There are no handsome guys and beautiful high-rise buildings, no cool secret agents, no kung fu masters, no emperors and generals. The Duke of Knights, there are only chubby police in a desolate town, wretched poisonous insects in the middle-aged and old, the super drug lord who looks like a good person can't be any better, and a housewife who looks like Bitch can't be Bitch at first glance... Such a slow-paced, earthy film How can a rustic country novel be favored by the Emmy Awards for three consecutive years? How to make thousands of audiences of different races and different cultural backgrounds fascinated by it, and how to make the movie fans who are quite picky about watching the movie think that it is a well-deserved No. 1 American drama?
The excellence of this play is largely due to the audience's controversy over the image of the main characters in the play. Just look at the comments. Except for those film critics who are sitting upright, the evaluation of almost every main character in the play is divided into extremely contradictory two. an extreme. This phenomenon is rarely seen in film and television works. Of course this was intentional by the crew. I have always firmly believed that the characters in American TV series are the foundation of everything, even more important than the story line (and in most Hollywood movies, the story is more important than the characters). The charm of American dramas is actually the charm of the characters, just as many years later, you will no longer remember their various organs, but you will always remember Michael Scofield and T-bag; you will no longer remember those few islands. Pile of confusing supernatural events, but will always remember Jack, Kate and Sayid. You will no longer remember the ins and outs of the Seven Kingdoms grievances, but you will always remember Joffery, Kingslayer or Arya.
This drama has reached the pinnacle of American dramas in the shaping of characters. The continuous accumulation of five seasons, the tireless long shots and psychological descriptions, and the constant foreshadowing of almost all important details have made the characters in the play come alive. At least in the two years of the show, they were naked in front of the audience 360 degrees. Because they are comprehensive, because they are naked, they are no longer flat, no longer single. Like ordinary people around them, they have both lovable advantages and fatal flaws, so there are always people who like them and people who hate them. Coupled with the extreme environment they live in, it makes sense for them to have a differentiated image.
On the other hand, the original work definitely didn’t think much about linking the story to power and political phenomena. The story happened only from a small border town, and the highest power involved in the political level is nothing but the anti-drug agency of the small town, which is equivalent to one of my empire. A certain section of the prefectural police station. However, when I watched the play, I somehow always felt far-fetched, and often drew the changes of each character to this aspect of the content. After all, in addition to the main line of the family, in the process of advancing this story, a lot of content is related to career achievements and management topics such as leadership. I personally think that all human behaviors have something in common, and there is not necessarily no truth to follow. Just like the popular "Wu Xian Yunpin Westward Journey" a few years ago, the "Legendary Judgment Day Survivor" was evaluated as follows: Strange Weird but quite self-explanatory. It is gratifying that this article can also be evaluated like this by friends who love the show in the future.
Character determines the way of thinking, which in turn determines the pattern of behavior, which in turn determines the fate of a person. The main characters in this play are all mixed with extreme contradictions. People who seem to be kind always kill others, but people who seem to be evil can ensure the stability of the overall situation; those who are unswerving witness the destruction, and those who compromise and give in Survived; I long for a career when the family is the top priority, and I long for a family after a successful career... I don't have the ability to think deeply, and I can't and don't want to deeply analyze everyone's character, thinking and behavior. What's more, there are a thousand Hamlets in the eyes of a thousand people. Trying to change the Hamlet in the eyes of others is more difficult than putting money in his pocket. This drama has already stripped its cocoons to show the characters naked, and the audience who watched the drama carefully and were sensitive to various details should have their own opinions. Therefore, this article only summarizes the Hamlets in my eyes from three aspects (reason and sensibility, firmness and compromise, career and family) after reading the whole story.
(The following content involves spoilers, which will greatly affect the enjoyment of watching in the future. Friends who have not watched the show should stop here.)
