Abstract

abstract:

Much has been written on the natures and personalities of teachers in educational research and publications (Carter 2009; Beck 2012; Bulman 2015; Dalton 2013; Gillard 2012; Kelly and Caughlan 2011). However, mass media can have a powerful influence on how people see teachers. The television series Breaking Bad (Gilligan 2008-2013) and its representation of teachers, has contributed a unique—if warped—perspective on the subject of teachers and teaching in America. In this article, we argue that three important Gothic and mythic fables from literature are harbingers of Walter White and his transformation: the Faust legend, as told by Christopher Marlowe (1604), the tale of Victor Frankenstein and his monster, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1818) and Robert Louis Stevenson's famous character, Mr. Edward Hyde (1886). We note that the comparisons, while apt, are imperfect, and we discuss their philosophical, social and literary implications.

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