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Arts & Entertainment

Geneva's Joe Tells Why 'Breaking Bad' Is So Dang Good

NIU psychologist and Geneva resident Joe Magliano explains how point of view helps us root for Walter White.

Northern Illinois University psychologist Joseph Magliano of Geneva says there are plenty of good reasons to like Breaking Bad, the show that won a bunch of Emmy awards a few days ago, including Best Drama Series.

In an interview with National Public Radio, Magliano explains why that is. According to the article, Magliano is among the researchers trying to figure out how movies manipulate thoughts and emotion.

Breaking Bad is an unusual case — and if you're not familiar with the show, you might find this hard to believe: It's a story whose hero, Walter White, is a lovable meth dealer, crime kingpin and murderer.

"Lovable" isn't generally the word you'd associate with such a person and it might not be exactly the right word here — "sympathetic" might be better. But the show's creators pull it off.

They can do that, Magliano explains, in part because of the circumstances of the main character, a nerdy school teacher who is driven to meth dealing because of his circumstances: a son with cerebral palsy, a baby on the way and news that he's is dying of cancer.

But beyond that, it's point of view — allowing the viewers to see through Walt's eyes — that has helped the show maintain its success over six seasons.

in the article, Magliano shows us how the camera shots are used to put us in Walt's shoes and understand his state of mind. Beyond that, actor Bryan Cranston is just awesome, Magliano says.

"We're able to recognize a large variety of emotions from subtle facial expressions. It's automatic," Magliano says in the interview. "But there's also evidence that we feel some of these emotions, too. If we see somebody sad, it activate parts of our brain that regulates emotion, that gives us a sense of sadness."

But I'm doing too much explaining and forgetting our point of view. Magliano is from Geneva, and that's the local connection here. The best way to understand that is simply to read the article on wkar.org, the public radio website from Michigan State University.


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