Research

Breaking Bad research task

Forbes magazine- http://www.forbes.com/sites/allenstjohn/2013/09/16/why-breaking-bad-is-the-best-show-ever-and-why-that-matters/#77e41794d93d

This article suggests that Breaking bad is one of the best shows ever made and talks about how the  main protagonist Walter White will go down in history as an iconic literary character and matches the likes of Don Corleone (part of the Godfather trilogy) and Jay Gatsby ( a fictional character which was made into a screen play based on F.Scotts Fitzgeralds novel), it is important to note that these other two characters are not TV stars and were both portrayed in movies.

Bryan Cranston (Walter White) tells how he related to his on-screen character

ImDb reviews- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903747/reviews?ref_=tt_urv

Over the 870+ reviews mostly all of them rated it 5 stars. Here are a few examples of some of the reviews:
One review titled "Pure Art" gives Breaking Bad the highest rating available and goes on to say it could even be a movie as you get disengaged with the grip of reality, something modern cinema does really well.

At the other end of the spectrum the reviews mostly go on to talk about how it is very "boring", but a lot of them are mostly separated and about different individual things people think are wrong with the show.



Mail online- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2564784/Real-life-Breaking-Bad-Ealing-Met-Police-uncover-crystal-meth-lab-driveway-family-home-leafy-residential-street.html
This article links directly to Breaking Bad and is a a lot closer to home, a meth lab was found set up around Hanwell and the accused person who ran it was also stated to be a Breaking Bad fan.


Mirror online- http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/breaking-bad-sparks-copycat-crimewave-2335128

This article looks at how people across America have taken Breaking Bad too seriously and have started copying the crimes they commit in the show, for example "Blue Meth" was found on the streets for the first time and this aimed at recreating Walter Whites blue meth. Another incident involved re-creating a murder from the show which sparked heated debates across talk shows about the violence that is allowed to be shown on modern TV.


Links which relate to my media debate

Does the media inspire copycat killers-http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/10/media-inspires-mass-shooters-copycats 

More information to what the media effects theory is about -http://www.sociology.org.uk/AS_Media_effects.pdf

Here is another example of people "following the media" in a copycat killing, this time it is based on the show Dexter and the person involved claims he felt just like the "psychopath serial killer"-http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1312182/Teenager-inspired-TV-Dexter-murder-brother.html

This article aims to give a balanced argument into who is to blame, the media or people?-https://drmarkgriffiths.wordpress.com/2016/07/25/imitate-modern-why-do-people-commit-copycat-killings/

Relevant theory- 
Media effects theory- Hypodermic needle model, Two step flow model
Narrative theory- character theory (Propp) Action & Enigma codes
Media forms- (The artistry of the TV show)
Ideologies

Book links-
The copycat effect-https://www.amazon.co.uk/Copycat-Effect-Popular-Tomorrows-Headlines/dp/0743482239

Children, Teens, Families and mass-media-https://www.questia.com/library/108662201/children-teens-families-and-mass-media-the-millennial



Representations-
Across all 5 seasons of the show lots of groups including minorities are represented. You have to bare in mind that these groups of people who are classed as minorities are only specific to where the show is based (Albuquerque U.S). Some of the main groups being represented are white Americans this includes both of the main protagonists and there families who are both seen to be middle class which is not something you would expect to see in a show about people cooking methamphetamine's; so this is an alternative representations as you would expect maybe a lower class person who maybe doesn't have an official job to be associated with the drug lifestyle and not a 50 year old chemistry teacher. Another prominent ethnic group that is represented throughout the show include people that are of Latin decent. This group is represented rather negatively as they are mostly shown to be the lower class and the ones involved with running drug empires and being drug users. In season 5 a minority group who usually aren't show on TV are represented and there is nothing positive to come out of it, the group are white supremacists (neo-Nazis), by the time season 5 had come around it Breaking Bad was one of the most popular shows on TV so they creators knew they had strong fan base who would listen to them, so they did what was morally correct and only portrayed negative stereotypes of this hate group.   


Media language and forms-
In the last season of Breaking Bad an episode titled Ozymandias (titled after the famous poem by Shelley) closely relates to the deeper meanings of the poem and is done through the media language and forms. The poem Ozymandias is about an ancient King, who's monument has fallen to ruin and his greatness shattered, the once great Kings proud boast has been ironically disproved. Just like Walter in that episode, everything he had worked for is gone. Rather more ironically he is compared to a "King" which denotes someone of great power. Across all 5 seasons we do learn the morality of Drug abuse and what it connotes, for example in the episode peek-a-boo we see the hardships that taking drugs causes when we look in on a family whose parents neglect their kid in favor for meth. Some of the episodes titles can connote what the series is about, for example the one above Ozymandias, connotes someone with great hubris as Walter thought he was invincible and this all powerful drug kingpin but he was a man just like anyone else.
Throughout the series we get to see Jessie's various facial expressions at different times of his life, rarely we do see a smile but this is only in the beginning of the show. Some of the facial expressions Jesse portrays are easily readable for example when his girlfriend at the time is shot and killed Jessie is obviously distraught but sometimes when he has a somber look on his face we wonder if he is depressed and about what. We do know though as the narrative develops Jessie becomes tired with living the drug lifestyle and wants out which leads to certain tired facial expressions.
Breaking Bad is one of the more visually pleasing TV shows out there and its artistic values can match that of some movies out there. This is because they were always trying things out of the box, for example they were always trying to get a clever shot from an unlikely inanimate object.
One of the songs used titled " A horse with no name" is cleverly used in sync(parallel) with the scenery at the time as Walter was driving through a desert, Breaking Bad did this a lot as they tried matching the mood and the scenery with music. One of the directors for Breaking Bad described part of the mise-en-scene as extremity important (especially the setting) as for some shots they would try and base in Albuquerque to add to the realism of the show. The vasts deserts in the show add to the iconography of the show as that's what makes it recognizable. When cooking meth or making shady deals there always vast scenery's of mounds and sand. 


