Representation Of Masculinity In Breaking Bad

Power

Power is a recurring theme and central to the crisis of masculinity seen in the narrative of Breaking Bad. “the criminal drug culture in Breaking Bad is coded as hyper-masculine with an emphasis on power, dominance and aggression” (Pierson 2013:25) Gus is an important character to aid the development of Walter’s masculinity claim and production of the alter ego of Heisenberg. Scholars argue that the possession of power is a key trait of masculinity and the representation of masculinity present in Breaking Bad certainly backs this up. Cowlishaw highlights that a key aspect of masculinity in Breaking Bad is not only the possession of power but also taking power away from others.

Gustavo Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) more commonly referred to as “Gus” is arguably one of Walter’s biggest threats throughout the television series. Gus is the owner of fat-food restaurant chain in Albuquerque called Los Pollos Hermanos. He also runs a secret meth empire. It is revealed later in the series that Gus was initially affiliated with the Mexican Juarez Cartel. Gus secretly uses his restaurants as a cover for meth distribution. He and Walter share many parallels as well as being considerably different. Gus hides in plain sight, he is friendly with the DEA and actively partakes in an anti-drug philanthropy. Walter too hides in plain sight. Toward the end of the season 2 [S2] Walter is looking for a way of distributing the meth that he and Jesse have cooked as they are having trouble with the distribution side of the business. They have a mass quantity of meth that is proving difficult to distribute and one of their dealers and close friend of Jesse named Combo, has/had been fatally shot as they had been selling in another dealer’s territory. “What you need is an honest-to-God businessman. Somebody who treats your product like the simple high-margin commodity that it is. Somebody who ships out of town, deals only in bulk. Someone who’s been doing this for 20 years and never been caught. ” – Saul in S2E11 ‘Mandela’ as he explains to Walter and Jesse about Gus. This is the first introduction to Gus in the series. Pavao Parunov (2013) argues that the arrival of Gus’ character means that Walter begins on “a path of re-invention” which speeds up the development of Walter’s alter ego ‘Heisenberg’ which will be looked at later in the research. For now it will focus on how Gus’ character is narrated in opposition to Walter and how that grows Walter’s greed and thirst for power and accentuates his masculinity. Gus is content with his position in the world. He has achieved a level of masculinity and success that is seen as acceptable in the society he is living in. Walter is on the rise to achieving a satisfactory level of masculinity and success yet, having been deprived of this up until recently, he wants more. [When looking at masculinity as a social construct it is important to consider the cultural, historical and geographical location. ]

Throughout Breaking Bad there becomes a clear vision of how a man should be, this mirrors the social construct of masculinity in the western world and this Breaking Bad critiques the traditional American idealism of masculinity. In S3E5 ‘Mas’ Gus asks “what does a man do, Walter?”. Cowlishaw argues that this is significant to the theme of masculinity in the show because Gus does not ask “what is a man?” but rather asks what it is a man does. This is the shows internalization of current cultural theory in Western Society. As Beynon (2001) argues the “commonsencical assumption” that gender is a consistent vessel that is bound by biology and can be measured by physical traits and attributes. When linking masculinity to culture, it then becomes apparent “enactment masculinity” is varied, non-stationary and constructed (Beynon 2001). Masculinity is not necessarily about body parts but rather how one acts. Ones actions defines ones masculinity or femininity. Butler (1990) refers to masculinity as a ‘performative act’. “In thinking of ‘masculinity-as-enactment’ it must be remembered that those who do not perform their masculinity in a culturally approved manner are liable to be ostracized, even punished. ” (Beynon 2001). Cowlishaw presents five examples of how a “man should be” in Breaking Bad. The research will look at the first four examples but the main concentration will focus on the last example that Cowlishaw identifies. The first is that “a man provides for his family” which is a line from Gus’ speech to Walter in S2E5 when he is trying to convince Walter to come back into business with him and cook meth again. Walter meets Gus at a Los Pollos Hermanos office and confronts him on the bag of money that was thrown into his car after Jesse cooked a batch for Gus. “As if I would seriously believe you would hire an addict. Jesse Pinkman? Recovering or not. ” Walter believes that it is a coy from Gus to lure him back into the meth cooking business as he believes that Walter has some sort of pride or selfishness over his own formula. Gus then takes Walter to his newly built chemistry lab that is hidden underneath a large scale laundry facility.

There is a clear distinction between Walter and Gus, especially in this episode. Walter thinks that he is the one in charge. Whereas Gus is allowing Walter to live out his reasoning behind not returning to the meth business and allows him to think he is the one making the decisions, Gus is a master manipulator and knows how to play his cards right. Gus is willing to sit back, be patient and allow things to happen at a slow speed. He accepts his position in all the situations he finds himself in with Walter, not only throughout S3E5 but throughout the series. Plays him perfectly to get what Gus wants. He accepts his position in all the situations he finds himself in with Walter throughout the series. Gus is incredibly calculated yet patient. He knows what he wants and he is prepared to go the best way about it even if it isn’t the quickest route. Gus is content with his masculinity status as he knows he is ultimately in control yet leads others to think they are the ones in control. But as power is a common theme in masculinity and especially the representation throughout Breaking Bad, Cowlishaw highlights that it is not just about gaining and possessing power but also about taking power away from others. Which is where the conflict between Walter and Gus’ characters leaving a state of tension and essentially a battle for masculinity and power. I will explore and analyse Gus in this chapter and the importance of his character in the series. I will compare the representation of masculinity between both him and Walter.

Gus is a master manipulator and is okay with the stages of manipulation. For example, Gus knows that he needs Gale to eradicate Walter. Gus accepts it and allows Walter to continue to cook for him despite Walter’s disobedience toward Gus. He knows that in order to finally eliminate Walter that he must train up Gale to overtake the lab so Gus can show Walter he no longer is needed and is disposable. Walter however does not accept his position. Walter has to create an alter-ego “Heisenberg” in order to accept the things he must do in this world he is now a part of. Walter creates Heisenberg in S1E6. Walter cannot admit to himself that the reason why he continues to cook meth has more to do with himself than it do with providing for his family financially. This is the explanation Walter gives throughout the entire television series, he justifies his actions and his horrible choices throughout the series as he says everything he does is for his family. Yet it really is about his climb to power, and reclaiming lost masculinity due to being emasculated throughout the majority of his life, which we get a glimpse of in flashbacks. This is how Gus is significant to Walter’s rise to power and inflation of ego. Gus is essentially all that Walter desires, he has built an empire that seemingly bends to his will. Whereas Walter and Jesse, despite being the top of the for the product they are producing, have to scape by in this world in order to merely stay alive. They don’t have the power status that Gus has achieved. Gus is what Walt aspires to be, he seeks the respect, power and control that Gus has. The conflict between Gus and Walter in the latter episodes lies on their dependency on one and other. Walter needs Gus to move his product and without the quality of Walter’s product, Gus will not be able to sell anything. Walt’s product does not move but without Walt and his quality of product, nothing will sell for Gus. Both characters have similar motives yet express it differently. Walt wishes he could express the qualities that Gus has the same way Gus does. In season 5, once Gus had been eliminated (end of season?) we see that Walt starts to express himself similarly to Gus (Lydia at car wash).