Similarities between Pulp Fiction and Breaking Bad:

Recently whilst watching 'Breaking Bad' I have noticed a large amount of intertextual references to the film 'Pulp Fiction'. Breaking Bad is classed as a TV drama series, but it as aspects from both the crime and thriller genre. There have been a total of 5 series for this American TV shows with the first being shown in 2008 and that last in 2013. The shows follows the storyline of an American chemistry teacher named Walter White who finds out he has lung cancer and starts to produce methamphetamine to pay for his treatment. To do this he asks one of his ex students, Jesse Pinkman, who is already producing drugs. The plan to produce methamphetamine pays for Walters treatments but leads himself and Jesse into a large amount of trouble which continues to escalate from series to series. The storyline of this show is very alike to Pulp Fiction in certain aspects. Both Breaking Bad and Pulp Fiction use very similar props, costumes, characters, mise-en-scene and camera angles.

The images to the left show examples of all these things:

-Props: I both productions there is drug use which means the substances used to represent drugs are the most common props used. The two screenshots of the spoons containing heroin and the ones with blood being pulled into a syringe. These two shots use the exact same camera angle with the same props to achieve a very clever intertextual reference.

- Costumes: The best two screen shots for this are the bottom ones. They show Walter wearing a tshirt which is far too big for him and they show Jules and Vincent also wearing tshirts which are far to big for them. Throughout the rest of the productions the costumes are very different due to the time period in which they're both set.

- Characters: A large amount of the characters in both productions have very similar characteristics. The first characters who are very alike is Mia (Pulp Fiction) and Jane (Breaking Bad). Both have a very bad drug habit, which Jane managed to get over through rehab, but this didn't last when she started dating Jesse. Both actors play very strong and independent women in their productions which makes them even more alike. Some of their storyline is also very similar because they both overdose on drugs which causes them to become paralysed. However, Mia is saved by Vincent who injects a shot of adrenaline into her chest which stops her ODing. Jane on the other hand chokes on her own vomit in her sleep and dies because Jesse is asleep due to the drugs he has taken an cannot save her. The next characters that are very alike are Hank (Breaking Bad) and Butch (Pulp Fiction). Both seem to be very timid with there first impression but the audience will soon lean that both are very violent men who end up getting badly hurt. The last real similarity in characters is Leonel & Marco Salamanca (Breaking Bad) and Jules & Vincent (Pulp Fiction). Both of these pairings are a hitman duo which adds an intertextual to our thriller. There jobs roles in the productions are the exact same, but the duo from Breaking Bad play a much more violent role using a horror like axe to brutally murder several people.

-Mise-en-scene: This factor is shown best in the shots of the diner (3rd down) and one containing characters in cars. These shots have such a similar feel to him so it is obvious to the audience that their is an intertextual reference. The shots of the diner are were this reference is at it strongest. The storyline in which these two shots are used are also very similar because it sees both sets of characters having a quiet conversation which shouldn't be overheard due to the subject which they are conversing. 

-Camera angles: I have already spoken about this briefly with shots of the drug use, but the other shot which uses an almost identical camera angle is the very top photo with the characters looking into the boot of their car. The shot is a low angle shot taken from inside the boot which adds emphasis onto the power of the characters in this section of the storyline. There are other similar camera angles used like the passed out versions of the both girls. This is a high angle shot which is used to add to the vulnerability to the dying women.