Both the "crisis of masculinity" and "quality TV" have been popular discourses in academia in recent years. Many of these contemporary quality TV series feature male anti-heroes at the center of their narratives. This dissertation argues that the constructions of masculinity in series such as "Breaking Bad" and "The Walking Dead" are informed by the Western hero. Furthermore, the dissertation links this recourse to an arguably outmoded model of masculinity to recent crisis tendencies in the USA, most notably the recent economic downturn and the aftermath of September 11 2001. Moreover, the return of the Western hero can be understood as a process of remasculinization in light of the crisis of masculinity.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Masculinity, Crisis and the West
2.1. Gender and Men's Studies
2.2. Manhood in America and Crisis Tendencies
2.3. The Mythic West and (Revisionist) Westerns
2.4. The 'Crisis' of Masculinity
3. “I Am the Danger”: Crisis and Masculinity in Breaking Bad
3.1. Locating Breaking Bad
3.2. “Like Keith Richards with a Glass of Warm Milk”
3.3. Psychological Wounds
3.4. Narcissism and (Frontier) Masculinity
3.5. Physical Wounds and the Becoming of Man in the West
3.6. Male Sacrifice and the Good Provider
3.7. Malignant Man: Cancer, Capitalism and Violence
3.8. “I’m your hostage”: Women in Breaking Bad
4. Gunfighter Revival in an Apocalyptic Setting
4.1. Reanimated Corpses and Reaffirmed Masculinity
4.2. From “Officer Friendly” to Will Kane
4.3. The Apocalypse as State of Exception
5. Violence as Language: Trauma and Liminality in Hell on Wheels and Banshee
5.1. “Ain't much fun killing them, but they seem to need it”
5.2. “A Man Who Hates His Sins Can Be Redeemed for It”
5.3. Lions and Zebras
5.4. Myths and Money
5.5. Look Sharp and Fight Hard
6. Conclusion
Objectives & Themes
This dissertation explores the reconstruction of traditional white masculinity in contemporary American cable television series. By analyzing shows like Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, and Hell on Wheels, the work examines how these narratives utilize the tropes of the American Western and the frontier myth to address perceived crises in masculinity, particularly in the post-2007 economic and post-9/11 sociopolitical context.
- The intersection of American frontier mythology and contemporary "quality TV" aesthetics.
- Representations of the "crisis of masculinity" in the context of economic instability and systemic trauma.
- The symbolic function of violence as a language for re-asserting patriarchal authority.
- How television narratives interpret and re-negotiate historical conceptions of white American manhood.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1. Locating Breaking Bad
Just like his creation, showrunner Vince Gilligan was suffering from a midlife crisis. In a Vanity Fair-interview he narrates the inception of BrBa:
We [Gilligan and Tom Schnauz, now part of the writing staff of BrBa] were just joking around on the phone about what we should do next: Should we be greeters at Wal-Mart? Should we put a meth lab in the back of an R.V. and cook meth and drive around the southwest? And that image...I don’t know, it just stuck with me. It jarred something within me. This image that started off as a meaningless joke on the phone turned into this show. I don’t know why that idea sprouted in my mind as it did and so quickly, but in hindsight, the only thing I can think of is that I was a year or two away from turning 40, just dreading the terrible mid-life crisis. I guess that’s why I felt like a kindred spirit with Walter White, because he’s a man who’s having the world’s worst mid-life crisis, as I put it (interview w/ Ayers, n. pag.).
This perceived crisis turned out to be a fortunate event in Gilligan’s professional life as well as for AMC, the channel that ultimately decided to order the first season of BrBa (the pilot was originally produced for FX). To date, BrBa has been received positively by viewers and critics alike, an average score of 9.5 out of 10 on metacritic.com testifies to this as much as repeatedly won industry awards, such as Emmy Awards, Writers Guild of America Awards, Critics Choice Television Awards, Television Critics Association Awards, and Satellite Awards. The show's final episode received massive media coverage and drew more than ten million viewers (see Bibel 1 Oct. 2013, n. pag.).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Provides an overview of the project, defining the scope and research questions regarding masculinity, the Western genre, and modern television narratives.
2. Masculinity, Crisis and the West: Establishes the theoretical framework by discussing gender studies, historical American concepts of manhood, and the significance of the frontier myth.
3. “I Am the Danger”: Crisis and Masculinity in Breaking Bad: Analyzes the transformation of Walter White as a process of remasculinization within a capitalist, midlife-crisis narrative.
4. Gunfighter Revival in an Apocalyptic Setting: Examines how The Walking Dead and Falling Skies utilize post-apocalyptic settings to revive the frontier hero archetype.
5. Violence as Language: Trauma and Liminality in Hell on Wheels and Banshee: Discusses how these series use violence and trauma to construct masculinity for protagonists operating on the margins of civilization.
6. Conclusion: Summarizes the findings, reflecting on the persistent resonance of rugged masculinity and the frontier hero in American popular culture.
Keywords
Masculinity, Crisis, Western, Frontier Myth, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Hell on Wheels, Banshee, Television Studies, Patriarchy, Capitalism, Trauma, Hegemony, Gender, American Culture.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this dissertation primarily about?
It investigates how contemporary American cable television series construct and negotiate concepts of masculinity, often by drawing on the historical tropes of the American Western and the frontier myth.
What are the central thematic fields?
The work explores themes of patriarchal crisis, the influence of capitalism on gender roles, the role of violence in constructing identity, and the cultural memory associated with the American frontier.
What is the primary research question?
The project asks how these series construct the masculinity of their male protagonists and whether they adhere to or subvert century-old conceptions of manhood and the American West in times of crisis.
Which scientific methods are applied?
The author employs critical textual analysis, drawing on cultural studies, gender theory, and film/media theory to interpret narrative patterns and representational strategies in the selected TV series.
What does the main body of the work cover?
The body analyzes specific case studies, including Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Hell on Wheels, and Banshee, to show how protagonists grapple with trauma, power, and identity.
Which keywords characterize the work?
Key terms include Masculinity, Crisis, Western, Frontier Myth, Patriarchy, Capitalism, and Hegemony.
How does the author define the "crisis of masculinity" in the context of Breaking Bad?
The author views Walter White's evolution from an underpaid, emasculated teacher to a powerful "kingpin" as a desperate attempt at remasculinization, driven by deep-seated pride and the need to fulfill the "good provider" role.
What role does the frontier myth play in the post-apocalyptic series analyzed?
In shows like The Walking Dead, the post-apocalyptic world is constructed as a "new frontier" where traditional, rugged masculinity is required for survival, allowing male leaders like Rick Grimes to reclaim power and authority.
- Citar trabajo
- Dominic Schmiedl (Autor), 2014, Crisis and Masculinity on Contemporary Cable Television: Tracing the Western Hero in "Breaking Bad", "The Walking Dead" and "Hell on Wheels", Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/305559
