"A cavalier disregard for customary fiction." Chapter 29: Breaking Convention

If you haven't been keeping up with Breaking Bad, simply put, you're doing yourself a disservice.

I've only recently become enamoured with BrBa, watching all five seasons in the past month. I've watched a simple family man become a meth-cooking drug kingpin, and it's been nothing short of astonishing what this show has been able to accomplish in regard to the fine art of character development and storytelling.

As any fan of Breaking Bad has inevitably done, I find myself really thinking about the eventual conclusion to this ludicrously engrossing epic. The show's unconventional approach to character sympathy, plot lines, and story arcs has really made me really dissect my personal perception of fiction in general, which is no easy feat.

It's rare that a show demands so much of us as viewers, and is rewarded with success. It's refreshing. It's not normal, and that's compelled me to analyze why BrBa has become such a massive cultural phenomenon.

The classic trope that almost all of mainstream fiction adheres to is good triumphs over evil. Period. In very few cases does a television show or movie stray from this formula, but Breaking Bad turns the concept completely on its head.

What happens when the protagonist transforms into something morally despicable, regardless of motive? Does the end justify the means? Does one's allegiance fade over time? How loyal does one, (as a fan) stay to a character as he or she slowly morphs into something barely recognizable?

Most typical works of fiction tend to wrap up neatly, with minimal casualties (literal or figurative). This show has been unapologetic in its emotional turmoil. Breaking Bad has been almost cavalier in its disregard for customary fiction.  (Plus, it's brilliantly written, shot, and acted, which doesn't hurt.)

It's the storytelling that's really the star here, however, and the story happens to be ending this Sunday.

It's been quite the ride for Walter White and soon, the chaos is coming to an end, for better or for worse. Every fan in the world has predictions, anticipations, questions they want answered, and above all else, an excitement to see What Happens Last. None of us can possibly be certain of what's going to go down.

The only thing that's certain in my mind is Breaking Bad is going to continue breaking convention, and the art of storytelling through fiction is better off because of it.

                                                                                                              -NxB

Watching: Breaking Bad

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Chapter 28 - All Of The Above

Creative Communications. Year two of two. Let's get started, then.

We aren't the bright-eyed innocents anymore. Shrugging our shoulders and pouting our lips in an apathetic apology to our instructors just plain doesn't cut it if we fail. We're "the second-years" now. No more messing around. No more excuses. No more unanswered questions.

Speaking of unanswered questions, I've been having the same conversation for about 20 years now, at least once a week. Sometimes with another person, sometimes internally; always the same question:

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I hated the question when I was five and I hated it recently, when an assignment asked the same thing. -- of course, it wasn't framed in those exact words -- instead, this time, we were asked "What are your goals? videojournalist? Shooter/editor? Freelancer? On-air personality?"

I miss these days, when staying inside the lines was the only thing I had to worry about.

The short answer, for me, is All Of The Above, so why is it still such a frustrating endeavour to endure this inner-dialogue?

I think it's probably because I don't want to do any one thing for the rest of my life. People change, (me especially) and the prospect of walking one path for the rest of my life frightens and frustrates me.

But I believe I've figured out why.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" and "Who are you going to be to this world?" aren't the same questions, and I've been treating them as if they were. That's frustrating because there will never be an answer to the latter of the two questions. That's for history to dictate.

I think we should stop asking kids in Kindergarten what they're going to be when they grow up, not-so-subtly insinuating that What You Do = Who You Are.

It isn't. At least, it shouldn't be.

What You Do is determined by, simply, what you do; whereas Who You Are ought to be determined by the content of your character; how you treat others, how you contribute to your community and your society, and the legacy that you leave behind.

I'll aim to be a good person, to treat everyone with at least a modicum of respect, and basically leave every person/place better off than how I found them. I'll aim to be remembered fondly.

That's what I want to be when I grow up.

                                                                                                              -NxB

Listening to: "Madness" by Muse