Professor, Author and NPR Commentator Kelly Cresap presents “Breaking Bad: Confidential” in the Prince George’s Room in Stamp Student Union on March 4.
Although the Department of Resident Life’s “Pathways to Success” series usually focuses on topics such as writing successfully and dealing with exam anxiety, last night, it instead highlighted a meth-making kingpin.
In an event called “Breaking Bad Confidential,” university professional writing professor Kelly Cresap spoke to a small group of students, faculty and visitors in the Prince George’s Room of Stamp Student Union about the AMC series and its main character, Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher who uses his scientific smarts to make it big in the drug business.
The show, which wrapped up its final season in the fall, promotes binge-watching and easy discussion among fans, but those unfamiliar with the show often balk at its grisly premise, Cresap said. Although the subject matter is controversial, Breaking Bad has a lot to teach its viewers if they have the stamina to stick through the series, he said.
“There is a Grand Canyon separating those who have seen the show and those who have not seen the show,” he said.
Viewers are initially captivated by the “being alive” or “edge of your seat” moments of Breaking Bad, Cresap said.
“The first thing that gets you is the contact high — can I say that here? — of the show’s most intense moments,” he said.
Cresap showed on a projector screen clips that demonstrate such moments — scenes such as one from the pilot episode in which Walt readies himself to face police and attempts suicide, before then giving his former student and protege in proper meth cooking, Jesse, a quick lesson in chemistry. All this happens in the space of seconds, and all while Walt is wearing little more than his underwear. Another scene found Walt using “a little tweak of chemistry” to blow up part of the establishment of an uncooperative drug dealer.
Such moments, Cresap said, often come about once per episode.
Cresap encouraged audience interaction and discussion about Breaking Bad, a show that elicits discussion about morals, character development and the plausibility of high-speed train robberies.
Cresap said he “sees this show as a wake-up call, and I don’t know what it’s waking us up to.”
The show, Cresap said, recently received the Guinness World Record for the best show ever, based on its unheard of 99 percent score on rating aggregate site Metacritic.com.
“It doesn’t get to be the greatest show without some discussion,” he said, turning the conversation to the audience for input.
Audience members said watching Breaking Bad made them question what they would do in the circumstances of the characters, adding they were struck by the realism and the intricately crafted nature of the show.
Junior criminology and criminal justice and psychology major Jasmine Moore said she attended the discussion because she loves the show and wanted to hear another perspective on it.
“I thought it would be interesting to hear what this professor had to say about Breaking Bad,” she said.
Although some say Breaking Bad is “corrosive to our values,” Cresap said it also teaches viewers what it takes to feel alive — especially by following the consequences faced by Walt, a man dying of cancer.
