No I am not in danger,
Skyler. I am the danger![1] -
Walter White
Do TV Crime Dramas Like ‘Breaking Bad’ Generate Moral Panics And
Negatively Contribute To Social Issues Through The Impact They Have On
Audiences?
There
has been an on-going debate in the media about whether 'it' is to blame for
some people’s heinous actions or whether the people in question acted out of
their own self-interest. There is no pretence that the media influences people
to go and do things, for example TV advertisements were made with just that in
mind; but can the media (through broadcasting violence) also contribute negatively
towards social issues and create moral panics? This essay will explore whether
TV crime dramas like ‘Breaking Bad’, the critically acclaimed American TV show
about a high school chemistry teacher who decides to "break bad” and cook up the finest
drugs north of the border, can influence audiences and add to social issues or
resolve them. Audiences can be impacted/influenced by material they see in the
media whether this be in film, on the news or in TV, we call this media effects
and "at its most basic, this
theory suggests the media transmit ‘messages’ (ideas, information, beliefs and
so forth) that are then picked up and acted upon by the audience (receivers)
"[2].
So does this mean that if someone were to see a murder constructed in a text
like ‘Breaking Bad’ that they'll be motivated to go and copy it? The theory
does give us an insight in to how audiences "receive" texts but of
course there are other factors in play and the media effects is not the only theory
which can be used to rationalise someone’s actions.
TV
crime dramas can take one of two perspectives. We can view the story from the
side of law or from the side that is going against the law (criminals). Typically
in TV crime dramas the two “binary opposites” [3]
that are most obvious are good vs. bad and for the most part as an audience we
side with the “good side” because we share the same values as them and because
“watching the good guys win makes us feel better”[4],
so under what circumstances would we side with the “Villain”[5]? ‘Breaking Bad’ is a prime example of how this happens as it goes against the general codes and
conventions of the TV crime drama genre and instead of following the
perspective from the “good side” (police/detectives) it follows the “bad side”.
We are not forced to coincide with the values and ideologies that this side
possesses but with ‘Breaking Bad’ in particular we sympathise with the
characters on this side and we passively root for their success.
Similarly
in another TV crime drama called ‘Dexter’, the American TV show which follows
the life of a Police blood spatter analyst who lives a double life as a serial
killer who gets the people which the justice system fails, we are made to
sympathise with this “psychotic” character, Why? “Walter White and Serial
killer Dexter are not morally good”. [6]They
are not our “Traditional heroes” [7]as
they do not dress up in capes or wear a uniform to fight crime; this can be
linked to Propp’s “character theory” [8]where
he listed seven broad character types including the “hero” and “villain”, so
where does our duo fit in on the list? They are not heroes, this is based
purely on moral conviction and “heroes traditionally embody fulfilment as they
strive to reach goals that are often shared by the audience”[9],
they have to be villains and when a character that is so relatable and made to
be so iconic can be liked and sympathised with an entire audience makes it
dangerous because people see them as their heroes and could potentially be
influenced by them. If you can dream about being Superman then surely you can
dream about Walter White? However, some
may argue that Walter White and Dexter could not possibly be the villainous
type because they can associate their characters with themselves so well. That
is why the term “Anti-hero” (an Archetype theorised by Carl Jung) [10]
can be used here to describe the type of characters Walter White and Dexter are
portrayed to be: “An anti-hero is a literary
device used by writers for a prominent character in a play or book that has
characteristics opposite to that of a conventional hero[11]”, White and Dexter both have civil jobs that
contribute to a good cause but they are far from heroic. Audiences relate with
them so much because they depict a much truer version of reality.
Traditionally, heroes are the people who fight crime and wear capes and have a
side-kick but who can relate to that in this era? That is why people see the
good and the bad that these characters have and their imperfections as someone
who reflects the image of an everyday sort of life; something that they can
sympathise with.
As mentioned
above, ‘Breaking Bad’ is part of the TV crime drama genre and the genre has
many different codes and conventions. Whilst for the most part ‘Breaking Bad’
adheres to the general criteria it does stray away from the structures more
used in the past and has formed a new type of TV crime drama. An example of
this is from a scene is filled with all the essential props such as the drugs
and weapons and other iconography associated with the TV crime genre but what
makes this gratuitously violent scene
stand out more is the music used. In a scene where we see nine murders take
place in the space of two minutes in three different locations you would not
expect there to be a classical and harmonious song playing and instead you
could expect rap or grime music to accompany a scene like this. This is because
rap music is usually associated with such activities and this is portrayed
negatively in many music videos through “short hand stereotypes” (Medhurst)[12].
From this you could argue that the music used is contrapuntal in the scene as
it does not fit the setting. As the sound is contrapuntal, it could influence
and impact the audience because it is a distraction from reality. This can be
linked to the “hypodermic needle theory” [13]which
states that “audiences are passive and they cannot resist the media message”[14]
as the show is “injecting” [15]the
audience with graphical content, such as gang violence can have an adverse
effect on the people not mature enough to watch and especially in the scene
described where it is made to seem de-sensitised with the use of music. This
could be dangerous in creating social issues like drug usage and violence if it
were ever copied.
