You might probably think right now what on earth are these two men in their weird suits and gas masks doing out there in the middle of nowhere? They are cooking methamphetamine. Why? Because Bryan Cranston (on the right), who plays a chemistry teacher (Walter White), is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer and money all of a sudden becomes a problem. That's why this groundbreaking TV show is called Breaking Bad. The following video gives you a little impression of the TV series:
http://media.smh.com.au/entertainment/the-guide/breaking-bad-2614742.html
Breaking Bad is not like all the other shows - it's a gripping TV drama. It invites the viewer into a different world, a world of grief, anger, remorse, and black humour. It probably sounds really depressing, but it's not at all! The show is unpredictable and really gets you to the edge of your seat. The narcotics business is not to joke with, and so Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman, on the left) Walter's business partner gets drawn deeper into the darkness together with him. The two main characters struggle to remain undiscovered coming up with unjustifiable decisions as things get more and more twisted and out of control.
For this chosen piece of news article I would like to focus a bit more on a communications theory that we probably all might have come across once and I personally think is a highly relevant subject in today's media realm. The concept is called 'Cultivation Theory' and explores the headline of this blog post. As could be expected from the above brief description of the show, Breaking Bad is a morally challenging drama. The article's headline from the SMH 'There's meth in this madness' already gives the reader a certain impression as it is really attention-grabbing. And the actor itself, Aaron Paul states it quite well in his interview:
"...I knew it was a drama but I found myself laughing at so many of the things that were happening and I wasn't sure if I should be laughing at them...you don't see this kind of stuff on television."
This is where the Cultivation Theory comes in. As today's society highly relies on information from mediated sources like TV this theory claims that people loose touch with reality. Every person views their world differently. And in some cases heavy television viewing for instance with Breaking Bad might cultivate the world as a violent place to this person. Perceptions can get really distorted. And we can easily cross the bridge to new media forms from here. Just imagine how many YouTube videos you can watch or Video games you can play that might contain violent scenes. In the end, it is up to the viewers if they can morally accept this sort of behaviour. I personally think that Breaking Bad shows us the real complexities in life with a dark but funny spin to it.
The news item itself is well-structured and has some interactivity to provide the viewer more information, for example the video right at the beginning of the article. I really liked that they used actual quotes from the main character, Aaron Paul of the show. The only thing that is really missing in this article is a main image of the two characters. There is also not much related coverage on the left hand side which would have been quite promotional in this case to attract even more viewers and make them interested in the TV show. Overall, the article definitely makes you want to see this show and believe me it's worth it!
Online news articles and references:
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/theres-meth-in-this-madness-20110928-1kvua.html
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/breaking-bad-monday-october-17-20111013-1lmf9.html
Cranny-Francis, A. (2005). Multimedia: texts and contexts. London: SAGE, pp. 27-54.
West, R. & Turner, L.H. (2010). Introducing communication theory: Analysis and application. (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
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