquétipos na produção de filmes e séries de TV. O estudo articula as reflexões sobre o tema nos campos da antropologia, psicologia e artes, buscando definir o que são os arquétipos e quais são suas funções nas narrativas. Por fim, o conceito de arquétipo na construção de personagens é aplicado com o estudo de caso de Walter White, protagonista da série de TV Breaking Bad. O resultado obtido é um conceito de arquétipo aplicável aos processos de criação e construção de personagens nas narrativas audiovisuais.

scholarly journals Montage Sequences, Diegetic Music and Narcotics in Vince Gilligan‟s Breaking Bad

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 500-503
Keyword(s):  
Crime Fiction ◽  
Television Channel ◽  
Crime Drama ◽  
Breaking Bad ◽  
Crime Films ◽  
Crime Film ◽  
Pay Television ◽  
Walter White ◽  
Object Of Study ◽  
Plot Structure

Vince Gilligan’s “Breaking Bad” is a neo-Western television crime drama series that was broadcasted on AMC (American pay television channel). Crime Films can be comprehended as a cinematic genre that was inaugurated by crime fiction in literature. The crime film is a complex and variegated object of study. Unlike the other existing genres, “crime film” is not defined as a cinematographic genre. This genre is characterized by stories where there is an impending crime, in some cases the crime would have already taken place and is followed by the consequences. The advancement in technology especially the invention of VCR,DVD and many such affordable machines have made viewing television easy and affordable, which in turn paved the way for the success of critically acclaimed serials such as “Breaking Bad” to embrace the success it deserved. The arrival of large screens and quality visuals largely contributed to an increase in viewership and audience. “Breaking Bad” was recognized for its complex and violent plot structure, where in the protagonist, Walter White is an antihero who is diagnosed with cancer. The disease aids as a catalyst to bring out the passive demon and narcissist within him and this in turn wrecks his familial and professional life. The present paper proposes to explore how advancement in technology and the use of music successfully brings out the narcissistic tendencies in Walter White’s character.

Television from the Superlab: The Postmodern Serial Drama and the New Petty Bourgeoisie in Breaking Bad

2014 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
MORGAN FRITZ
Keyword(s):  
Vacuum Chamber ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Popular Press ◽  
Television Series ◽  
Breaking Bad ◽  
Petty Bourgeoisie ◽  
Walter White ◽  
Made In

This essay considers the television series Breaking Bad in light of Nicos Poulantzas's concept of the new petty bourgeoisie and Bruno Latour's notion of the production of “monsters” in modern society as a result of the compartmentalization of science from society. Breaking Bad, which has received near universal praise from the popular press, established itself as the most recent dominant show in the recent wave of serial dramas. As a show that resembles the experimental vacuum chamber described by Latour, Breaking Bad succeeds in naturalizing its own terms so that they go unquestioned by viewers. My article views the character Walter White not as the everyman antihero presented by the show, but rather as a representative of what Poulantzas has termed the new petty bourgeoisie. A contention made in this essay is that the quarantined nature of such serial dramas allows them to work as vehicles for ideologies that go unexamined by their viewers.

scholarly journals Reescrituras del género policíaco en la ficción serial: la muerte, la brújula y el monstruo en "Breaking Bad"

2019 ◽  
pp. 359-372
Author(s):  
Xaquín Núñez Sabarís
Keyword(s):  
Leaves Of Grass ◽  
Breaking Bad ◽  
Walter White

La serie Breaking Bad, idea original de Vince Gilligan, representa el auge y legitimación cultural (y académica) de la ficción televisiva en los últimos años. La nueva oferta de series, amparada en un nuevo modelo de negocio televisivo y digital, ha conllevado una renovación de los hábitos culturales, transcendiendo su consideración de géneros audiovisuales menores y estimulando una importante democratización estética. Al incorporar talento creativo en los guiones e interpretación, así como una sobresaliente producción, las series se han situado en la zona noble de la cultura audiovisual y la narración artística contemporánea, incorporando mecanismos propios de otros soportes mediales, como la literatura.             La historia de Walter White, padre de familia y despiadado narco, se construye sobre una trama de intriga y persecuciones, que se resuelve por una nota manuscrita en un ejemplar de Leaves of grass. De Whitman a Borges repasaremos los préstamos culturales e intermediales en la creación de este juego de espejos, identidades vacilantes y tramas laberínticas.

