Interpreting Narrative

So, my film is not finished, but I've been showing a lot of people the stuff I have so far. And it's really interesting to hear what people say about it. Everybody has a different interpretation. Everybody has a different perspective -- telling me things that I never thought of while filming.

This got me thinking a lot about interpreting story and how different backgrounds and beliefs can cause different interpretations. 

Here's a little story.

A while ago, I dated this girl named Courtney. She wasn’t the nicest girl -- actually, she was downright cruel, but I can’t deny the love we shared for television and movies. After watching a show or a movie, we would both share our individual opinions and reasons for our opinions. Though we may not have always agreed, (which happened frequently thus resulting in our break up) we would both have educated and thought-out reasons for why we liked or didn’t like a show or movie. This was one of her few redeeming qualities.

            

Courtney and I both followed the show Breaking Bad very closely. It was perfect for television junkies like the two of us because it had strong character development, clever symbolism and great cinematography. We would watch season after season guessing what would happen next. The show follows the life of Walter White, who is an under appreciated chemistry teacher who turns to cooking methamphetamine to provide for his family after he is informed that he has lung cancer. As the show progresses, you see how the life of crime changes Walter White as he deviates from simple family man to becoming a megalomaniac drug kingpin.

          

 Breaking Bad shows the transformation from the good guy to the bad guy. And what usually happens to the bad guy at the end of a movie or television show? They die. When Breaking Bad was coming to its final season, Courtney and I made predictions on how the show would end. Opposed to popular belief, Courtney did not think that Walter was going to die at the end. She was certain that the writers were going to show how Walter pushed away everything that he valued in his life and then show him living with nothing left. I thought that was absurd. There was no way that the writers would let Walter White live after all of the villainous things that he had done throughout the series. Courtney and I had legitimate fights where we would yell and scream at each other because we couldn’t agree how it would end. More of her yelling at me because I didn't agree with her. Well, at least, that's how I remember it. 

She was convinced that Walter White would have to live with himself after ruining his life that he worked so hard to afford. She thought that this would be the punishment that Walter deserved giving the viewers a satisfying ending. I thought that Walter was going to die. I thought that the whole show revolved around how Walter tied to escape death, from when he first found out he had lung cancer to killing his drug competitor, and the conclusion would show how death finally caught up to him. Courtney did not like this. But when the finale premiered and Walter White died, I didn’t let Courtney forget it. It felt great being right. But more importantly, this showed how our different beliefs resulted in our different interpretations.

Walter White: Boring Lame Chemistry Teacher to Bad Ass Meth Cook

Let's be real here; for those of you who have seen Breaking Bad, you know why it's such an amazing show. For those of you who haven't seen it, just stop reading this post and go on a binge watch right now.
Character development is such an essential item for all films and television shows. There's nothing better than to see characters grow and change. And to be honest, in the words of Yeezus himself, "Imma let you finish, but Walter White had the best character development of all time."



Breaking Bad first came out in 2008, but the show wasn't buzzing at that time. It only got hyped up and became the most watched show on American cable when it was approaching the season finale. People were starting to go crazy with every episode being a cliff hanger. As the show started to get more noticed and recognized, everyone just knew Walter White as the bad ass, bald chemistry teacher suffering from Stage III lung cancer who could also cook some high quality blue meth. At least, that's who I knew Mr. White to be when I started hearing about Breaking Bad. But Mr. White was never anything close to being Heisenberg at the start of it. Instead he was the socially awkward, boring chemistry teacher.

He had hair on his head too. Weird.

How did he become such a bad ass you're wondering? It's obviously because of Aaron Paul's character, Jesse Pinkman.

Pinkman, bitch!

Yeah, Pinkman. I mean, just look at this: Walter starts doing the famous 'grab crotch' motion to anyone that makes him angry, just like Pinkman. 

Okay...so maybe that's not entirely the reason, but if we really want to explore this development, it all goes back to the man who plays the genius: Bryan Cranston. The writers never really developed a back story as to who Walter White really is when developing the show. So, Cranston made his own past. He gained weight for the show and dressed in bland and boring colors like green and brown. He also took some attributes that his father had like being slightly slouched over to make it seem like the character had so much weight on his shoulders. He starts off like this, being the protagonist in the show. But later on, we start to see how he becomes the antagonist and we as the audience start to question his morality in choices as well.

