"Breaking Bad" or Breaking Norms

AMC's five season television show, "Breaking Bad" has created a huge buzz the last few years and will likely continue to draw in viewers. This violent, suspenseful show about a normal, middle aged man that "turns bad" challenges the common stereotype of what someone involved in the illegal drug business is like.

Walter White, created the idea for a billion dollar company, but left his co-workers for personal reasons and settled down in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He married a woman named Skyler and had a son named Walt Jr. Working as a chemistry teacher, Walt received a modest salary. This proved to be an obstacle to survival when he became diagnosed with lung cancer. The treatment he needed was very expensive and Walt didn't want to leave his child and pregnant wife with no money. After thinking things over, he intervened and confronted his lazy and drug-ridden former student Jesse Pinkman about teaming up in the methamphetamine business. Together, they experienced extreme danger but seemed to always look out for one another. Walter made money but slowly lost all of his morals that he possessed before.

I think that most of the characters in this series are well portrayed and many break the norms that society has put in place for them. When society thinks of a white, middle-aged, professional man, nobody would even consider him to be involved in a major meth operation, but a character like Jesse is easily the closest thing to what is considered a "druggie." I think its a good mix to use characters that fit stereotypes and others that break norms, pushing character's boundaries on one end, but keeping a stereotypical character on the other. I think this is one reason why this show is so popular and continues to be a favorite among many.


 Background on the series here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Bad