Saturday, February 27, 2016

Breaking Bad is Kafkaesque

OK y'all. So about a month ago I finished Breaking Bad. And Recently I have been reading a whole bunch of conspiracy stuff since I started watching the spinoff show, Better Call Saul (I highly recommend it to those of you who want more BB and obviously can't have it). SO: upon my snooping, I came across an allusion website. As it turns out, Vince Gilligan (creator of BB and BCS) is a super smart, story-crossing guy. I cane across this article on http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/09/literary-references-breaking-bad-_n_3731502.html#gallery/312302/6  that says the following ""Yeah. Totally Kafkaesque." -Jesse Pinkman, 3.09: “Kafkaesque,” During a rehab meeting, Jesse underplays his job at Gus Fring’s lab: he claims it is a “boring, corporate laundromat” position where the boss is a “d—ck” and the owner a mysterious “super d—ck.” When the group leader claims that’s kind of “kafkaesque,” Jesse agrees. The scene’s ironic quality comes from the fact that they both speak the truth, but are only half aware of it: the leader knows what “kafkaesque” means, but he doesn’t know what it ultimately applies to—he pictures a low-wage laundromat, not a high-death meth lab; Jesse knows what it really applies to, but he doesn’t know what it means. We, the bookish viewers, have an edge over them both: we understand what Jesse’s gig entails and are (hopefully) familiar with the term “kafkaesque” (what sorts of readers of Kafka would we be if we weren’t?) “Nightmarishly bizarre,” we conclude, is a fair job description indeed!"  As an avid BB fan, and recent reader of Kafka, I enjoyed this reference. What do you think Gilligan meant when he imagined Jesse responding as "kafkaesque?"


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