In our lecture the other day, we learnt about what is known as "The Magnificent Seven". These are the stories that are used to communicate the whole picture in a television series or a film. A writer and theorist named Christopher Booker, argued (along with many other theorists) that these stories can all be broken down into 7 different main plot lines. These include:
- Tragedy
- Comedy
- Overcoming the monster
- Voyage and return
- Quest
- Rags to riches
- Rebirth
When applying this theory and looking at Breaking Bad, i realised that it can fit into about three of these different categories, being Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches and Rebirth - I shall go into more detail about them now.
Overcoming the Monster - In Breaking Bad, the main character Walter White is battling inoperable lung cancer. The story throughout the series shows his ongoing struggle with the illness. While at one point, it does seem he has beaten it, as it goes into remission, but as the series progresses, in very minor ways it catches up to him. Now, having reached the final series (the second half of which is being aired next year), it does hint at the cancer maybe properly taking over again. Obviously in this example the Cancer is the "Monster". I also had another idea, being that the "Monster" that Walter White faces, from around the middle of the third series and progressing onwards, is in fact himself. He goes from being a small time, nice, chemistry teacher, to a proverbial "God" in his drug manufacturing business. He becomes darker and darker going to more extremities as the series progresses, becoming a completely different person as the world around him changes, and he adapts to fit this. It shows that the Monster he has to overcome, is in fact himself.
Rags to Riches - Walter goes from having nothing, to eventually becoming one of the wealthiest people imaginable. In an iconic scene in the most recent episode at the end of the first half of season 5, Walter's wife takes him to a storage facility, and reveals a mountain of money the size of a small car, under a giant sheet. (He has been giving her money to launder, but it has become too much for her so she ends up having to take it to this storage facility). This is rags to riches in the literal sense. Usually there is an antagonist in this story line, who moves in the opposite direction mirroring this. A character named Gus Fring in BB fills this role. As Walter becomes higher up in the business, Gus ends up losing everything.
Rebirth - I mentioned this in Overcoming the Monster. Rebirth story lines show the character finding a new reason for living and turning their life around. Essentially, the drug trade does exactly this for Walter White, who goes under the name "Heisenberg" when he gets deep involved in it, and he turns into a completely different person, not necessarily for the better!