scholarly journals Walter White/Heisenberg: construção da personagem em Breaking Bad

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana de Almeida Pereira Jordão
Keyword(s):  
Turning Points ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Breaking Bad ◽  
Walter White ◽  
Physical Attributes ◽  
Emotional Complexity ◽  
The Difference

The present work seeks to analyze the construction of Walter White / Heisenberg in Breaking Bad (2008-2013) created by Vince Gilligan. The premise is that the character presented in the first episode transforms radically and in a unique way, losing its original characteristics.Unlike other contemporary series, in which a character evolves, matures or adds new attributes to his composition, it can be said that Walter White, an honest and humble family father and chemistry’s teacher, becomes a Heisenberg, a producer of methamphetamine and international trafficker. His values and goals are being changed so significantly that the codename used by him to difficult for the police his recognition, ends up naming a kind of new character.This transformation is one of the main narrative arcs of the series, which confers a rare feature to Breaking Bad. The majority of audiovisual works end up creating protagonists with great emotional complexity, but with fixed and immutable constructive characteristics. This option allows turning points, false leads and other strategies, precisely by rescuing the character’s original attributes.The elements to be analyzed are:• The presentation of the character in the first episodes - its role in attribution to fixation of original attributes;• Physical attributes and their evolution;• Emotional attributes, personality and values and their evolution;• Actions that determine the character’s construction.Still, other series will be cited to demonstrate the difference between Walter White / Heisenberg and other protagonists.

scholarly journals Nada es relativo. Un estudio audiovisual del posicionamiento ético de Breaking Bad

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (44) ◽  
pp. 139-154
Author(s):  
Roberto Gelado Marcos ◽  
Javier Figuero Espadas ◽  
Ana Lanuza Avello
Keyword(s):  
Breaking Bad ◽  
Walter White

La conducta ética y moral de Walter White le ha convertido en uno de los personajes de ficción que ha levantado mayor debate entre críticos, académicos y a nivel popular. En este artículo se indaga si esa fascinación sobre el antihéroe que provoca un posicionamiento moral acerca de su proceder, existe también al otro lado de la cámara. Para ello, se examinan aspectos como la escala y la angulación de los planos, la utilización de movimientos de cámara, los juegos de focos o el empleo significativo de la luz en cuatro momentos narrativos cruciales.

De Walter White a Heisenberg: as identidades pós-modernas do personagem principal da série Breaking Bad

Temática ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Amaral Veras Bonifácio ◽  
Suelly Maux
Keyword(s):  
Sigmund Freud ◽  
Zygmunt Bauman ◽  
Breaking Bad ◽  
Walter White ◽  
Stuart Hall ◽  
Richard Sennett

Este artigo analisa a transformação do personagem principal da série Breaking Bad, o professor de Química Walter White, ao longo dos sete episódios da primeira temporada. Utilizando os conceitos de corrosão do caráter, de Richard Sennett; de modernidade líquida, de Zygmunt Bauman; de crise de identidade, de Stuart Hall; e de mal-estar da civilização, de Sigmund Freud, busca-se demonstrar que a série é permeada de elementos da pós-modernidade, especialmente no que concerne aos processos de crise e autoconstrução da identidade do personagem principal: do pacato professor de Química Walter White, ao inescrupuloso produtor de metanfetamina Heisenberg – duas identidades contraditórias que convivem numa mesma pessoa, marcada pelas punções da pós-modernidade.Palavras-chave: Breaking Bad. Pós-modernidade. Modernidade líquida. Identidades pós-modernas. Crise de identidade.

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