Elements of the Gangster Genre in television series Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad is a television series that premiered on AMC channel on January 20, 2008 and ended on September 29, 2013, after five seasons. The series follows the main protagonist, Walter White, for two years after he is diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer, while struggling to make ends meet for his family. Walter begins to manufacture and distribute crystal methamphetamine with the help of his former student and current small-scale drug dealer Jesse, in order to secure the financial future of his family. The series is mostly concerned with all the complications Walter’s descent into the world of crime brings, and the consequences of his actions to himself and to the people close
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As his greed takes over and he begins to gather power, he becomes unstoppable. His desire to raise his profits prompts him to constantly look for ways to outwit and overpower either his boss or his opponents at all costs. While he has the chance to make millions of dollars in a few months by working for Gustavo Fring in a controlled and safe super-laboratory, his ego does not allow him to be subjected to Fring’s authority. Thus, he orchestrates an elaborate plot to extinguish him, which includes the bombing of a nursing home.
Walter’s wounded ego may be his driving force for transformation
Addiction to Power and Moral Decay
Moral corruption is a notable and recurrent theme of gangster films. The protagonist usually has an initial innocence, or ignorance of the means and ways of the life of crime. He is reluctant to use violence and hesitant to manipulate people, as evidenced in The Godfather and Goodfellas. But as the hero gets more involved with this world, he becomes disillusioned of the usefulness of morality in the conventional
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Despite his initial reluctance to get involved with anything located outside his domain, cooking, in the drug business, his inevitable participation in the decision making and the street trade gives him a taste of the power a kingpin can acquire. His initial perception of violence as wrong and acceptable only in the case of self-defense is subject to change in the course of the series. His first two killings take place clearly in self-defense, the first in the Pilot episode with his assailants holding a gun to his head, and the second after days of consideration and hesitation with the victim attempting to kill him. Walter is in deep internal conflict for the killings and the use of violence and afterwards he experiences remorse. From this point in the series that morally ambiguous choices are considered a necessary evil, down to the point that Walt lets his partner’s girlfriend choke on her vomit on purpose, on the justification that she constitutes an obstacle to their flourishing partnership, there is a remarkable transformation taking
This is not only frustrating for Walter, but also for Bryan because I am sure that it may often seem like all his hard work is for nothing, especially since he is mostly doing it for free. I also find fault with the idea that Walter needed to admit his wrongdoings, “especially with women” because his past is irrelevant to this specific case, as he is completely innocent. Everyone makes mistakes but it is because of his unjust situation that he is forced to recognize them, as if this will get him any closer to justice and freedom. Even if Walter had lived a life of crime and immoral behavior, it would still be irrelevant as he still did not commit this crime, and therefore, was not worthy of being locked away and sentenced to death, while the real murderer was freely walking the streets. This only perpetuates the fear and stereotypical idealizations mainstream society has as black men as dangerous, and inherently
“I am like any other man. All I do is supply a demand” – Al Capone. 1920’s Chicago, a place riddled with crime and vice became victim to a cultural widespread of lawlessness. Research indicates that the iconic mafia Lord Al Capone “Scarface” saw Chicago as his domain to commit unjust actions however his actions weren’t the sole contributor to the Chicagoan chaos in 1920’s - 1930’s.
“Never rat on your friends, and always keep your mouth shut” (Quotes from Goodfellas, n.d.). This quote from the 1990 critically acclaimed film Goodfellas encompasses some of the main foundations the American Mafia is built upon. And although this film was a major motion picture created in Hollywood, it was based on a true story and kept most of the key aspects of the Mafia’s culture. The role that family played in each individual sect across the country was unified in the sense that it was, by far, the most important to every member of the American Mafia. In the Mafia’s prime (approximately 1920-1985), it shared enough values with the dominant American culture, while maintaining a good amount of differences, to be considered a U.S. co-culture.
Certain people take on missions for different reasons. Brave Farah Ahmedi, in The Other Side Of The Sky, scaled a mountain, with a prosthetic leg and a mother who needed all of her attention, to reach freedom. Affectionate Walt Masters, in The King Of Mazy May, risked his life to help someone else. Helpless Aengus, in The Song Of Wandering Aengus, searches his whole entire life to possibly find true love. All of these people took on these missions for a reason, while Farah and Walt were trying to protect someone(s), Angus just wanted to be happy.