1. Reason and sensibility.
Jesse has been analyzed and complained badly. The good comments are nothing more than being a kind person but being a thief, etc.; In fact, Jesse represents the vast majority of ordinary people in this world, but he is more fragile and sensitive with artistic temperament, lacks self-discipline, although he has principles and bottom lines, he is always uncertain, such people are destined to be unable to dominate their own destiny. It is always difficult to achieve great things, and it is extremely easy to be manipulated. They are the grass in the wind, the anchorless ship, the slaves of fate, the blind followers of authority. All Jesse’s actions come from sensibility, so there are no rules and regulations to follow. Drug addiction has aggravated the randomness of his behavior, which is extremely uncontrollable: after doing evil, it is impossible to repent, and after doing good, it is inevitable to do evil again; Actions may protect others, but good thoughts may have devastating consequences. Jesse also hated his weakness and knew that he was being fooled all the time, but because he had absolutely no ability to think rationally, he was constantly being controlled and manipulated, not only by others, but also by himself.
The opposite of Jesse is the super drug lord Gus. In order to highlight the fate of the protagonist, Gus is portrayed in the play as a person who is sane to the least human. Adventurer, Strategist, Perfect Leader, Workaholic, Top Entrepreneur. In his drug empire, he is ruthless and has no bottom line, but in his private life he seems to display a puritanical self-discipline. Just like Hitler. However, such an ordinary cow also has a sensual side, and the basic friend (Gus's image design and some small details in the play seem to suggest his orientation, but Lydia's daughter's skin color seems to imply that there is a relationship between them, but this is not the point, Even if it's not gay, his friendship with his old friends is at least as deep as that of Lao Bai and Jesse) The deep hatred of being killed has evolved into a perverted desire for revenge, so that in the midst of a hundred secrets, he has become a conspiracy master old man. Bai Daoer, the giant elephant fell to the ground with a bang, and the poisonous snake rose from the darkness.
I believe that the main creator of the play should be a person with a relatively "dark" thought: I believe that human nature is inherently evil, and selfish reason (evil) is the best protection for everyone. In this dark forest, selfless and unrepentant sensibility (goodness) only shines in an extremely limited area - close friends and relatives. The success or survival of everyone in the play comes from the rationality that is cruel and self-interested. The root of failure or the road to destruction of almost everyone in the play comes from the sensibility that is mainly manifested as selfless impulse. For example, Old White is to Jesse, Gus is to his enemies, Mike is to Mazai, and even the most evil representatives, Tod's neo-Nazi gang, also delay the only chance of self-help for the emotions (pride, worship) of human beings.
Rational and emotional can be roughly equivalent to kindness and cruelty, but in the end, they can't decide whether to be good or evil, ironic.
2. Firmness and Compromise
The chunky policeman Hank is firm and loyal to his profession. It must be said that this is a very brilliant character. This ugly man has extraordinary acting skills and makes this character vivid and "lovable". Especially in the last season, a few extremely wonderful opponent scenes with the protagonist Lao Bai can be regarded as one of the most essential parts of the film. Hank's police status and anti-drug experience make him hate evil, he respects the law, and has a strong sense of principle and mission. He represents the only righteous force in this play, but at the same time, the most righteous force is not so powerful in the secular world. Under the complicated relationship, the righteous force and the evil force are mixed together and are constrained in every way. Hank is a determined enforcer, determined to be paranoid, and paranoid at all costs. I don't know if people who have lived in a country with a rule of law for a long time will question this steadfastness, but I believe (and I have seen from a large number of comments) that Chinese audiences regard his steadfastness as cold-blooded and self-interested. What's more, the foreshadowing in the early stage clearly implied a subconsciousness of Hank: he did not want to be communicated to dangerous areas to gild because of fear. In order to avoid him putting all his energy into the blue methamphetamine case, he must catch Heisenberg and make a name for himself: I'm not a coward, I just have more important things to do... The same, and his wife, who always likes to comment on other people's wives from the highest moral point in the play, is she so firm as a vindicator , largely not from its own moral flaws?
