Abstract

This thesis analyzes the linguistic construction of Walter White's masculinity in the television series Breaking Bad. It argues that Walt's transformation from a meek chemistry teacher into a powerful drug kingpin, and his masculinity, are more complicated than the simple "Mr. Chips to Scarface" narrative proposed by others. Through analyzing Walt's utterances with adversaries, his wife Skyler, and partner Jesse Pinkman, the thesis finds Walt's masculinity is inconsistent and multifaceted. This complexity contrasts the linear masculinity transformation and establishes Walt's role in the trend of male anti-hero TV protagonists like Tony Soprano. The thesis emphasizes language over physical actions to reveal the nuances of Walt's developing

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Abstract

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Abstract

This thesis offers an analysis of the linguistic construction of Walter Whites masculinity
in the 2008-2013 television series Breaking Bad. The creator of the show, Vince Gilligan, has
described Walts drastic transformation from an unassuming high school chemistry teacher into a
powerful methamphetamine manufacturer as the process of turning Mr. Chips into Scarface,
and media scholar Brian Faucette connects this linear transformation to Walts masculinity when
he argues that Walt gradually comes to embrace elements of hegemonic masculinity, such as
violence and aggression, that are associated with Scarface. This thesis argues that Walts
transformation and his masculinity are both more complicated than this linear model would
suggest.
The approach I adopt for this analysis is a linguistic one, inspired by the growing
discourse surrounding the study of language in the media. This approach draws from speech act
theory, as delineated by J.L. Austin and John Searle, in conjunction with Judith Butlers theory
of gender performativity and additional scholarship on language, identity, and gender in order to
analyze how Walts utterances in his interactions with other characters construct his masculinity
over the course of the series. The first chapter considers his interactions with his major
adversaries in the meth business; the second analyzes his interactions with his wife, Skyler; and
the third concerns his interactions with his former student and current partner-in-crime, Jesse
Pinkman.
What emerges from these analyses is a portrait of the complicated, inconsistent, and
multifarious nature of the construction of Walts masculinity, which creates a stark contrast with
the relatively simple and linear transformation from Mr. Chips to Scarface that Gilligan and
many of the shows critics have proposed. I further suggest that this complex masculinity plays a
significant role in establishing Walts place in the trend toward male anti-hero protagonists in
television drama series that began with Tony Soprano, from the 1999 series The Sopranos.
I argue that this thesiss focus on how Walt is linguistically constructed is what allows
the complexities of his masculinity to be revealed. Whereas others have tended to focus on
physical action (such as acts of physical violence) in analyzing Walts construction and
development, this thesis places emphasis on language, which is, as the discourse on language in
the media contends, one of the most important tools with which creators of televisual media
products build characters and the worlds they inhabit.