Some have suggested that Walter White actually adopts some traits off of the people he's murdered, and maybe that's what has led to him being such a bad ass. And it's a pretty accurate theory. Gus was probably the most irritating character of all for Mr. White; he was always ahead of Mr. White's plan and just knew exactly what to do. Later on, Walter would adopt the same concept. We even seen a little bit of Mike's personality in Walter, especially in the season finale. Mike had a non-sense attitude, kind of serious humor, and Walter would eventually develop the same personality, which can be witnessed here:

He pulls off some smooth tricks that really do make him the bad ass that he is. For example, he pulls of a stunt when selling meth to one of his "bosses" early in the season:

And other pretty sneaky stunts like when he finally got rid of Gus:

Whether or not you think Mr. White is the bad ass bad guy at the end of it all, he did start out pretty lame. But to become this genius meth cook that happens to be two steps ahead of his enemies is still pretty awesome if you ask me. We even witness in the beginning of the season how he ends up being the one pursued all the time. But eventually towards the fourth season, he becomes the pursuer. He's no longer Walter White at the end of it, but instead he finally becomes Heisenberg. 

Always in style.

Shock of 65th Emmy Awards

Award Season has finally kicked off! The Emmy Awards were this weekend and they were quite different from years before. Check it out.

Neil Patrick Harris was the host this year so expectations were high, not only because he has quite the experience with hosting big award shows like the Tonys, but also because he is the main character of the funny sit-com How I Met Your Mother.  However, perhaps my expectations were too high.  The grand entrance of an original musical number, specially choreographed to the Emmys for our excitement and to keep us wanting to watch more was none other than disappointing.  Mostly because there wasn’t one.  Instead it was like most previous openings where other celebrities are in some way trying to tell him how to host a show and what he is doing wrong, as well as him taking a few jabs at other celebrities in the audience.  The opening of the show was quite sad, much like the rest of the show.

 

This year the show seemed more to me as a funeral reception more than anything.  Like Ken Levine, a hollywood comedic writer, put it, “it was one long funeral interspersed with production numbers.” There were individual tributes, musical tributes, presidential tributes, and they even felt it necessary to show Lee Harvey Oswald get shot again. I was very confused by all of this. Especially by Elton Johns tribute to Liberace.  Its been over 25 years, I didn’t get it but maybe im just missing something, I don’t know.  Regardless, I did not see the relevance most of that had to do with the actual Emmy awards.

To kick off one of the big shocks of the night. Merrit Wever, from Nurse Jackie, won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She out-won Anna Chlumsky from Veep, Jane Krakowski from 30 Rock, Jane Lynch from Glee, Mayim Bialik from The Big Bang Theory, Sofia Vergara in Modern Family, and two-time consecutive Emmy winner, Julie Bowen, from Modern Family. I definitely didn’t see that one coming. And perhaps what was even more unexpected was her speech.  A short and humorous “ Thank you so much. I gotta go. Bye” was all she said in response to her new piece of gold.  Maybe she was afraid of the getting cut off by the music cue in the middle of an important acknowledgment like every other winning actor and actress of the night. Either way it was actually pretty fun to watch since it was not at all what I was expecting to happen.

The other major shock of the night was when Jeff Daniels, as Will McAvoy, in the show The Newsroom, was the winner for Outstanding Lead Actor in Drama Series.  He beat out John Hamm as Don Draper in Mad Men,  Hugh Bonneville  for Downton Abbey, Damian Lewis for Homeland,   Kevin Spacey for House of Cards, and Bryan Cranston as the infamous Walter White of Breaking Bad.   My mouth dropped to say the least. I definitely would have lost a bet on this one.  All of these actors do tremendous work, however I firmly believe Breaking Bad would not be the show it is without Bryan Cranston.  His performances are incredible and very much worth of the acknowledgement. 

