In the past, the feature film, compared to the television original programming, had always been r... more In the past, the feature film, compared to the television original programming, had always been regarded as the better of the two. It was thought to be the one capable of artistic expression, while television's sole purpose could be monetary gain. While film is now an established subject for serious studies, television is still regarded as a concept that is to be studied merely in terms of its broadcast and monetary value; examining whole networks, rather than specific television shows, or in the case of serial television, not examining it as a narrative equal to or even greater in quality to the feature film. In the last couple of years, as audience behaviour toward viewing television original programming had changed, and the number of viewers still spending time being told when to watch a specific program is receding, television networks had to work harder and harder to keep their viewers interested in their programs. The viewers are also becoming more demanding in terms of stories they are willing to digest. On the one side, there is an increasing demand for quick-burst situational comedy, while on the other there is a growing patience for complex stories that develop over many episodes or even seasons. Breaking Bad, premiered on AMC on January 2008, is only one of many serial narratives that fall into this latter category. It follows the life of Walter White, a high-school chemistry teacher diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, that decides to start cooking 'crystal meth' in order to take care of his family after his death. What starts off as an interesting, if somewhat disturbing premise for a 'rags-to-riches' story (Booker, 2004), turns out to be a slowly evolving narrative about a man who starts losing himself in a world of crime, not just being engulfed by it, but becoming an integral part of it. The show creator Vince Gilligan explains the title of the show in an interview (American Film Institute, Youtube, 2012) as a local expression from the part of Virginia where he comes from, meaning 'to raise hell', but as the show progresses, we can see that the entire series is trying to do more than just 'raise hell' through flashy storytelling; it is exploring the concept of taking an
In the past, the feature film, compared to the television original programming, had always been r... more In the past, the feature film, compared to the television original programming, had always been regarded as the better of the two. It was thought to be the one capable of artistic expression, while television's sole purpose could be monetary gain. While film is now an established subject for serious studies, television is still regarded as a concept that is to be studied merely in terms of its broadcast and monetary value; examining whole networks, rather than specific television shows, or in the case of serial television, not examining it as a narrative equal to or even greater in quality to the feature film. In the last couple of years, as audience behaviour toward viewing television original programming had changed, and the number of viewers still spending time being told when to watch a specific program is receding, television networks had to work harder and harder to keep their viewers interested in their programs. The viewers are also becoming more demanding in terms of stories they are willing to digest. On the one side, there is an increasing demand for quick-burst situational comedy, while on the other there is a growing patience for complex stories that develop over many episodes or even seasons. Breaking Bad, premiered on AMC on January 2008, is only one of many serial narratives that fall into this latter category. It follows the life of Walter White, a high-school chemistry teacher diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, that decides to start cooking 'crystal meth' in order to take care of his family after his death. What starts off as an interesting, if somewhat disturbing premise for a 'rags-to-riches' story (Booker, 2004), turns out to be a slowly evolving narrative about a man who starts losing himself in a world of crime, not just being engulfed by it, but becoming an integral part of it. The show creator Vince Gilligan explains the title of the show in an interview (American Film Institute, Youtube, 2012) as a local expression from the part of Virginia where he comes from, meaning 'to raise hell', but as the show progresses, we can see that the entire series is trying to do more than just 'raise hell' through flashy storytelling; it is exploring the concept of taking an
Uploads
Papers by Rok Sanda