Background:
Breaking Bad. The title of a show that comes with much debate, scorn and a huge - I mean HUGE, fan base. The show ran for 5 years on national television, and told the story of a man whose journey was not a pretty one. The main character, Walter White, was dying from terminal, inoperable lung cancer, and he didn't have any money to pay for his treatments with his teacher's salary. The 50 year old character and his wife had a baby, plus a son that had mental disabilities. So, Mr. White, the intelligent, quiet and respectable family-man high-school chemistry teacher begins to cook crystal meth with one of his former students who may or may not have ever graduated high school to get some extra money to provide for his family after he dies. Obviously the show is political; it has a deeper, underlying theme and meaning other than that cooking crystal meth and selling it leads to a horrible path in life.
Present Day:
Somewhere after the Season Five finale, someone decided that it would be a great idea to make action figures of Breaking Bad characters. Not the kind that were marketed for show memorabilia collectors to buy, either. I'm talking about action figures for kids. Namely, they were action figures to be sold at large-scale chain, Toys R Us. And here is where things get dicey. A Florida mother, who wrote under the name Susan Myers (now revealed as Susan Schrivjer) created a petition on www.change.org in order to protest the sale of the dolls at Toys R Us. I can't say I blame her. The toys come with a miniature sized bag of cash, beakers, and a tiny plastic tray of crystal methamphetamine. The figures represent the ugly transition that Walter White makes from desperate teacher to hardened drug dealer throughout the show.
Like I said before, I firmly believe that the show has a very different underlying theme - probably something along the lines of teachers not making enough money, teachers not getting adequate health care benefits in order to provide for themselves and their families et cetera, et cetera. Obviously, the show is about drugs. Hard drugs. It is not a children's show; it is most definitely a show meant for educated, mature adults. I do believe that the toys needed to be removed from the shelves of a store meant for children; if a collector wants the item, it can still be ordered on Amazon.
But...
Chances are, your ten-year-old doesn't know what a methamphetamine is, specifically what crystal methamphetamine is. What your ten-year-old can see is that Barbies are inexplicably "skinny" with features that go right along with the unrealistic expectations of women that they see on the covers of magazines while you wait in line at the grocery store. What your ten-year-old can see is that G.I. Joe and Captain America are completely ripped, even though ordinary men look nothing like that. Does that stop you from buying either of these toys for your son or daughter? Aren't there other toys out there that can ultimately ruin your child, especially when what they're seeing is something they comprehend?
Regardless, the show is about drugs. Drugs are bad for anyone and everyone, and they especially should not be marketed to children - AKA, the future of the nation. I don't disagree with Mrs. Schrivjer about wanting the toys removed, but I don't exactly support an extreme tirade against something that children mostly won't understand anyways. I think the whole thing is up for interpretation and that there are pros and cons to each side of the argument. But whether you're buying your child a pretty Barbie doll or a hardened-character action figure, think about the message you are sending.
Think before you speak! (and petition and purchase)
Hailey
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