Quote:
Originally Posted by AncientPaths
First let me say that I'm sorry about your brother. That must be extremely difficult.
Now. Artistic talent/brilliance alone does make certain things worthwhile to me. I won't dispute that. It's a story that is being told that I believe is both interesting, sad and engaging -- and it is absolutely not glamorizing meth. If you believe that it is, than you are not doing objective research.
Yes, we have all been desensitized. I won't deny it. Whether that has brought about the demise of society - it can't have helped.
Superior intellect? Well, what do you mean by influenced? Do I think that watching this show will make me want to cook meth? No I don't. Would any person in their right mind who watches the trail of death and destruction that Walt leaves in his path be encouraged to go down that road? I don't believe so. If that makes me of superior intellect or "stronger stuff", then I accept that 
I am not claiming that the show is somehow "good" - like it should be shown in school or anything. But I think it does a good job showing the dangers of meth, the damage it does to families, the true nature of Walt and how he is no hero on the show.
I feel sad for the characters on the show, I'm glad I haven't gotten myself into their messes, and I like the anticipation of what will happen next. If that makes me an irresponsible viewer in your eyes, then so be it.
I personally think that people the do stupid things will have gotten around to doing them with or without a tv show. |
We don't have TV at home by choice (in NYC you needed to get a converter box a couple of years ago to get a signal if you didn't have cable and we just didn't think it was worth it). When I go out to some place where there's tv, like the gym or the laundry, I realize that I'm really not missing a whole lot. I do watch DVDs and of course stuff online.
I was checking out The Brady Bunch (a DVD from the public library) and I hadn't seen it in many years. It gets a bad rap for being corny, cheesy, sappy etc, but you know that show dealt with death- the father (not sure about the mother) was a widow. Little things like how those characters dealt with each other addressed issues of humanity: jealousy, sharing, friendship, tolerance, getting along with others, fitting in. And really watching the episodes again, I didn't find them stupid or corny at all. Same thing with Andy Griffith's series which I never appreciated when I was young because I dismissed the show because all the characters were white country folk.
I read an article that shows like this were "aspirational"- they gave the audience something to aspire to. Breaking Bad might reflect reality (honestly I've never seen it- but dealing with all I have to deal with in life, I like to watch things that will either educate me or give me some sort of encouragement- like this is what people can aspire to and accomplish rather than these are the depths to which humanity can sink. I already know that.)
I've wanted to bring up another point that may seem kind of off:
I knew a man who was a staunch Oneness believer whose personal conviction was to not purchase any books or materials published by trinitarians, although he would read the stuff if someone gave it to him. When I asked him why he lived this way, he said, "Because these people will think that God is blessing them"- In other words, the trinitarian authors will have a false sense of justification because of the profits they're reaping by the popularity of their books.
There's a TV show called The Game that airs on BET. One of the actresses proclaims Christianity, yet in her role in this show, she wears sexy short clothes, uses profanity and portrays a character that is extremely promiscuous. So if we keep watching her work, are we in a way allowing her to justify that what she and others like her who profess Christ are doing is in some way a blessing? I see this show when I'm at the gym flipping the channels and this question crosses my mind.
Another actor who appears once in a blue moon on that same series gave testimony on some website that I can't find. His name is Chaz Lemar Shepherd (he was a buddy character in 7th Heaven). He said that he went to read for a role where he was playing a gangster and the script required that he curse. He said that his conviction was to not use that kind of language. So when he read for the part, he changed around the dialogue but did it in such a way that he was able to show that the character was even more vicuous and threatening than originally written. And he got the part.
Hybrid Mode
