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study o f matter, but I prefer to see it as the study o f change” (“Pilot”).
After seeing how much money methamphetamine production eams,
W alter enters the drug trade with the intention o f gaining Status and
respect. Although W alter continues to desire the aspirational reference of
society, money, he perceives the institutionalized means, conventional
labor, as inadequate because it denies him his conceptions o f
masculinity. As a result, W alter quits his job as a carwash clerk by
yelling, “fuck you and your eyebrows,” grabbing his genitals, and
demands that his boss “wipe down this” (“Pilot”). With this act o f
defiance, W alter reclaims his masculinity by refusing to succumb to the
humiliation inherent in menial labor. As a result o f the W alter’s
attraction to crime and his lack o f faith in society’s institutions, Breaking
Bad presents conformity as an inappropriate means for acquiring life’s
necessities and romanticizes innovation.
Consistent emasculation, as aforementioned, furthers W alter’s
social strain and he copes through deviant channels. Because W alter fails
to achieve his intemalized ideal o f masculinity, he experiences gender
role strain and desires to reassert his masculinity through criminal
channels. Crime and delinquency often result ffom adverse situations that
are disliked by an individual and, as a result, some individuals “may
become angry and strike out in rage at the source o f aversion or a related
target” (Agnew 156). W alter’s decision to cook methamphetamine not
only stems from financial necessity, but also serves as an attempt to
assert his masculinity over the men he feels have surpassed him in every
way imaginable. This notion is evinced by W alter’s relationship with his
brother-in-law. Hank— a perfect model o f conformity— works for the
DEA, is consistently promoted throughout Breaking BacTs five seasons,
and conventionally achieves financial prosperity and admiration. In
response to H ank’s success, W alter constructs Heisenberg: a deviant alter
ego that acts as a foil to his brother-in-law’s model o f conformity.
M esserschmidt argues that “for many men, crime may serve as a suitable
resource for ‘doing gender’— for separating themselves from the
feminine . . . [as] particular types o f crime can provide an alternative
resource for accomplishing gender and, therefore, affirming a particular
type o f masculinity” (Masculinities 84). Although W alter understands
that his illegal actions are wrong and damaging to society, he justifies his
criminal lifestyle by suggesting he is cooking methamphetamine for a
good reason. He perceives his horrific actions as an avenue for providing
for his family and successfully doing gender, as deviant activities may