For a show like
‘Breaking Bad’ which had around “10.3 million [16]live
viewers” for its last show its audience reach is unprecedented. Along with this
its production company-AMC they had ties with the large streaming service Netflix,
so ‘Breaking Bad’ was also available in dozens of countries to stream. An audience
reach of this kind is likely to have some sort of impact/influence on audiences
as there is not really any niche audience demographic ‘Breaking Bad’ is aimed
at as it so widely available. This
reinforces the idea of the globalisation of media products and more importantly
“cultural imperialism”[17]
as above all else ‘Breaking Bad’ reinforces core American values like family
and patriotism and at the same time undermines other races like the Latinos by
placing them (white Americans) above everyone else.
To
answer and debate the question further we must first understand what a “Moral
Panic” [18]
is. A moral panic was first theorised by Stanley Cohen and he states that a
moral panic is “a condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to
become defined as a
threat to societal values and interests”[19].
Ways in which this can be constructed range across all media platforms. Moral
panics today are much more widespread but are no different in terms of where
and how they are constructed to those in the past. An example we can compare
this to is a UK TV crime series called ‘Dixon of Dock Green’[20].
Unlike ‘Breaking Bad’ it did follow the typical conventions of the genre and
had a protagonist who was focused on taking down the villain. However, it did
still have the power to influence the audience because characters like police
constable George Dixon, were very strong and iconic, “The programme presented
the eponymous George Dixon/ Jack Warner as an upstanding and honest police man[21]”.
This denotes how people viewed the
police back in the 60’s and this can be linked to certain hegemonic values that
we still believe about the police today and because of this we do not see past
their imperfections like corruption. ‘Dixon of Dock Green’ explored areas of
corruption in the Met Police force and in its own way spurred on a movement
against corruption in the police.
‘Dixon of Dock Green’; something which has
been described as an anachronism because of the way it was portrayed in the 70’s
has been said to of presented a “cosy rosy view of British society” [22]as the
way ‘Dixon of Dock Green’ was presented later on in the 70’s “was actually at
odds with the reality of that period”[23]. This
proves that the show was intentionally not moving forward with the time to
better reflect the situation of the 70’s where the police were becoming more
defensive, shows like ‘The Sweeney’ [24]better
reflected the police force in that time. Therefore, Jack Warner’s character
could be said to be reflecting the zeitgeist as it. The way this links to the
question is how it almost tried to avoid a moral panic by reinforcing the
dominant, hegemonic values and ideas about the police by idealizing characters
like George Dixon, something which gives the police force a strong and
upstanding British image.
To go into more depth about moral panics it
should be questioned about “What impact do moral panics have?”[25]. This
is because audiences are not all the same and are therefore impacted by what
they see in the media or through media texts in different ways. Just like the “hypodermic
needle theory”[26]
cited, audiences can be injected with the content they see on screen; there are
other theories which try to also offer an explanation as to how audiences
receive the media. The “dependency theory” by De Fleur and Rokeach [27] is
another theory used to explain how the media can affect society. One aspect of
the dependency theory looks at “behavioural effects”[28], that
the media can have on an audience and this can be applied here because ‘Breaking
Bad’ is notorious for, among other things, its gratuitous and violent scenes
and this sparks fear among those who believe in media effects and the
dependency theory because it states: “aggression maybe activated, depending on
the nature of the television message received[29]”. One
scene in particular from ‘Breaking Bad’ that could reinforce the idea of moral
panics is from an episode titled “Ozymandiaz”[30],
after the poem by Shelley. In the beginning of the episode there is a fatal
shootout which is set in a desert, the setting is analogous with that of the
set of an old fashioned Western shootout. This is evident with the location of
the setting as there are certain comparable aspects but this is done with a
modern twist, for example the medium shots used to shows us the characters
readying their guns tells us that they are armed with the latest weaponry. More
medium shots are used to help us identify different groups of people, for
example one shot in particular shows a Nazi symbol on one of the character’s
hands, we also see from this shot that the man is wearing a bullet-proof vest
which suggests he is a far-right Neo-Nazi. The whole idea of Nazism could
create a moral panic as audiences may see this as a return of an old-fashioned
ideology, however some may relate to this group as this scene from ‘Breaking
Bad’ maybe cathartic for them.This leads on to the belief about the “copycat
effect”, [31]
that people who view the media can copy what they see which results in terms
like “copycat crimes [32]and
killings”. ‘Breaking Bad’ has been scrutinised countless times about
glamorising the drug lifestyle which draws the audience in closer and almost
encourages them to try it in the real world.
