What does "breaking bad" actually mean, and in which context has the creator used the term for the title of the TV series Breaking Bad (2008-2013).
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5Downvoters - apart from the fact the answer is probably Googleable [which is true for 90% of SE questions & in itself should not be reason to downvote], I see no reason to not ask about a little-known phrase from a small region of what to most people is a foreign country.Tetsujin– Tetsujin2016-12-30 15:00:16 +00:00Commented Dec 30, 2016 at 15:00
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2It has to show research effort, and grammar is very important. This doesn't show any research effort, nor does it show an initial push as to their own thoughts behind the meaning.cmp– cmp2016-12-30 15:52:04 +00:00Commented Dec 30, 2016 at 15:52
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1Related: english.stackexchange.com/questions/174891/…faintsignal– faintsignal2016-12-30 18:31:41 +00:00Commented Dec 30, 2016 at 18:31
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1Ah, OK - I don't have the rep on here to see deleted answers yet, so didn't spot that one. My main point was really that I'd watched all 8 seasons before I actually got round to googling what it's supposed to mean, because I'd never heard the phrase before, & that being googleable doesn't make a question 'bad' per se.Tetsujin– Tetsujin2016-12-30 18:43:53 +00:00Commented Dec 30, 2016 at 18:43
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1@Tetsujin I downvoted not because this is a well-known or easily Googleable phrase (I'd never heard it except in the context of this show), but because it's literally explained in the pilot episode.Rand al'Thor– Rand al'Thor2018-09-18 08:52:21 +00:00Commented Sep 18, 2018 at 8:52
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2 Answers
Breaking bad is a slang phrase meaning to defy authority or to challenge conventions.
I have just started watching initial 4-5 episodes and story starts with protagonist starting to work illegally.
Its basically about chemistry teacher who is very simple guy but he is came to know that he has cancer. He is only support for his family and he also have one son who is young and differently able.
So, this fellow comes across one of his old student and starts creating Meth.
You can say its his story of defing authority or law, in other words, Watler is breaking bad.
Lead actor Bryan Cranston stated in an interview that: "The term 'breaking bad' is a southern colloquialism and it means when someone who has taken a turn off the path of the straight and narrow, when they've gone wrong. And that could be for that day or for a lifetime."
Showcreaters intially thought that this is very common term as mentioned in this article:-
Show creator Vince Gilligan has said that he had thought it was a commonly used phrase when he decided to use it as a title, not knowing that the expression was a Southern regionalism from the area in Virginia from which he hails. It means “to raise hell,” he says, as in “I was out the other night at the bar…and I really broke bad.”
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Can you find the original quote from Cranston, rather than a fan-written Wiki article?Valorum– Valorum2024-08-27 08:35:27 +00:00Commented Aug 27, 2024 at 8:35
"Breaking bad" means you have morals and ethics that you have lived by your entire adult life. You know what is good and you know what is bad, and your conscience reminds you. But when life seems to have stacked the deck (cancer), then maybe it’s time to bend or even break our own morals and ethics.
To truly do so, we must break our conscience, which is the hardest thing to break. So the term "breaking bad" means that you are breaking yourself in all ways, of what you consider bad. It is taking your life and consciously modifying your behavior to eventually no longer think of things that were considered bad to you as bad anymore. It is the unraveling of your very soul.
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6Why are you answering 8 year old questions on Stack Exchange while driving? Please put the phone down and concentrate on the road.Seth R– Seth R2024-08-27 01:46:05 +00:00Commented Aug 27, 2024 at 1:46
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2Hi, welcome to Movies & TV. Can you provide any sources for this? The other answer has a direct quote from the show's creator as to what it meant to him.DavidW– DavidW2024-08-27 02:52:30 +00:00Commented Aug 27, 2024 at 2:52