 On a different note, The mid-show performance referencing all of the shows for best TV drama was really cool to watch. The choreography was spectacular in the way that every move correlated to the different themes of the shows and what they represent.  It was by far my favorite part of the entire show.  Besides when Tina Fey and Amy Poehler decided to crawl up the stage. That was priceless.

The Emmy awards are always something I look forward to watching around this time of year.  However this year was a miss in terms of entertainment for me so I hope for the Oscars and Golden Globes to make up for it in the next few months.                             

Breaking Bad, Breaking Fans, and Breaking Binge Watching

I'm well aware of the fact that I've written about Breaking Bad in nearly every one of my blog posts this semester, but let's ignore that for a second and focus on what really matters here; last Sunday's blisteringly painful (and antepenultimate) episode of the series. The buildup for this particular entry of the show had been approaching astronomical levels. Amid rumors of creator Vince Gilligan calling it his favorite episode ever and the extreme, cut-to-black cliffhanger ending of the previous episode, Twitter and Facebook users alike were collectively - excuse my language - losing their shit. The title of the episode alone is an homage to, appropriately enough, Percy Bysshe Shelley's Poem "Ozymandias," about a former "king of kings" that has since fallen from grace and disappeared forever in the sands. I'm no poetry major, but the similarities are enough for any fan of Breaking Bad to see.

I'll try and keep this summation/rant/love letter to Vince Gilligan as spoiler free as possible, but there are some events I'll just have to mention, so be warned. I've spent the past three days trying - and failing - to explain as eloquently as possible my opinion of the new developments on the show (If you want a truly great recap of the episode, check out Grantland's Andy Greenwald's take on things) but I think I'm finally ready to get my thoughts out there. At the very least, this may be a bit therapeutic for me: God knows I need something to dig me out of the funk I've been in.

To be blunt, "Ozymandias" made me feel things that I didn't know a TV show was capable of making me feel. My emotions ran the gamut of terrified to devastated to hopeful and then back to terrified. I was watching this show in a room full of 4-5 generally rowdy college guys, and each time the show cut to a commercial break there was dead silence. What started out five seasons ago as a fun (if very dark and gritty) "TV" show now felt extremely real. Too real. All Breaking Bad fans knew that everything was always pointing in this direction, but the sudden realization that it was all happening at the same damn time was too much to handle. Just thinking about it now has my adrenaline pumping.

From one of the first shots of a younger, oblivious Skyler talking on the phone to Walter, I knew things weren't going to end well (that knife rack anyone? Breaking Bad never foreshadows a weapon that it'll never use). And I was right. Any hope left for Hank - excuse me, ASAC Schrader - was gone within the first 15 minutes of the episode. And things just went downhill from there.

So much can be said about the decline of Walter White; how, no matter what, he failed to take responsibility for the hole he dug himself into or how the family that he sacrificed everything to protect no longer recognizes him as one of their own. How he rats on Jesse (poor Jesse, who ended up being the wisest, yet most tragic character on the show) and then almost kills his wife and son with a knife. "WE ARE A FAMILY," he screams, as his crippled son stands between him and his trembling wife, who is currently being held at knife point.

Let me repeat that. Walter is holding his wife and son at knife point. 

The acting was as top notch as ever (Bryan Cranston absolutely nailed the telephone call scene, filling his voice with loathing to throw the police off the scent of Skyler - thereby taking all the blame - while simultaneously breaking down in tears at the thought that he was about to lose his entire family forever. Seriously, I've never seen a better piece of acting.) but so much credit needs to go to Gilligan, writer Moira Walley-Beckett, and director Rian Johnshon. Kudos to Johnson for letting the characters tell the story - including the town of ABQ, which has become a character in and of itself - and for just

Heisenberg and Ozymandias

absolutely killing it cinematically.

And of course, Mr. Gilligan. I'm not sure whether to love him or loathe him right now. This episode of television was so devasting, so hard to endure, so - as Greenwald puts it -  "designed to counter our cultural turn toward binge-watching," that it almost seems inhumane to say that one enjoyed it. And yet it was perfect. It made an entire audience stop and think about what had just happened. And I don't mean the kind of thinking that you do while you wait for the new episode of Low Winter Sun to start; I mean the kind of thinking that immediately makes you turn off the TV and then proceeds to keep you up at night. We'd been through 60 episodes of rising action, building building building, until finally, we reach this climax. Because this was indeed the climax of our story; the next two episodes, whatever they have in store, will be the show's Shakespearean denouement. Our "hero" has fled, and now all that's left is the cleaning up of loose ends, the products of some sloppy half measures. And we know what Breaking Bad thinks about half measures.

