ENGL 1102
25 March 2015
Film Techniques in Breaking Bad The directors of Breaking Bad were clever with the filming techniques by especially using color symbolism and the use of flashforwards. Color symbolism was used obviously but in a subtle way in that the general audience may not notice such as Jesse wearing a lot of red and Walt wearing green at the beginning of the show. Flashforwards, on the other hand, was the most notable film technique used in the filming of Breaking Bad by using them in such a confusing way that most viewers would not be able to interpret until at least the end of that episode.
Flashforwards were not used very often in the early seasons of the show. When flashforwards were first used, the audience did not understand what was going on since they are always used at the very beginning of episodes. Viewers wouldn’t understand about any connections that it has to the plot until episodes later or until the end of the episode.
Flashforwards are used intentionally to confuse the audience. The confusion may end up causing viewers to watch the flashforwards without paying much attention to them. However, most instances of flashforwards would make viewers think about what will happen and create their own events in their head only to find it out it was about something completely different.
Directors of the show used flashforwards as an attempt to grab viewers’ attention. The very second an episode starts, viewers are hooked into understanding the situation as most flashforwards are seen as odd and not completely understandable. A lot of times when people are watching television, they are not fully attentive to what is going on. Therefore, flashforwards aid in grabbing viewers’ attention. By causing more viewers to pay more attention, they are more likely to stay engaged with the episode.
Basically all flashforwards used in Breaking Bad are used symbolically. The flashforward with the pink bear and the eyeball in the pool is arguably the most effective symbol in the entire show. That pink bear and the eyeball linked many future events together. It was the strangest flashforward with a random burnt bear floating in Walt’s pool. No one would know what to make of that scene until episodes later that everything comes together, and the viewer understands what happened. After the flashforward, the pink bear was intentionally placed in the background of specific settings that many would not notice. Also, the eyeball was used noticeably in scenes especially when Walt kept it in his suitcase when Tuco’s cousins plotted to kill Walt.
Foreshadowing seems to be the main objective of using flashforwards in general. Of course, it is used for foreshadowing but what was so great about the use of flashforwards in Breaking Bad was that new characters were always introduced in these short scenes that viewers would have no clue as to what their significance is.
Flashforwards overall were effective in getting the viewer’s attention and using it for symbolism and cunning foreshadowing.

ENGL 1102
25 March 2015
Gender Issues in Breaking Bad Many would see that the women in Breaking Bad only played a minor role compared to the males. The women may not play major characters but they are, however, the driving forces for the show because the personalities and actions of the men in the show would not have been acted upon had it not been for the women. It all started when Walt realized he had cancer, but that was not the main reason he went into the meth business; it was family. Because Walt had a family to take care of, he had to live accordingly and be careful about what he spends money on, especially since Skyler was adamant about what card to pay with and what to buy. Skyler pushed Walt to realize he was tired with his life and wanted to venture out. Walt was not able to be in charge when he was living in his own house because Skyler would be the one to take charge. Because of Skyler’s leader personality, she led Walt to become more rebellious. Walt was able to do whatever he wanted to when he made meth and his labs became his own home where he was solely in charge with no one to nag him. Skyler was the main person that caused Walt to become the way that he showed in Breaking Bad. Marie brought out Hank’s personality because she is the submissive one in the relationship. She lets Hank make the decisions and take charge. It is apparent that they truly do love each other even if it seems as if they do not at times. Marie encourages Hank to be the self-righteous man, which affects Hank by bringing out his enhanced personality about the desire to find criminals. On the other hand, some could argue that what Walt thought was love for Skyler was not true love. Had it not been for the marriages, Hank and Walt would most likely never have crossed paths. Jane was the woman who affected Jesse the most. With the appearance of Jane, viewers got to experience the softer side of Jesse. Jesse gained a lot more viewer support because other male characters did not show genuine affection for their partners. Although their relationship was not healthy, Jesse showed that he wanted to become a better person so that he could care for Jane. When Andrea shows up in Jesse’s life, viewers showed their support even more because Jesse starts to show a fatherly attitude to Brock. At this point, Jesse wants to improve his situation so that he can create a family with them and protect and provide for them. Mike was most likely the warmest man on the show due to his love for his granddaughter, Kaylee. The creators of the show deliberately showed scenes where it was apparent that Kaylee was the important person in his life. Although Mike did not do good deeds, viewers loved Mike because he showed the soft side of him various times. Everything he does is all purely for his granddaughter. In general, men are affected by the people around them, females in particular. The females may have not been major characters but they are a necessity to the men for Breaking Bad to exist.