Analyzing “Breaking Bad” TV.
ANSWER
Analysis of “Breaking Bad”
The widely acclaimed television series “Breaking Bad,” produced by Vince Gilligan, will be examined in this essay. The criminal thriller “Breaking Bad” ran from 2008 to 2013. The program is renowned for its compelling storytelling, nuanced characters, and examination of moral and transformational issues.
The premise, genre, style, and tone of the show “Breaking Bad” center on Walter White’s evolution from a merciless drug kingpin to a high school chemistry teacher. The premise investigates the effects of his choice to produce and distribute methamphetamine after receiving a fatal lung cancer diagnosis. The program is a crime drama, which is a subgenre of television known for its dramatic action, moral ambiguity, and examination of criminal subcultures. Character-driven storytelling, nonlinear storytelling, and harsh cinematography define its aesthetic. The show “Breaking Bad” explores themes of morality, power, and the repercussions of one’s choices in a dark, tense tone with occasional black humor.
The first five seasons of “Breaking Bad” were shown on AMC from January 20, 2008, to September 29, 2013. Over the course of its life, the series attracted a devoted fan following, tremendous viewership, and several accolades, including multiple Emmys.
Character Dynamics and Architecture: The two main characters in the program are Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul). While Jesse is a small-time meth producer and dealer who becomes Walter’s partner and protégé, Walter begins as a mild-mannered chemistry instructor and develops into the antihero drug lord. Skyler White (Anna Gunn), Hank Schrader (Dean Norris), and Gustavo Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) are among the series’ talented ensemble cast members. Through their different alliances and partnerships, these people create intricate dynamics throughout the series.
Characters’ Needs, Wants, and Life Dreams:
Following his cancer diagnosis, Walter White intends to secure the financial future of his family. He needs money to pay for his cancer treatment as well as to provide for his family following his passing. His goal in life is to provide for his family, but this eventually turns into a vicious quest for dominance and power.
Jesse Pinkman seeks approval and a sense of direction. He requires a way out of his life of addiction and criminality. His modest life goal first focuses on independence and financial security.
Character development: Walter White changes dramatically from a docile, law-abiding civilian to a manipulative, active drug lord. As he assumes the pseudonym “Heisenberg,” his character’s externalization becomes more obvious.
Jesse Pinkman begins as a proactive but erroneous character, and as he negotiates the moral difficulties of the drug trade, his internal conflict with guilt and morality gradually becomes externalized.
Narrative Devices and Tension: “Breaking Bad” uses a variety of narrative devices to create tension, such as suspense, dramatic irony, and surprise. These conflicts are used in various episodes to develop unique narrative and emotional experiences. Suspense, for instance, is frequently employed when characters are in danger or when the viewer knows what will happen as a result of their actions. The audience is aware of information the characters don’t have, which leads to dramatic irony, which in turn builds suspense.
Flashbacks and flashforwards are nonlinear narrative elements that can be utilized to enhance storytelling by shedding light on character motivations, the past, and potential outcomes.
The show “Breaking Bad” tackles morality, change, and the effects of one’s decisions. Although the overall topic is constant, each episode explores a different subtheme, such as the corrupting effect of power, the ambiguity of good and evil, or the vulnerability of family dynamics. The show’s viewpoint on these issues changes throughout time, with Jesse’s quest for atonement and Walter’s spiral into evil serving as the two main plotlines.
In summary, “Breaking Bad” is an excellent example of scripted narrative television that leverages its characters, tension-building strategies, and thematic inquiry to produce a compelling and ethically complicated drama. The program’s capacity to develop its themes and characters over the course of its five seasons helped to establish it as a modern television classic.
QUESTION
Description
Instructions: You’ve learned the terminology and studied some of Television’s most important shows, now it’s your turn to take the reins. During the course of this class you have learned a language with which to discuss television. Now it is time to choose ANY SCRIPTED, NARRATIVE TELEVISION SHOW besides those we viewed in this class and Analyze it using the language and skill set you have cultivated in this course. In your paper, you must reference at least THREE episodes of the television series you are analyzing.
Introduce the show. Discuss the show’s premise, genre, style and tone. Discuss the show’s broadcast history. Discuss the types of character architecture and dynamics the show employs.
Examples of character architecture: Principal lead, partnerships, ensembles
Discuss the Wants, Needs and Life Dreams of the show’s Main Characters (those appearing in the Opening Titles). Discuss the ways in which each of these main characters is characterized in several different episodes. How are these characters and their points of view used to create tension in one episode versus another?
Examples of Characterization: Active, Passive, Externalized
Discuss the types of tension the show employs. Do different episodes use different types of tensions or is the same type of tension (suspense, for example) used more often than others? How frequently are narrative devices such as non-linear narrative employed?
Examples of tension: Straight tension, dramatic irony, suspense, mystery, surprise
Examples of non-linear devices: Flashback, Flashforward, glimpses of past of future, etc
Discuss the show’s themes. What’s the show have to say? What are its themes? Do themes vary week to week or is the show usually about the same idea? If the idea is the same, what seems to be the show’s perspective on this theme? If the themes seem to be different, is there some unifying idea you can find from episode to episode? Use specific examples from episodes to support your claims.
Examples of themes: Friendship, love, justice, greed, politics, family dynamics, identity.