When discussing violence in television and how it relates to society, there may be no better show than Breaking Bad. Breaking Bad is notorious for its violence, whether mental or physical, and several other instances of illegal crime. Our group decided it would be necessary to analyze the show and find out how it could affecting society with its mischief and violence. We chose the first four episodes of the entire show to showcase how quickly viewers of all ages are thrown into the violence of Breaking Bad. With this approach, the viewer is able to get a grasp on just how violent this show may become, and one may also get a glimpse on the nature of the show itself. The first four episodes are important to a show because it sets the tone for the rest of the series. Breaking Bad is one of the most popular shows in American …show more content…
There is, however, a good mix of both mental and physical harm. In Breaking Bad, mind games are often played with characters. Some examples of violence that our group saw were causing death by explosions, stabbing and shooting. Mentally, Walt tries to commit suicide, Jesse and Walt often verbally abuse each other throughout the series and in the four shows we watched. Some of the mischief is lesser than true physical harm. In one instance, Walt screams at his boss and proceeds to knock merchandise off shelves.
So what does this mean to us? Breaking Bad offers a slow desensitization to violence for the viewer. This show normalizes the world of meth, making it look as if it is an everyday activity for many, which it is for some. You see the questionable societal morals from several of the characters in the show. Breaking Bad does a good job of justifying violence in certain settings and situations. Overall, this show’s high-intensity culture provides a plethora of examples of violence, desensitization and how drugs can affect a culture and
Breaking Bad is a show about Walter White, who is a middle-aged chemistry teacher that is a victim of the economy, cancer, and himself. This makes the audience feel a connection to the series, as it deals with ‘real-life’ problems. Walter barely makes enough money to cover his disabled son’s medical expenses and an incoming baby. After a ride-along with his DEA Agent brother, Hank, Walter sees a former student escaping from a meth-lab bust. Soon after that encounter, Walter approached the former student with an ultimatum, either Jesse (the student) cooks meth with Walter, or Walter will turn him into the DEA. Walter starts selling methamphetamine under the pseudonym Heisenberg. In order to provide for his family, he breaks moral and federal laws and justifies them all in the name of transcendence, or a higher calling as a father.
Breaking Bad is widely considered one of the best TV shows of all time and for a good reason. It has one particular plot that resonates with Hamlet, tragedy. The hook of this TV show is it’s brilliant deviation from a basic storyline and hero to one where it makes the viewer make judgement calls. Walter White is debated heavily as being either a hero, an anti-hero, or just a faulty hero. To set the scene, he is a high school chemistry teacher who just found out he has terminal cancer. Pretty heavy. And like all other people, he cares the most for his family and their financial security after his inevitable and fast-moving death. Involving himself into drug distribution is where everyone has to find out what’s morally right. Walter is very
The anti-hero, a flawed character acting as the protagonist, has grown in popularity despite the character’s questionable morals and unpredictable actions that follow. Those who oppose the anti-hero are widely ostracized in the piece itself and even publically. Skyler White, played by Anna Gunn, in AMC’s groundbreaking hit Breaking Bad is cast as the antagonist to her husband, Walter White, which is especially evident in season one episode five. In this episode Walt and Skyler’s relationship is the focus as the family looks at the course of action to take as they found out in the previous episode that Walt has lung cancer. Breaking Bad sets her up as the unlikeable antagonist using her gender, wardrobe, and cinematography to do so, while the
If anyone needs assistance in money laundering or helping to grow their drug empire, then better call Saul. Saul Goodman, the attorney for protagonist Walter White in the show Breaking Bad and the protagonist for Better Call Saul, is a defense attorney who is willing to do whatever it takes to make a quick buck. As a matter of fact, most lawyers today are condescending and will lie or do whatever it takes as long as they are gaining some sort of profit. However, that is really what television shows are illustrating to the public rather than actual facts. Television shows such as Law & Order, The Wire, or Breaking Bad are just a few examples of how television affects how defense attorneys are viewed in today's culture.
In America, violence has always been an integral part of national culture. Crime and bloodshed are glorified both on and off screen. The more disturbing the act of violence, the more enthralled the public seems. The most prolific of crimes, those committed by infamous serial killers, inspire the most attention. As said by Jeff Lindsay, creator of the book series that inspired the wildly-popular television program, Dexter, “We’re sickened and disgusted, but we need to know. And the more we know about the scene, the more we really are horrified” (“Sympathy for the Devils”). Violence, especially committed by this special class of felons, is enthralling. News reports play a role in this strange attraction, as it is through the news that people even have knowledge of such killers, but the evolution in the “serial killer genre” (Lindsay, “Sympathy for the Devils”) of film and television helps to desensitize people to the gruesome murders that are committed. This begs the question of whether this disturbing trend should be stopped, lest the American “culture of violence” (this has a source) continues to grow stronger. Through news reports, film, and television, criminals are constantly romanticized through use of sympathetic characterization and gratuitous depictions of their crimes, which lends to peoples’ increasingly positive attitudes toward violence and, in turn, feeds the growing culture of violence in America.
