Theology and Breaking Bad explores the brutal and seemingly nihilistic moral landscape of the AMC neo-Western crime drama Breaking Bad (2008-2013) with insights into the characters, their struggles, and the moral consequences resulting from their actions. Throughout the book, the contributors find telltale traces of theological themes that have been woven into the storylines by the writers and directors and bring them out for the reader in ten essays that span topics from Greek mythology to the Hebrew Bible, and extend into Eastern and Western Christendom. Readers will find provocative reflections that will add to their appreciation of this show, as well as its spinoff series, Better Call Saul (2015-2022). This volume also advances academic inquiries in such fields as popular culture and theology, hermeneutics, biblical studies, Patristics, film studies, diasporic and colonial studies, and explores such themes as antihero redemption, penance, salvation, and forgiveness. This book will be of interest to both academics and fans alike.
David K. Goodin is a lecturer for the McGill School of Religious Studies in Montreal, Professeur Associe at the Universite Laval, Institut de Theologie Orthodoxe de Montreal, and an instructor for the Pappas Patristic Institute at the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts. George Tsakiridis is senior lecturer of philosophy and religion at South Dakota State University.
Act I: The Theological World of Breaking Bad 1Doing Theology with Non-Theological Resources: The Breaking Bad Canon and Contemporary Notions of Sin Clive Marsh 2Can Antiheroes Find Redemption? Breaking Bad and the Warrior Saints of Byzantium David K. Goodin 3The Inevitable Man: Todd Alquist as a Fulfillment of C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man Cherish Nelson 4Crying in Vain: A Diasporic Reading of Moral Chaos in Ecclesiastes and Breaking Bad Brian Fiu Kolia Act II: Sin and Salvation 5The Eight Vices of the Breaking Bad Universe George Tsakiridis 6Heisenberg and the Darkened Heart: An Augustinian Interpretation of Breaking Bad Trevor B. Williams 7The Search for Rest: Desire and Disordered Love in Walter White and Saul Goodman Alexander Sosler Act III: Rebirth and Hope 8 The Predestination of Jesse Pinkman: Clues to Jesse Pinkman's Failure-to-Evade Salvation Neal Foster 9 The Penance of Mike Ehrmantraut: A Flawed Road to Redemption George Tsakiridis 10Psychopomp and Circumstance: "The Disappearer" of Breaking Bad as Charon the Ferryman David K. Goodin
