The POP-EXPOSE: Critiquing Breaking Bad!
Story Courtesy of Serpentorslair Contributor ‘Train‘!
Breaking BAD
I’m a little behind the times and have just recently started watching Breaking Bad. I’m into the 2nd season only, but there have been many moral and ethic questions entertained so far in these episodes. What do you think is right or wrong?
The first thing that comes to mind is murder.
Walter falls into the wrong hands and is forced at gun point to cook up a batch of Meth. In an attempt to save his life he created a chemical explosion which will kill you if you breath it in. One man survives the explosion and is locked to a pole in the basement where in the end Walt had to cold bloodedly kill him or the man would have stabbed him with a piece of glass and Walt would have been dead. My grandfather stormed the beaches of Normandy in WWII. A farm boy from a small town now trained to kill or be killed. If you are defending yourself, is killing another person justified? Certainly in war, but how about in a drug war?
Next thing is drug regulation and abuse.
Obviously the precedence of the show is Crystal Meth. But Walt touches on some other drug facts. While Walt and his Brother in Law Hank who is in the DEA, share a drink and a Cuban cigar. Walt makes the point that the alcohol they were enjoying would have been an illegal substance in the prohibition days. Then he also pointed out that Cubans are illegal in the US. Hank felt nothing of it though, and perhaps felt he was above the law and it was ok that he had illegal drugs.
They also touched on Marijuana, when the janitor was arrested for having a small amount of recreational drug in his truck. He most likely lost his job (I missed the part if they actually did fire him).
Then there were the junkies with a child.
The obvious people who should not have a child. The 2 people that the only thing that matters in the world is themselves and their drug addiction. Never mind the small neglected child who has nothing, as long as their addiction is feed the kid can take care of himself.
Last fact of drug abuse I saw was cigarettes. One of the most commonly abused drugs in today’s society. Walt’s wife who plays the straight shooter, goes on a stint of a few cigarettes to cope with stress. Only bad part besides putting her own body in harms way, she puts their unborn child in harms way. Already having a son with birth defects, she feels her personal state of mind is more important then her own child’s health. Quickly though her morals take over and she puts the smokes to rest.
How about sex.
Walt and Skyler’s sex life gets spiced up with a little spontaneous flirting and back seat whoopee. When asked what was so different and great now, the fact that it was illegal and the possibility of getting caught really can make the heart pump.
As I get farther into the show I will be curious of what moral issues might be put under the micro scope. Also I’m wondering what other issues they touched on in the show that I may have already missed.
What is your take on these issues?
What other moral or ethic issues have you seen covered in Breaking Bad? JUMP IN AND TELL US!
