Breaking Code

When I first wrote about Breaking Bad, I'd only seen the one season on dvd. <1>  Having viewed the complete series now, Bad is television drama that retains its noir sting.  There are flashes of confrontation and violence that bring the Western into the equation as well.  But no matter the genre conventions it uses, the show is always engrossing television, superbly written, acted and produced.

II.

Breaking Bad is also popular art that invites serious discussion. Issues of morality in contemporary America are boldly raised, and powerfully dramatized by the show.  At its centre, there is the character of Walter White.  Speaking of character in a fictional work involves identifying traits, and considering how those traits change, or become reinforced over time.  But what does it mean when a character is most present when his character is most absent?

I mean that it allows White to turn from character, into cypher. <2> Whereas character is usually developed by the interaction of an individual with social figures and factors, a cypher can be self-made.  White then breaks the codes of established law and morality, and displaces them with his own encoded compulsions.  It allows White to keep his criminality secret as long as he does, and charges his new role as a gangster.

III.

Bryan Cranston's performance as Walter White is attentive to reminding us of White's vulnerabilities throughout the series. Among the many images that will stay with me is that of Walter White thus, crying out in helpless grief.  To be sure, his is an agony caused by bearing the full fruit of his actions.  But I was also seeing the agony that may be caused by extinguishing character and self, and the consequences that follow for the soul.
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<1>"Running Between the Raindrops". BMT, November 2013.
<2>"Cypher", from the Arabic sifr meaning "zero", or, nothing.