Breaking Bad remains one of the top shows in the whole wide world thanks to its engaging and compelling storylines involving a mild-mannered chemistry teacher, Walter White turning into a ruthless drug kingpin. The multi-dimensional series ran 5 seasons, and throughout those brilliant seasons, we witness White engaging in the creation of Meth, also known as methamphetamine aka a powerful and addictive drug.
Throughout the history of cinema, we know shows and movies are catalysts for driving the audience’s behavior. So, despite watching Bryan Cranston’s White elaborately producing huge quantities of meth, why have fans not been successful in creating the illegal substance. This is because of one genius move of the Breaking Bad writer that stops fans and non-fans from creating the hazardous drug.
How Breaking Bad Writer Stopped Fans From Creating Meth
The science in Breaking Bad may not be a hundred percent accurate or true but it sure did nail most of the stuff (via The Essential BS). One of the essential themes of the show is Bryan Cranston‘s character producing huge quantities of meth for securing his family’s financial future after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.
Despite the show giving an elaborate explanation of how to produce the hazardous substance throughout its five-season run, Breaking Bad writer and creator Vince Gilligan found an extraordinary way to dissuade fans from creating meth.
In an interview with NPR, Donna Nelson, one of the science advisors of the show revealed,
“That [fans imitating the process] was actually one of the concerns of a lot of people, but Vince Gilligan has been very clever. You know, there are multiple ways to make meth. And so although his scenes are very accurate, he will sort of (unintelligible) together parts of different syntheses, so that if you just simply followed the one synthesis as it’s presented, you wouldn’t come out with methamphetamine.”
Well, one can only imagine all the fans and non-fans trying to imitate the process and coming up with not-methamphetamine.
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Despite Meth Being Central To The Plot, Breaking Bad Is Not Glorifying Drug-Making
Bryan Cranston’s character of Walter White is a simple high school chemistry teacher whose whole life goes off-track when he gets diagnosed with terminal cancer. His desire to tackle his mounting medical bills and secure his family’s financial future leads him to the illegal drug trade of meth, a substance he is perfectly capable of making thanks to his career in organic chemistry.
Despite the unusual storyline and narrative involving extensive drug-making and trade, the show is anything but a glorifying drug-making show. Talking To NPR, even Donna Nelson, the science advisor on the show stated,
“This is not glorifying drug-making at all because he has a very hard life. You know… starting out he was in his underwear in the desert, and you know, the sand and getting scraped up, and then later he gets, you know, beat up and shot at and all sorts of fights. And I can’t imagine somebody looking at that and saying, yes, that’s exactly the type of life I want to lead.”
Inspite of the series’ descent into the criminal underworld, at the heart of Breaking Bad remain themes of morality, ethical complexities, consequences of one’s choices, and a dire need to safeguard the well-being of one’s family. Thus, making it one of the top shows of all time.
Breaking Bad can be streamed on Netflix.
