Masculinity in Breaking Bad

Hey Guys,

I'm doing an essay on the representation of masculinity in Breaking Bad and I'd like to hear other people's points of view or ideas on what is a really key theme in the show. I've set up a survey for people who've seen the entire series to fill in here (I'll share the results with anyone who wants them):

http://goo.gl/Bp7kd4

Walt's transformation from "Mr. Chips to Scarface", as Vince Gilligan loves to call it, is so gradual and excellently done. I read in an interview with Bryan Cranston that, in the early episodes, Walt always stood hunched and burdened by the world; It wasn't until he became Heisenberg that he actually stood upright and erect.

There's also a brilliant quote from Gus, where he tells Walt how "a man provides" no matter what his family thinks of him. Do you think this is an old fashioned way of viewing the world?

What is your opinion of the way masculinity is presented in the show?

P.S. Fuck you, Ash.

Gus is pretty much dead-on accurate when he says that, not in an ethical way, but a pragmatic way. For women they are overwhelmingly judged on their appearance, for men they are judged on their ability to support others through labor. If women are the trophies of the world, men are the beasts of burden, especially common men. Both of these hyper-traditional divisions of gender roles ignore what the actual person actually wants for themselves, sometimes ignoring their humanity altogether.

My opinion of the way masculinity is presented in the show is little different from how it's presented elsewhere; inherently violent, criminal and abusive. And that even the few positive traits we associate with masculinity like altruism, determination and ambition are completely inextricable and ultimately meaningless compared to the myriad negative atavistic traits.

Smell ya later, Gary.