I feel as if I haven't touched on anything, and yet I also feel that no more can be said. Yes, this was just an episode of TV, and yes, I know that you're sick of reading my endless tweets about Breaking Bad. But as a TVR major...hell, as a human being, I know that this show is the most important thing happening in the entertainment industry right now, and "Ozymandias" will likely go down as one of the best episodes of television ever. Heisenberg may have gone the way of the King of Kings, but Breaking Bad will live forever.

Best Director?

The nominations for the 2013 Academy Awards came out earlier this month and as always there quite a few movies that were left out. I think the biggest snub of all the nominations was that Ben Affleck was not even nominated for the Best Director category. I found it shocking that Affleck, who won Best Director at the Golden Globes and his movie Argo won Best Picture, was not even nominated for the Oscars. He seemed like the front runner to win the Best Director award but I guess the Academy saw it differently. Argo is a brillant and excellent film about a CIA agent who helps six American fugitives in Iran escape the country during a revolution. It stars Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin and John Goodman. I think Affleck did an incredible job and him not being nominated is a shame. Personally, I think Argo was the best movie of the year I'm rooting for it to win Best Picture at the Oscar's.

Argo

Breaking Bad

In my media A&A we recently finished watching the pilot episode of Breaking Bad.  I thought it was amazing.  The story is very unique, the acting is out of this world and the show just draws you in.  I am still only five episodes in,  but every minute I am excited to see the development of Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul's characters.  Despite both of their characters huge flaws, I can't help but be attached to them and want to see them succeed.

As you can see from the above picture they have both been rewarded for their portrayal Jesse Pinkman and Walter White.  I think that the strongest part of the show is the character development.  Where Walter White starts out to where he ends up even after five episodes is amazing and very believable.  I don't think that this show can work without these two actors.  I think if there were other people in the role the show would not be as successful as it currently is.

They are simply the team that cannot be beat.

Breaking Bad and Wilfred

I don't regret purchasing cable but now that my roommate gave me his Netflix password, I don't believe I'll turn the cable box back on in the near future. I don't watch many live sports and since the NHL is locked out, a hole in my heart must be filled with some TV show of equal or greater value. I've been watching new shows every day and a movie every other night. I recently watched the pilot episode of both Breaking Bad and Wilfred. I feel left out when my friends discuss what's new in their TV shows and I find the need to begin a show and catch up until the next season comes out. When the first episode of Breaking Bad was over, I was hooked and wanted to know what was going to happen next. The editing and movie-like filming hook the viewer and, like Professor Sinclair said, there are certain color motifs in each episode. It's strange that people would root for a meth dealer but the other side of the story and Walter's cause allows the audience to sympathize with him. It was also surprising to see Bryan Cranston play such a dynamic character because last time I saw him on television he was Malcolm's dad Hal. I may choose to watch every Breaking Bad episode in order to catch up for the fifth and final season.

After the first episode of Breaking Bad, my roommate told me to watch the Wilfred pilot. I was instantly hooked within the first ten minutes due to the clever lines and absurd plot line. From the first episode, it's hard to understand who Wilfred actually is. Elijah Wood's character Ryan Newman is asked to take care of his neighbor's dog and when she arrives to drop the dog off, it is an Australian man dressed in a gray dog suit. Ryan is depressed and Wilfred, in man form, can only be seen by him. The show is hilarious and every joke made me laugh out loud. The episodes are only thirty minutes long so I could watch both Breaking Bad and Wilfred. I plan to catch up to the current seasons by November so that when the next seasons premiere, I'll be able to follow the story and talk to my hooked friends about it. Also, the story line and movie-like filming can be closely studied and I hope to apply the techniques in my own films.

-Matthew Hadley