Don’t be fearful or angry all the time. Ask the question: Do we deserve to kill? And most importantly, have mercy and forgiveness. Since Walter symbolizes the reforming of the justice system, the ways he got out are the ways to reform the system, and Stevenson puts that in the reader's’
The movies made car crashes, gunfire, and killing seem like wonderful things just because these gangsters had cool cars, girlfriends, and nice clothes (Lieurance 71). These gangsters were so glorified in the movies, but in real life, they were no joke. “During the first ten years of the 18th amendment, the murder rate climbed to 78% across the country and the arrests for drunken driving increased by 81%” (Hanson). One of the most popular and well-known gangsters in the 1920s was Al Capone (Lieurance 72). His most popular nickname was “Scarface” because when he was young he was attacked by a man named Frank Galluccio that cut his face three times with a razor (Lieurance 72).
But Walter is forgetting the situation that the family is in, we see how Mama’s constant empathy and compassion eventually get walter to be compassionate as well. Everyone has their own way of thinking, whether good or bad. For someone to recognize that is very special. Walter is constantly pestering Mama for the money when everyone else says it's a bad idea, but Walter persists. And eventually Mama realizes what she is doing.
His family is devastated and Walter is worried about how his family will provide for themselves once he is gone. He is a
He has traveled to so many places and has done so many things within a couple weeks that nobody would expect from someone like Walter. He has talked to Sheryll whom he has had a crush on for a long time, and even meets her son and buys him a skateboard. He even finally stands up to his mean boss and yells at him: “But you don't have to be such a dick. Put that on a plaque, and hang it at your next job” (Stiller). This in my opinion is one of the biggest piece of evidence because throughout the movie Walter does not say one bad word and to hear him say that comes as a big surprise.
In the movie Scarface we view go in depth about some life events of Cuban refugee Tony Montana when he enters the United States and receives his green card. We also see what leads him to his criminal activities of becoming a national drug lord. In this film there are a number of different theories that can be applied. I will be using Cornish and Clarkes Rational Choice Theory, along with Robert Agnew’s Strain theory in order to analyze Tony’s reasoning behind committing these crimes. I will be using examples from the film Scarface in order to draw and link these theories with the film.
Although it may not seem like it all the time, there are many things he does that proves that differently. One of these many things he does, is in the beginning of the story he tells Travis, “In fact, here’s another fifty cents…Buy yourself some fruit today – or take a taxicab to school or something!” This statement is made by Walter to try and prevent their economic status from affecting his son. He wants his son to have everything that he deserves to have. Walter seems to be a very gentle, but yet tough love kinda doesn’t know what to do with his feelings type of guy.
In the popular television show Breaking Bad, the main character, Walter White, cooks and sells methamphetamine in order to leave behind money for his family after learning of his terminal lung cancer. The pilot to the series does an excellent job of portraying methamphetamine in ways that evidence suggests is true. Most illegal methamphetamine in the United States is cooked in small “stovetop” labs that may only exist for a few days in a remote location. (Drugs, Society & Human Behavior, pg. 135). Walter and Jesse Pinkman, his lowlife addict assistant, purchase an RV to drive to the remote desert region of New Mexico to cook the illicit meth.
Walter dealt with a hardship in his live as well. Walter was faced with racial discrimination. He wanted to have money to be able to to what he wants, follow his dreams. The only problem is that he didn 't have a high paying job. Your probably thinking to yourself why doesn 't he just get another job.
Al Capone: Balancing Power and an Antisocial Personality Disorder A person’s character is defined by a distinctive set of traits and their behavioral patterns. One’s personality affects their attitudes, beliefs, and the way they perceive the world. People with healthy personalities easily form relationships and find coping methods to handle everyday stresses. Those who struggle with a personality disorder have difficulty interacting with others.
Have you ever felt like you live more in a dream than in your real life? Well, that is what happened to Walter Mitty in his real life and in his day to day. Walter Mitty was an absent-minded driver and could not even handle simple mechanical tasks, becoming an incompetent person and that is what made Walter exceptional is his imagination. It was also a man who frequently imagined himself in thrilling situations. Walter was able to shed his timidity and exchange his imagined heroic fantasies for the real thing, in record time.