The protagonist's wife, Skyler, is a coerced community of interests. This is the second most complex character in the show after the protagonist. Her various behaviors were most criticized by the audience and criticized as the least credible. I think the first thing that should be clarified is that she has no obvious self-interest motives in all kinds of things (even the most despised cheating incidents), which of course is largely a consequence of women's sensibilities, but it must also be noted She was in the most embarrassing position, how could an ordinary woman bear such pressure. Under the interweaving of basic moral conscience and the special interests of husband and wife, under the vision of the child's future and the fear of the child's future, Sky has changed from struggle to compromise, to cooperation to abandonment, all changes are actually reasonable. . In the middle and later stages of the play, there is almost no pure relationship between the couple, and it has become a pure interest relationship based on the sense of responsibility for future generations. In the finale episode, Sky seems to understand and forgive Lao Bai to a certain extent. I believe it is just a momentary burst of emotion, or the creators based on the audience's sympathy for Lao Bai, let them make him eternal. Eventually Yan offered some comfort. Whether the old white is worth sympathy or not, the table below.
In the same way, the contradiction between firmness and compromise has repeatedly appeared in the play, which cannot be counted. Was Hank always loyal to the law? Wasn't his kleptomaniac wife caught several times by him? Is Jesse always compromising? Then why is he paranoid about bringing down Lao Bai after being overwhelmed by the last few straws? Gus is self-reliant in everything, showing a fearless and courageous move forward, why can he repeatedly indulge Lao Bai and compromise in every possible way?
"Politics is an art of pursuing the second best." ----- Bismarck
simply remembered this sentence, and it has no profound meaning.
3. Career and Family
Lao Bai is the protagonist of the story, and he is also the most complicated and most dangerous character. Of course, most of these dangers are his own fault. But it may be due to the existence of the protagonist's halo, or it may be a kind of inertial thinking, and it may be the actor's excellent performance. Although many, many audiences hate him in the middle, but when he ushered in the last moment of his life, they still leave it for him. shed tears of sympathy.
In fact, as I said, Lao Bai, whose wife was separated and died in the end, didn't need sympathy at all, because he was a winner. When it comes to this, it is estimated that some audiences will say that I am crazy; some will think that everything I mean to him is not in vain, at least it will leave money for the family in the end; only a small number of people will understand my true meaning. Yes, I said, Lao Bai is successful, and this success is definitely not from love and family, even if he used the last bit of bad water in his stomach to leave a huge sum of money for the child and avenge his brother-in-law Hank.
This success is what he defines himself as his "career".
After clearing the whole play, Lao Bai is a typical "anti-hero", and even the word hero cannot be used, and the hero is not good enough. At most, he can only be said to be a negative protagonist. His chemical talent led him to the path of crime, his wicked skills only provided the weak with a murder weapon, and his ambition and greed made his family devastated and cast aside. From the beginning, he is not a tall image, selfish and wretched, full of bad water is the best word to interpret him. He is far less kind than Jesse, he is far less rational than Gus, he is far from Hank's perseverance, he is far less responsible than Mike, and even his integrity is not as good as a low-level lawyer like Saul.
However, he still made a "career"
which is an alternative career. But, who can say that Lao Bai is not eager for such a career?
When the first drug production was in danger, Lao Bai was scared and thought it was over; when he killed Crazy Little 8, Lao Bai dared not even think about it. career; when he killed the gallery, old white just wanted to live and even had no hope of making money; however, when these hardships were overtaken by him, old white wrapped in black hat and sunglasses began to change into another person--Hisenberg; this This transformation reached its peak after successfully destroying Gus-----I have killed such a powerful person, who can kill me? !
Yes, Lao Bai is greedy, but he is not greedy for money or power. Don't forget that Lao Bai was once brilliant. Because of love problems, he ran away in despair, and the scientific research results he left behind helped his rival and old lover's company successfully go public, with a market value of billions. Laobai is wretched and incompetent, but he has a fierce heart. Although he is constantly being consumed, the sick tiger eventually became a teacher in a middle school. Until his 50th birthday, the doctor told him that his life may be about to end. ended.
