By Adam Shaw , Special to Bootleg Essential Culture
“Breaking Bad” follows a high school chemistry teacher who cooks meth to support his family.
You don’t hear it much in the South, but “breaking bad” is slang for going against the law. It’s a fitting title for AMC’s new series that’s as addictive as its subject matter.
“Breaking Bad” is a character study of Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a high school chemistry teacher who’s strapped for cash. Walter uses his meager salary to support his wife, Skyler, and his son, Walter Jr., who is afflicted with cerebral palsy.
As if teaching glassy-eyed teens wasn’t bad enough, Walter has to supplement his income with a humiliating job at a car wash. Without him, his family couldn’t survive.
So when Walter is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, he knows he has to leave his family with the money they deserve. A man can wake up when he realizes that death isn’t far off. He sees all the bullshit he used to take with a smile for what it really is.
To Walter, there’s only one way to make big money fast using chemistry — crystal meth.
Methamphetamines are a deadly brew. The chemicals involved can be incredibly unstable or even poisonous. If the phosphine gas doesn’t kill you then the explosions will.
Walter partners up with a former student and cooks meth in the desolate New Mexico desert from an RV. His expertise makes the meth strong, pure and irresistible to dealers.
The drug game throws Walter into a vicious world, forcing him into kill-or-be-killed situations. This moral tension makes Walter a sympathetic character. We might do the same things under his circumstances.
“Shows like ‘Breaking Bad’ have the ‘bad boy’ appeal – putting folks in positions of responsibility in dangerous, antisocial situations,” said Mark Charney, professor of Film, Theater and Screenwriting at Clemson University. “Since so many TV viewers prefer villains, you have a population actually excited about breaking the rules.”
Crystal meth is no joke, but “Breaking Bad” has a few dark laughs. For example, in the pilot episode, Walter gets a birthday handjob from his wife. There’s nothing sexy about it. They carry on a dull conversation while Skyler sells stuff on eBay and apathetically strokes away.
Skeptics of “Breaking Bad” may write it off as a poor man’s “Weeds,” but this show is a darker breed. Meth is much more dangerous than marijuana, and it attracts more dangerous people. While the show has its funny moments, they’re sparse and charcoal black compared to the lighthearted, comedic feel of “Weeds.”
Walter behaves like a man with no alternatives because that’s exactly who he is. Torn between dangerous deals and love for his family in the face of death, Walter is a tragic and real character. Cranston plays the role fantastically; it’s a welcome change from his work on “Malcolm in the Middle.”
If you want pathos and pitch black comedy, this show is just what the chemist ordered.
