Expository Essay: Outline, Topics, Examples

Although this show is relatively new, longstanding psychological phenomenon are still able to provide insight into why this character acts the way he does. For example, the looking-glass theory was created in the early 1900s by Charles Horton Cooley. This theory suggested that people are highly influenced by the way they are perceived in social contexts. This is certainly the case throughout the storylines in Breaking Bad.

The main character of Breaking Bad, Walter is very much influenced by how he thinks others perceive him whether he would admit this fact himself or not. When he is diagnosed with cancer in the first episode of the show he changes drastically from the calm and mild mannered high school science teacher who holds a part time job at a car wash. Instead, he becomes highly erratic and begins to engage in behaviors that have the potential to involve him in serious legal problems (Echart & García, 2013). He uses his chemistry background to start illegally making and selling methamphetamines with a former student, Jesse Pinkman. This is clearly in response to his cancer diagnose; however, it also relates highly to his concern for being seen as a weak man who is no longer capable of taking care of his family. In order to avoid being seen as a sick pitiful individual, he goes to extreme measures to become powerful. Additionally, he does not even tell his family about his diagnosis so that they will not perceive him differently. In this manner he acts very much in accordance with his social “lens.” Despite losing serious control over his body and his health status, he works tirelessly to maintain control over how others perceive him.

Not only does Walter operate under the idea of being useful to his family, but the changes he undergoes also relate to a sense of power. This brings about an extremely interesting facet of Cooley’s through the looking-glass theory. It is not a static concept. Instead as uncontrollable life events impinge on Walter’s sense of self, his actions attempt to compensate. This is demonstrated best when Walter goes into remission. He no longer has to fear that his family will be left without a caregiver and thus, this is no longer the reason that he feels he has to resort to the drug world. However, instead of giving up his life of crime, he engages in criminal activity even further. Clearly this is not only about his fear of being perceived as weak. Instead, he has learned that being seen as powerful by other individuals of power can be an extremely enticing boost to his ego, a key feature in Cooley’s theory (Echart & García, 2013; Franks & Gecas, 1992).

Walter is not the only character who is affected by how others perceive him. In fact, even his wife is affected by social perceptions from others. Skylar is initially a calm and demure wife. She raises their son, who suffers from cerebral palsy with a firm yet loving persona. However, when she discovers the truth about Walter’s hidden life, she has to decide how to react accordingly. For example, she does not tell her sister Marie or her brother in law Hank about Walter’s action even though they are very close throughout the show. In fact, she purposely helps Walter to cover up his behavior with a story about him becoming an obsessive gambler. It is clear that she wants to maintain the façade of a happy and law abiding family.

Much like Walter, Skylar eventually falls deeper and deeper into illegal activities although it might not be for the same reasons. She ultimately becomes involved in a workplace where her boss, who she has some romantic involvement with, has been stealing money from the company. Ultimately she is quite directly involved in Walter’s business: however, because she maintains a distance by working in the car wash laundering money, she still feels that her social stance is not compromised. She capitalizes from a rather terrible breach of the law by making herself look like an upstanding business owner and mother in the process.

Ironically, Jesse Pinkman, Walter’s partner in crime is a character that worries less about what others think of him. As a young man who has been addicted to drugs off and on, it is clear that he has already suffered from judgment from society. And, somewhat akin to Walter, engaging in making methamphetamine is a way that he can become more powerful and in control of his life. However, to some extent he maintains an, “I don’t care what others think attitude.” Although this may seem at first to contradict Cooley’s theory, acting like he does not care about the opinions of others is actually Jesse’s way of projecting a very much socially minded image of himself to others. The more he acts as though he does not care what others think, the more likely he is in fact to care (Franks & Gecas, 1992). This is also shown through the material possessions he splurges on when he finally has access to large amounts of money. Buying an expensive house, for instance, is his way of demonstrating his success to others. Thus, he continues to prove some aspects of Cooley’s theory.

One of the reasons Breaking Bad has become such a popular television show is that the characters in Breaking Bad are very believable. They present with their own unique characteristics. Additionally, they follow long held constructs in psychology such as Cooley’s looking-glass. Characters are reactionary and highly related to the environment in which they live. They are motivated by a need to be perceived as strong, or caring or successful depending on their own individual psyche. All of these factors are true not only of the characters in Breaking Bad but also of real human beings. Every person is motivated by social contrast and perception (Franks & Gecas, 1992). Without this, ego would preside over humanity.

References

Echart, P., & García, A. N. (2013). Crime and Punishment: Greed, Pride and Guilt in Breaking Bad. A Critical Approach to the Apocalypse, 205-217.

Franks, D. D., & Gecas, V. (1992). Autonomy and conformity in Cooley’s self-theory: The looking-glass self and beyond. Symbolic Interaction, 15(1), 49-68.