Narrative-

Breaking Bad is a show that runs across 5 seasons and from the beginning to end we see a start and a finish, however in the middle the show picks up a non-linear narrative with some flashbacks occurring and enigma codes at the start of episodes. One episode in particular (the very first one- pilot) starts by showing the end of the episode, it includes enigma codes like trousers falling from the sky and two dead characters with one wearing a gas mask. This would intrigue the audience to watch the rest of the show to find out what happened.
The show follows the basic stereotypes that we know today that the Police (DEA) are the heroes and in this case they fulfill that role. Unusually in films and TV shows you wouldn't necessarily have the main characters as the villains but in Breaking Bad they flipped the roles. Although Walt and Jesse are the villains the audience don't see them as the bad guys because we've seen their characters grow and have an insight into their personal lives.
Similarly to what was mentioned above the editing of the show contributes to the narrative structure. The order in which some of the clips are shown disturbs the narrative as one clip which shows a plane blowing up is played at the end of the first season, however we only see why this happens halfway during the second season, this will keep the audience engaged with the show so they keep watching.

Genre-
Breaking Bad is a crime drama/ thriller. The generic conventions of this sort of genre in context with Breaking Bad include the excessive use of Drugs, gun/gang violence and explosions, the use of blood was limited in the show because it was aired on television. The characters also help reinforce the genre, for example the character Gus Fring (Albuquerque's drug king pin) shows why Breaking Bad is a crime-drama because his criminal empire runs along side his personal life. Gus hides his drug empire by appearing to good and laundering money through his fried chicken businesses. The actor Aaron Paul who portrays Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad  has been associated with other crime and thriller films such as Triple 9 and Need for Speed.


Institutions-
Breaking Bad was originally aired on AMC but is now shown on many channels including streaming service Netflix which it promotes the show through. It was also co-produced by Sony pictures. AMC, which used  to stand for American Movie Classics primarily aired theatrically released movies, but ever since TV programmed started to become more artistic is aired them, another popular show the AMC airs is called The Walking Dead. AMC is free to view on cable (America only) and is in approximately 85% of their households. AMC is aired in other countries, however it does cost money for a subscription service so people tend to stream its content through a third party. AMC is owned by the AMC network and has other sister channels such as BBC America which follows the remit of the BBC in the UK. Breaking Bad has gone global and has even been adapted with Spanish voice overs for the characters and a spin off show has been created due to the popularity of the characters.


Values and Ideologies-
https://imaginaryrelations.wordpress.com/2014/10/08/the-ideological-function-of-breaking-bad/
At the start of the show it does try to promote good family values by showing Walt in his family environment, in particular in an episode where he defends is handicapped son in front of some bullies. Even Walt hurt the other boys you still were made to thought Walt did the right thing in confronting them and even Skyler (Walt's wife) was pleased.

Audiences-
Breaking Bad was originally designed for people in the 18-30 age demographic but now because of the popularity it has reached many other age demographics which go below and above the original targeted ages. Because of the wide availability of the show, the psycho graphic groups that watch this show is undisclosed as the platform that it is viewed on has some influence. For example, American viewers who viewed Breaking Bad on basic cable maybe part of the struggler psychographic opposed to people who view it on Netflix which a popular subscription service among young people and families. The psychographic that may view Breaking Bad on Netflix could include explorers.
From looking at the show you may expect people who like drugs, not necessarily Methamphetamine to follow the show as they may want to connect with it and experiment with new things, although this is not a good thing it does provide a relate able story line with people who suffer from drug addiction and those who live the drug lifestyle.
Based on the psychographics mentioned above some of the audience maybe classed in the struggler category so are more expected to be the drug takers although other groups can and do take drugs. Therefore, the environment they're in makes them more prone to "copy" what is being done on TV and take drugs also to be like they're favorite characters.
At the time Breaking Bad first aired it wasn't as known about as it is today, as even today the show gains new audience numbers and increases in its ratings.
In my personal opinion I watched Breaking Bad for the entertainment, however some people, for example in the age demographic of 40-50 may watch it for surveillance so they can keep up to date with what people around them are doing, especially the younger people.