So I started watching breaking bad . All my
shows were on a hiatus and it was to time to ride this bandwagon out. I am on the second season of the episode
after trying to watch it for like 2 weeks. This proves
a) I
am finally growing up , working more and slowing down on the number of episodes
I’m watching.
b) The
show is boring.
While it does show the evolution of a
boring chemistry teacher who suddenly facing imminent death after contracting
cancer ( he should have contracted a midlife crisis if you ask me) to a full
blown drug dealer to earn money for his
family.
I find it incredibly stupid that the show
glorifies the production and distribution and cooking of meth when the
protagonist clearly had a chance to borrow money from his family and friends.
But then , there would be no show – no drugs , blood or pee shots (which the
director really loves for some reason)
I want to sound cool and say stuff like ‘
I’m the one who knocks’ ( I’m yet to see all that ) and maybe I’m prematurely
giving up on the show. But , how are you supposed to root for someone who lies
to everyone around him (who he supposedly loves) and kills people to assert
that he is a drug lord?! We’re supposed to feel bad for him because he has
cancer, but not the 3-4 he has already killed in the short span of the show.
There is simply no justification for his crimes. Dexter Morgan , the serial
killer at least had a past. Walter White is simply a greedy man who couldn’t
deal the hand, life gave him, in a scrupulous way.
I know it is all just fiction and the show
does show the downside of the drug life and all. But everytime someone says
‘Heisenberg’ with admiration or ‘ I’m the one who knocks’ it causes mental pain
which I am simply registering here.
The show does evoke a point of interest in
me though – consisting of moral turmoil. Where do you draw the line of what is
wrong or what is right?
What makes you draw the line?
What the law dictates or what helps you
sleep at time?
| the laxman rekha :P |
I think every person has to and does come
up with this laxman rekha by himself. Being a law student , I know that there
is scant regard paid to laws in this country. The culture , community or
interest group of a person build his moral compass more often than not. But
nothing shapes a mind like personal experience and attitudes.
For example , I think adultery which is a
criminal offence according the Indian penal code is a personal choice which
should end a marriage but not put you in jail.
But , for a person whose parent or spouse
indulged in one the attitude might be very different.
More often than not , only when you are in
a rough predicament , you know what you real feelings towards a subject are.
There is a fundamental gap between who we think we are and the decisions we
take and a mode of self preservation shoves this cognitive dissonance to the
fore.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that I
do not like cheating when I attempted a competition recently. I always prided
myself of being morally fluid and ‘ cool’ taxonomies like that. However when
the beat dropped and my moment came , I didn’t want to take the shortcut to success.
How do you enjoy the fruits of your labour when you didn’t work the farm? I
asked myself. I am aware that feeling morally superior is also a certain kind
of rush.
We’re living in a world where pesticides
and fertilizers have become a norm and ‘organic’ vegetables have become an
exception.
When we learn professional ethics , our
teacher reads the value we have to study for the exam and then goes on to
explain how it is useless in everyday life. Being ‘good’ is increasingly being
looked down upon . People with morals are being looked at as unicorns and
hardwork and genuine knowledge is overlooked for shallow grades and ‘street
smartness’ which roughly translates to being a thug.
How to do a task without getting your hands
dirty? Is my question of the month to you guys. How to prosper in a world where
pulling someone down seems easier than climbing up?
That is why breaking bad scares me. How can
killing and cooking meth be cool things? Are we all fundamentally good or bad?
Is self preservation or fundamental goodness the characteristic of a mind?
Even in Indian films being selfish or being
a criminal is being promoted nowadays over being a good human being who helps
others. It is not a question of breaking the law but doing a wrong – hurting
another individual. Am I the only unicorn out here? Or are there more of us
just scared to voice out , in the fear of being looked down upon?
Please speak up in the comments column
