The radical notion that women like good movies
‘Breaking Bad’ is one of those well-written, well-acted shows that somehow inspires people to scream at each other in CAPSLOCK. The debate about Walter White and his wife and their drug-trade boils down to your answers to three deceptively simple questions that act as a rorschach test on masculinity in American culture.
So what about ‘Better Call Saul’? Will Gilligan and Gould offer us more female characters (to either love or hate)? So far I see only one major female role being advertised, that of Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn), a tough lawyer foil for Saul. At this stage, it just feels thin, and we all know that Gilligan and Gould can absolutely produce some interesting female characters to add to their Alberquerque setting; the question is, will they?
Because Jesse doesn’t fall into the same masculine megalomania that Walt does, he prevails. He suffers–god, does he suffer–but he is not sacrificed. He peels out of that Nazi compound in that old El Camino, tearing through the metal gates and sobbing and laughing his way away from his life as a prisoner of toxic masculinity–first Walt’s, then Jack and Todd’s.
Breaking Bad promo still. Written by Leigh KolbSpoilers ahead (through “Ozymandias”) “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone / Stand in the desert. … And on the pedestal these words appear: ‘My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: / Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!’” – “Ozymandias,” by Percy Bysshe Shelley In an analysis … Continue reading “Father Worship and the ‘Bad Fans’ of ‘Breaking Bad’”
Breaking Bad promo still. Written by Leigh Kolb “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone / Stand in the desert. … And on the pedestal these words appear: ‘My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: / Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!’” – “Ozymandias,” by Percy Bysshe Shelley In an analysis of the Sept. … Continue reading “Father Worship and the ‘Bad Fans’ of ‘Breaking Bad’”
Skyler is calling the shots now. Written by Leigh Kolb Warning: Spoilers Ahead Throughout the last five seasons of Breaking Bad, the female characters have played key roles–from playing adversaries to aiding and abetting–yet they are often overlooked as secondary characters. In fact, a recent article in The Atlantic doesn’t even mention any of the female characters … Continue reading “‘Breaking Bad’ and the Power of Women: Skyler, Lydia and Marie Take Control”
Breaking Bad promotional still. Written by Leigh KolbWarning: Spoilers Ahead Joseph Campbell immortalized the concept of the monomyth–or hero’s journey–in The Hero with a Thousand Faces, which is required reading for students of literature and film. Campbell mapped out the archetypical hero, who has traversed centuries of myths, stories, films and now, television shows. With the rise … Continue reading “A Modern Antihero’s Journey: The Goddess and Temptress in ‘Breaking Bad’”
**I’m assuming that the people who are reading this article, have caught up pretty far into both of these shows, so some spoilers are present. In the past few years I’ve noticed a shift in the televised portrayal of the villain. Character shows such as Mad Men, the Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy, Game … Continue reading “Seeking the Alpha in ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Sons of Anarchy’”
The cast of Breaking Bad Warning: Spoilers Ahead Season five of Breaking Bad began with the unraveling of Gus Fring’s drug operation, which had served as a puppeteer for most of the cast during the preceding seasons. The second episode, “Madrigal,” is named for the German parent company of Fring’s Los Pollos Hermanos. While the business … Continue reading “‘Yo Bitch’: The Complicated Feminism of Breaking Bad”
Hollywood has produced some of the most memorable bad girls and wicked women on-screen—from silent era’s infamous vamps to film noir’s femme fatales—but bad women do more than just entertain, particularly if we’re talking about the sweepingly emotional and excessively dramatic world of woman’s melodrama.
This is not to say that Amelia and Die are not sympathetic characters. Both want to do the best for their sons, but neither can handle the stress and actual responsibility of disciplining them. I do not mean for this to seem like an attack on Die and Amelia’s parenting skills, but rather a way to look at the sudden appearance of women in film who are not good at parenting.
Firstly, ‘The Babadook’ complicates the depiction of women as primarily victims by presenting Amelia as a complex and multi-faceted figure. For one, she is a not a young big-breasted girl but a mother and fully grown woman. This is not necessarily groundbreaking in itself.
