Breaking Neoliberal Analysis

2120 Words5 Pages

Nicolas Peterson
IR 308: Whooley
April 2015
Breaking Neoliberal: A Look at Neoliberal Actions in AMC’s Breaking Bad

INTRODUCTION
It is neither an implausible nor an outlandish endeavor to recognize expressions of neoliberal political and economic ideology in American television programming. In 2008, world markets plunged into the deepest recession known since the Great Depression. Unemployment skyrocketed, and thousands of Americans lost their homes to foreclosure. In the midst of this crisis of capitalism, viewers began tuning into a new AMC original series featuring Walter White, a mild-mannered New Mexico high school chemistry teacher. At the outset of Breaking Bad, Walt is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, and, fearing for his family’s …show more content…

The underemployed (and highly overqualified) high school chemistry teacher sets out on a path to completely rebuild himself, creating a massive drug empire, fortune, and trail of carnage in the process. The AMC drama has garnered near-universal acclaim, raking in dozens of mainstream entertainment accolades. Dubbed one of the greatest cable dramas in recent decades, critics have praised the show’s ability to raise questions about morality, taking notions of “right and wrong” to a whole new level. But why is it that so many viewers tuned in and could relate with this mild-mannered schoolteacher turned vicious drug kingpin? What is the underlying political commentary being played to audiences not just in the United States, but all around the world? The truth is that much of Breaking Bad displays a variety of neoliberal motifs, and they have direct implications for our own modern society. The goal of this paper is to better understand neoliberalism by identifying and exploring neoliberal concepts present in Breaking …show more content…

Clearly, Breaking Bad is the perfect analog for neoliberalism, and the political and economic ideology it wishes to convey. Rational actors, cooperation/defection, game theory, capitalism, and self-reliance. All of these concepts can be seen supporting some of the major events and themes which, arguably, helped to catapult Breaking Bad to near-universal critical acclaim. However, it is interesting to consider the ramifications the show has for modern society. In my opinion, Breaking Bad isn’t just a metaphor for neoliberalism; in some aspects, it is a metaphor for neoliberalism that has completely unhinged itself. Legal markets, such as healthcare, which are left to regulate themselves, and have left Walt (and many others) unable to pay for cancer treatment. High stakes illegal markets that are constantly threatened by government intervention. Walter White’s contest in the marketplace isn’t so far removed from the efforts of millions of Americans struggling to secure their own slice of that pie in the sky, albeit in a much more dramatic fashion. Yet in the series’ conclusion, his dream came to a crushing end. The inevitable outcome of an unrestricted neoliberal order, perhaps? In the wake of America’s crippling recession, as politicians push for new policies aimed at furthering the goals of neoliberalism and pro-capitalist impulses, one can only hope that the future

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