Television with its far reaching influence spreads across the globe. Its most important role is that of reporting the news and maintaining communication between people around the world. Television's most influential, yet most serious aspect is its shows for entertainment. Violent children's shows like Mighty Morphing Power Rangers and adult shows like NYPD Blue and Homicide almost always fail to show human beings being able to resolve their differences in a non-violent manner; instead they show a reckless attitude that promotes violent action first with reflection on the consequences later. Contemporary television creates a seemingly insatiable appetite for amusement of all kinds without regard for social or moral benefits (Schultze 41). Findings over the past twenty years by three Surgeon Generals, the Attorney General's Task Force on Family Violence, the American Medical Association, the National Institute of Mental Health, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other medical authorities indicate that televised violence is harmful to all of us, but particularly to the mental health of children (Medved 70-71).
For a long time now the debate has been, and continues to be, as to whether or not violence on television makes children more violent. As with all contentious issues there are both proponents and detractors. This argument has been resurrected in the wake of school shootings, most notably Columbine and Erfurt, Germany; and acts of random violence by teenagers, the murders of two Dartmouth professors. Parents, teachers, pediatricians, child psychiatrists, and FCC Chairmen William Kennard and former Vice President Al Gore say violent TV programming contribute in large part to in violence in young people today. However, broadcasters and major cable TV providers like Cox Communication say that it is the parent’s fault for not making it clear to their kids as what they may or may not watch on TV. The major TV networks and cable providers also state it is the TV industry’s fault as well for not regulating what is shown on TV. So who is the guilty party in this argument of whether or not TV violence influences of the behavior young people in today’s society?
The media is a dominating aspect of American culture. The way the media depicts crime and criminal behavior has an effect on the way society views crime and criminals. Television series such as CSI, NCIS, Law and Order, Criminal Minds and countless others, have become very popular in our society today showing that our culture has an immense interest in crime. It is clear that there is a fascination with criminals and why they do the things they do. To analyze the way crime dramas represent crime and criminal behavior, I completed a content analysis of one episode of Criminal Minds. The episode I chose was season one; episode eight, which first aired in 2005, titled ‘Natural Born Killer’.
addition the average American child will witness over 200,000 acts of violence on television including 16,000 murders before the age of 18 (DuRant, 445). Polls show that three-quarters of the public find television entertainment too violent. When asked to select measures that would reduce violent crime “a lot”, Americans chose restrictions on television violence more often than gun control. Media shows too much violence that is corrupting the minds children, future leaders of our society. In a study of population data for various countries sh...
Media portrayal of crime and criminal justice has become incredibly widespread in the last decade, with crime often considered both a source of news and entertainment. As a source of entertainment, crime and criminal justice have emerged as central themes across various sources of media. Most individuals do not have any direct experience with the criminal justice system, so their only source of information on this topic is the media. Particularly in television shows, portrayals of crime and criminal justice can be seen in everything from courtroom dramas to nightly news programs. Indeed, the popularity of crime shows has lead to some of television’s most enduring series, such as Law and Order and CSI. Because of this, fictional
We've come to a point where television has become so loaded with “vampire-this” and “werewolf-that,” that each show has begun to look like the reruns of another. Luckily, this definitely isn't the case for creator Vince Gilligan's, Breaking Bad. Breaking Bad follows the life of Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston), an ordinary high school chemistry teacher. With a loving wife and teenage son at home, over time, Walter has formed an exceedingly mundane routine for his life. After soon discovering that he had been diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer, Walter decided to take extreme measures in order to secure his family financially. Eventually, he would descend into a world so dark and utterly twisted, that it would eventually consume him. Walter White became Heisenberg; the greatest drug lord the streets had ever seen. As he ascended in status within the drug cartel, the love and trust he had from his family and friends quickly descended. There are thousands of reasons that explain why millions of people tune into Breaking Bad. This series offers a much needed relief from the Dracula descendents, which frankly, are slowly diminishing any scope of variety existing on television. Because of the outstanding acting, seemingly distorted reality, and uniquely relatable storyline and characters, this hit show tops the charts as the best modern-day television series that cable has to offer.
Television has seen plenty of producers, writers and viewers attracted to crime and deviance. The crime drama series is not an unchanging structure but develops in an intricate relationship with audiences, media institutions, social contexts and other genres. Crime drama series’ structure often begins with some strains to the social order by criminal forces. Historically police officers or “cops” are good and the criminals are bad. However today we can notice “bent” cops and sometimes sympathetic villains.
Society has been bombarded with violence from the beginning of time. These concerns about violence in the media have been around way before television was even introduced. Nevertheless, there have been numerous studies, research, and conferences done over the years on television, but the issue still remains. Researchers do acknowledge that violence portrayed on television is a potential danger. One issue is clear though, our focus on television violence should not take attention away from other significant causes of violence in our country such as: drugs, inadequate parenting, availability of weapons, unemployment, etc. It is hard to report on how violent television effects society, since television affects different people in different ways. There is a significant problem with violence on television that we as a society are going to have to acknowledge and face.
Even though violence is apart of our lives, I think society can limit the amount of violent programs that they watch. If people limit watching violence on television maybe the world wouldn’t be as involved with violence as it is now. Based on this data, I have concluded that Marie Winn is correct about television being a serious addiction.
Reality TV has affected American society by encouraging violent behavior. Reality TV shows such as, “The Bad Girls Club”, or “Big Brother” promote violence, and are popular to many teens. These shows purposely choose individuals whom