I recently finished up the most current season of Vince Gilligan’s spin off show, “Better Call Saul”, and throughout the programs entirety, I couldn’t help but want more. Why was this? I found myself asking at the end of every Monday night episode, filled with suspense, anxiety, and pleasure for what had just aired and been previewed for the upcoming week. Well, diving more into that question, I began to study the purpose of the show as a whole. The overarching theme that stands to test, challenge, and define both of the hit series (being “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul”) is quite simply character development. The creators and writers of both shows have mastered the art of verisimilitude, as discussed when reading about Lyotard’s theory on postmodernism. There is a healthy balance between fiction and reality, all tied and bound together by rich, diverse characters with dynamic relationships and logical decisions that are direct or accidental displays of cause and effect. How the characters handle the situations thrown their way is all part of the act. We constantly find our favorite characters stuck and are lost as to how they will resolve this issue and the next but, sure enough, time and time again, they prevail one way or another… temporarily. Even though the series is a prequel, and the end result is what proves to be known and familiar to the audience, the engagement and interest is maintained. In “Breaking Bad”, we watched as “Mr. Chips transformed into Scarface”- we followed the journey of how a man can turn bad for “good” reasons, and now, we’ve subscribed to the idea of “How does a man become the shell of his past? What makes someone lose their sense of self and how can we still sympathize for them?” The most rewarding aspect of the show for that matter is that the story proves to be a journey for all viewers. The choices, the actions, and the consequences for each and every character and how it relates to the show as a whole is not directly highlighted and handed to the audience on a silver platter. Instead, the plot develops as we discover and slowly piece together on our own what makes sense and why. This connects to the idea of tmesis- the act of filling in the gap. This show is the master of displaying content visually as opposed to literally; proving often times that what matters does not have to be represented through dialogue. It’s a puzzle, and every little detail counts towards the overall significance, be it the episode itself or the event taking place. This is supplied on multiple levels- achieved mainly through a strong, diverse grasp of visual storytelling. What could stand to be relatively dry content, is emphasized through it’s presentation. There is constant attention to the aesthetic of the camera angle, the colors or lack there of them, lighting, composition, distance, shot variety, etc. and it all flows seamlessly! The artistic view the creators have is unmatched and comparable only to its origin series- ironically proving that it took more time to develop a show that technically happened earlier than did its continued part. In “Better Call Saul”, the environment is one of the most crucial aspects of the show. The story takes place in the late 90’s, early 2000’s- a time I was alive for but not necessarily aware of. It is so interesting for me to see what took place in and around this time period and how every aspect of this world serves a purpose. This show has a slower pace, setting it apart from not only its parent show but mainly the era it’s actually created in. Today’s day and age is so fast and so overly saturated with media of all different varieties ranging in genre, message, style, etc. With “Better Call Saul”, the creators are aware of this cultural trend and twist what’s expected in order to produce a masterpiece that hooks, stuns, and impresses people all in one. The emphasis is on the story, and by removing the aspects of the world we know today, there is more possibility and free range for the characters to stretch out and do what they want/ need to remain the protagonists of their anti-hero world.
As our analysis of modernity/ postmodernism continues, I find it more and more difficult to separate the topics discussed in class and [my] daily life. I constantly am relating more and more theories to more and more examples in today’s media. I’m looking forward to the upcoming chapters and units we have to discuss further in class and the many more discoveries we all have to make.
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