"It's the rainy season when the flowers are blooming and falling, who can remember that he came to this world?"
As a scientist, what Lao Bai craved was actually his name, his sense of accomplishment, and the feeling of being at the pinnacle of his career. Whether it's good or evil! I want to come, I want to see, I want to conquer... The sick tiger stands up again, sharpens its claws, grows wings, and turns into a dragon. Where is the power?
The reason why he kept the "Leaves of Grass" that finally exposed him was not because the book recorded Gale's surging reverence for him, who was also a leader in the industry?
Isn't the reason why he takes his blue meth formula so seriously because, it's his intellectual property, and he doesn't want to lose his own creations again?
The reason why he proudly revealed to Hank that Hisenberg was still at large when he should have kept a low profile after killing Gus, is it not because he, subconsciously, wants the world to know that he is the big boss with the most famous name? The
reason why he would rather die than accept it Is it not because he has the arrogance of a scholar who would rather die than eat what he has come to eat because of the sponsorship of his rival husband and wife?
On the surface, greed for money and power (controlling power) is actually a manifestation. What he is greedy for is the approval of the world. Money is just a symbol of his career success.
At the end of the play, Lao Bai was lying on the cold ground. At the last moment of his life, at the last moment, what would he think?
Sky? No, she doesn't love me anymore, I just need to know that she'll take care of my kids and that's enough;
Junior? No, he doesn't love me anymore, but one day he'll understand that I've always loved him, and that's enough;
Laora? No, she's too young to love me, but she's going to have a lot of money from charity to give her the best education and the best life, and that's enough;
Jesse? No, he's cut off from me , he is just a complex that I can't let go of, a symbol of the good side of my human nature. At this time, knowing that he is at least not dead is enough;
Hank,? No, he lives in heaven and I live in hell, in that world we won't see each other again. I'm sorry for him, and he doesn't really deserve me, at least I avenged him, that's enough...
ah... my drug empire, me, Hisenberg!
I've created the best product in the business---99 purity % blue methamphetamine;
I have killed the rising star of the industry---the big drug lord Gus who single-handedly picked out the Catel Group;
I am the worst star in the industry---I built everything and destroyed everything with my own hands, and I am happy. There will be vengeance, and no one who wants to hurt me will end well...
Hahahaha, I am a genius after all, and I have achieved a career after all. Tomorrow, the major media will scramble to report my story, my talent, my formula, my empire, my coldness and cruelty, my unscrupulousness, my kingly demeanor...
Compared to my bloody and tearful legend , what does the gray matter company count? ! I no longer have to be afraid of wolves before and tigers, trembling to make up those lame lies, I no longer have to curl up in the shadows and be content in loneliness! I no longer have to experience my own sense of accomplishment only on the wretched poisonous bug! I don't have to be ashamed in front of that damn bitch again! Tomorrow, the world will know:
My drug empire, me, Hisenberg! Me! I! I!
Whether it's good or evil! I came, I saw, I conquered...
The world will remember that I came. This is enough.
Family and career are always a contradiction and cannot be taken into account. On this point, Lao Bai has at least taken care of it to a certain extent. We are willing to believe that his two-year struggle has finally left something for the family; and he himself, as he himself said: "I make drugs for me. Myself, I love making drugs, I'm good at making drugs, and I feel like I'm alive."
The characters in the play have their own destiny, all the routes are reasonable and reasonable, and the magic of character shaping lies in this. Not only have we read the ending of this story, but we can also basically speculate on the life path of the surviving characters based on this. When watching the last episode of this show, I always think of a movie "All Villains" by Takeshi Kitano, which means all villains. In "Breaking Bad", all the main characters are also innocent and have original sins. They are all the same as the name of the play, constantly breaking the bottom line, Breakingbad, so no one can really get a good death. Perhaps, the only one who died peacefully to a certain extent was the old white who was fixed here at that moment?
Goodbye, old white! Goodbye, Heisenberg!
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