Last semester, I had an awesome opportunity to take a class on the hit TV show "Breaking Bad." One of the cool aspects of the class was seeing how the show could be related to literature from the 1500s. One of the plays that we discussed while watching the show was Christopher Marlowe’s the “Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus.” Throughout the story of "Breaking Bad," we are given a first-class seat into the view of a Walt-centric world. This can be a both good and bad thing; while it does allow us to find a few shreds of humanity in Walt’s actions, it prevents us from seeing the events unfold through other characters eyes.
This was one of the many thing we learned in this class. We were able to decipher how the main character reacts to these main events, but not how these events impact specific characters. We looked at the character Gus Fringe, and how Vince Gilligan skillfully crafted Gus as the classic villain to stand as a contrast to Walter. However, based on the majority of the series, we do not get to know Gus until it is close to his demise. It was interesting to see the value of literature and it helped me to analyze the characters in a different way. We argued throughout the class that if we considered Walter to be a Dr. Faustus figure that would have to place Gus as Mephistopheles and other issues of that sort.
You are probably wondering how on earth a class on "Breaking Bad" can benefit students today. Why take a class on "Breaking Bad" (aside from the fact that it is awesome)? The characters of "Breaking Bad" are made so that they reflect the qualities that we see in everyday life and literature. Throughout the episodes of "Breaking Bad" that feature Gus Fringe, we see that he represents a character we have seen before. Both Gus and Mephistopheles share similar literary qualities that set them up to be the bad guy. Gus represents our modern day devil and that is how Gilligan paints him to be.
But why does all this matter? It is the same answer for the time old question “Why study literature?” This class mattered because it showed how and why literature is relevant. It helps us to understand human nature and the things that drive us to make certain decisions. It also helps us to tap into our empathetic side and see situations from a different perspective. The show illustrates how art forms change as I learned this from a television series.
However it also shows us that everything is connected and draws back to the instances the impact our lives. Studying a television or studying literature gives us all the qualities we need to make the world a better place. And I learned this all from on class based on "Breaking Bad." So take classes that don’t seem to make any sense, put yourself out there, and don’t ever underestimate the power of a good TV show.
