Om amfetamin og tragiske helte: Udkast til en hegeliansk læsning af Breaking Bad

Abstract

Many have compared the American TV series Breaking Bad to Shakespeare’s plays, thus giving weight to a claim of relevance beyond mere entertainment. Drawing on Hegel’s concept of tragedy, the purpose of this essay is to outline how the series can be interpreted as a tragedy with parallels to the tragedies of Antiquity. The essay is initiated by a brief introduction to Hegel’s concept of tragedy and subsequently a rough sketch for an interpretation is presented. Here it is argued that the tragic element in Breaking Bad derives from the case that Walter White, the series main character, can be understood to embody legitimate values and norms pertaining to the American ethical order, but that Walter nevertheless simultaneously is in conflict with equally legitimate values and norms of the ethical order.