There is no shortage of cases where ‘Breaking
Bad’ has been blamed for inspiring people and influencing their behaviour, for
example a tabloid story wrote about how ‘Breaking Bad’ inspired a teacher from
Cardiff to start his own illicit drug operation; “investigations also uncovered further evidence similar
to hit drama Breaking Bad”[33]. This article went to show how influential the show
is but more importantly for arguing about whether this show could create moral
panics, because of this news article, audience groups persisting of people from
the upper class may now become frightened at the notion of drug usage becoming
a problem. However, this may not relate to a moral panic at all because the
fact that this article about ‘Breaking Bad’, a hugely popular show amongst
younger viewers, means that people ( in the age demographic of 16-25) would not
be afraid or unnerved by the idea of drug usage inspired by ‘Breaking Bad’
becoming a problem they may see it as there favourite show coming to life. Also,
the Telegraph reports how ‘Breaking Bad’ is being “blamed for shocking
rise in crystal meth usage”[34],
figures state how attempts to smuggle crystal meth into the country has risen
by around “400%”[35]
, but can ‘Breaking Bad’ be the scapegoat for this crystal meth epidemic? To an
extent yes, however the show does not encourage people to go and take drugs but
“it’s very inclusion promotes interest in that substance”[36].
Similarly, in the TV show ‘Dexter’, it does not tell people to go out and kill
people its all about how the audience receives the message. Dexter has also
come under scrutiny where supposed copycat killers say they were motivated by ‘Dexter’
to go out and perform their heinous actions, “most people convicted of copycat murders admit to being motivated by
something they had seen on the news or in a film”[37]. The keyword is motivation, they are not forced into
anything but instead choose to take what they see on TV as real life and
acceptable, this tends to happen in a case where the people are younger than
the specified age restrictions which opens the case for more censorship in the
media to ‘protect’ younger people.
All
the theories mentioned above about how audiences interpret media texts imply
that they are passive. Stuart Hall talks about another reception theory that
states audiences are active in their decision to view and interpret media
products. Hall initially talks about there being three positions the reader of
a programme might occupy;“dominant (hegemonic reading), negotiated reading and
an oppositional reading (counter-hegemonic)”[38].
In the case of ‘Breaking Bad’, readers could adopt any one of these positions
based on what their moral judgements are. Another theorist Morley suggests that
“members of a given sub-culture will tend to share a cultural orientation
towards decoding messages in particular ways” [39]so
therefore depending on who you are and where you come from, it will determine
your stance on, for example drug usage. This means that not everyone who views
a violent action on a TV show or in the media is then going to replicate it in
real life, there are other factors which determine how someone receives a media
text and the text itself cannot be at blame for creating moral panics and or
social issues. However, depending on the type of show, for example violent TV
crime dramas where we see the protagonist on the “wrong” side of the binary
opposition like ‘Power’ (2014-present)[40]
and ‘Sons of Anarchy’(2008-14)[41],
audiences may have different readings in comparison to TV crime dramas where we
follow the story from the side of a detective (the good side). Examples of
these shows include, Law and Order UK (2009-14) [42]and
CSI Miami (2002-08)[43].
People who watch the more violent shows maybe more prone to copy the violence
shown, although people who watch the shows where we see the heroes win may
decide to want to copy this behaviour. To seek to confirm this the Bobo doll experiment was devised back in
the 60’s to see how young children reacted to violence, “Children learn social
behaviour such as aggression through the process of observation learning –
through watching the behaviour of another person, this study has important
implications for the effects of media violence on children”[44],
therefore it could be said that although the text does not have the intended
meaning of making people want to replicate the activities shown on screen or
real life it leaves an impression on people who find it hard to distinguish
between right, wrong and reality.
It will be hard to conclude over the
perplexing issue about the whole media effects debate and whether the mass
media has a direct influence on an audience. However, opinions and judgements
can be formed about whether ‘Breaking Bad’ and TV crime dramas alike can be to blame
for creating moral panics and negatively contributing towards social issues
through the impact it has on audiences. “At this point, claims that movies or
television viewing causes unsocial behaviour has not been proved” [45] so to
take a non-believers view of the media being able to influence an audience
through violence it could be argued that “Crime
dramas are just that, dramas”[46]. We can say that dramas are different from reality of
course but because reality is so mediated and controlled especially in this
post-modern era as outlined in Baudrillard’s simulation theory[47] how do we as an audience
know what reality is when watching crime dramas or even the news? However,
Baudrillard also stated in his theory of hyper-reality that media coverage
can “mask the absence of a basic reality”[48]. This means that although it could be based on what
is happening in the real world these things are also created for entertainment
and escapism and may hide the ideological basis of the text.
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[1]
White, W Breaking Bad
[6]
Vaage,M.B.(2016).
[7] Ibid.
[8] Propp, V.I. (1968),
[9] Hendry,
S. (2010)
[10]
Jung,C. (1981)
[14] Ibid.
[15] Ibid.
[18] Cohen, S.
(2011).
[19] Ibid.
[20] Willis,
T.& Willis, B. (1955-76) Dixon of Dock Green
[22] Ibid.
[23] Ibid.
[24]
Clegg,T.(1975-1978) The Sweeney
[27] Ball-Rokeach,
S.j., and M.l. Defleur. (1976)
[28] Ibid.
[29] Ibid.
[35] Ibid.
[36] Ibid.
[40] Kemp,
C.A. (2014-present) Power
[41] Sutter,
K. (2008-2015) Sons of Anarchy
[42] Wolf,
D. (2009-2014) Law and Order UK
[43] Donahue,
A. (2002-2008) CSI:Miami
[44]
McLeod, S. (1970)..
[48] Ibid.
