Marti Noxon’s brilliant idea to use Breaking Bad as a teaching tool for young men

During the AMC Summit panel this week in NYC, entertainment trailblazer Marti Noxon suggested an intriguing use for Season 2 of Breaking Bad.

Earlier this week, AMC hosted its first ever summit in New York City. They gathered talent from the network to discuss topics such as adapting books to the screen, the future of Better Call Saul, and the “kick-ass” women of the network.

Moderated by Tamron Hall, the panel focusing on the female perspective got deep. The first half of the discussion focused on formidable behind-the-scenes talent including Melissa Bernstein, an executive producer on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, Angela Kang, the showrunner of The Walking Dead, and Marti Noxon, showrunner of Dietland.

Prompted by a question about the now-infamous fan reaction to Breaking Bad character Skyler White, Melissa Bernstein said the following:

"“We really weren’t expecting that kind of feedback, but when Vince and our writers were developing that character and drawing her, they were always feeling like she was completely justified in the choices she was making and the feelings she was having. And I think we were really surprised by the feeling from some fans that she was harshing Walt’s buzz, you know? I think part of it is due to Bryan Cranston’s performance, and I don’t mean to excuse an anti-feminist attitude, but Bryan brought such humanity to that character that people connected with him so much and so deeply that anyone who was getting in his way was a bit of an antagonist. I do think there’s so much misogyny entrenched in our society, and the shows that we’ve grown up on, there weren’t as many strong women characters, and I think that has an effect on how people take in media.”"

As Breaking Bad is a cultural touchstone that viewers are still discovering and devouring to this day (psst, it’s on Netflix right now), it’s important to consider the impact that this character study may still be having on young, impressionable minds, even in the #MeToo era. And Marti Noxon has done just that. In response to Bernstein’s thoughtful answer about the surprising fan reception of Skyler White, she offered the following comment.

"“I just rewatched Season 2 of Breaking Bad with my sixteen year old son, and we’ve had such lively discussions about Skyler White. What’s been great is the opportunity to watch the show with him and say – but from her perspective – and just keep saying imagine this from her perspective. Anna Gunn is one of the most amazing actors ever, and I loved some of the choices she made. But it was so fascinating to have this conversation with a sixteen year old boy who’s in the middle of this moment where there’s so much anger for women. This whole headline ‘women are people’ moment, there’s a lot of talkback on the internet from young gamer boys that’s really ugly. So I would encourage anybody with a young man in their life to just watch that season and talk it through because it’s so powerful.”"

Wow. This is potent advice from one of the leading female showrunners on TV today. Noxon often spearheads work that speaks to pressing issues in our world, and her mind clearly turns to the larger picture when it comes to telling entertaining and immersive stories. Using a beloved television show to help reframe young minds into reconsidering the patriarchal hierarchy of our society is not only brilliant, it’s sure to be effective.

So, if you’ve got a Netflix subscription and an impressionable teen hanging around your house, why not start a Breaking Bad binge? It’s time Skyler White finally gets her due.

Marti Noxon is the creator of Dietland, airing Mondays at 9/8c on AMC.