Masculinity in Breaking Bad

Download or read book Masculinity in Breaking Bad written by Bridget Roussell Cowlishaw and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-04-03 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following on author Peter Rollins’ motto “If it isn’t popular, it isn’t culture,” this collection of new essays considers Vince Gilligan’s award-winning television series Breaking Bad as a landmark of Western culture—comparable to the works of Shakespeare and Dickens in their time—that merits scholarly attention from those who would understand early the 21st century zeitgeist. The essayists explore the series as a critique of American concepts of masculinity, with Walter White discussed as a father archetype—provider, protector, author of a legacy—and as a Machiavellian warrior on the capitalist battleground. Other topics include the mutual exclusivity of intellect and masculinity in American culture, and the dramatic irony as White's rationales for his criminal life are gradually revealed as a lie. In “round table” chapters, contributors discuss the show’s reception, fans who root for “Team Walt,” “Skyler-hating” and Breaking Bad as a feminist text.