Shhhh! The silent
edition.
Usually, television and film are all about the “tell” and
not so much about the “show.”
Showing without explanation
requires the audience to focus on the scene and (heaven forbid!) figure things
out independently. Gilligan and company
understand that - it's one of the many elements that make Breaking Bad a show you have to watch as
opposed to one that you simply turn on while you putter about the house.
This week, I want to talk about not talking. Our
everyday lives tend to be noisy, filled with street noise, the buzz of copier
machines, the “ding!” to alert us that a tweet or e-mail has arrived,
ringtones, and of course human conversation. However,
studies show that the amount of emotional content we pick up nonverbally
(through expression, tone of voice, posture, etc.) to be as high as 90%. If you’ve ever been involved in some minor escapade
or another and been caught (say, by your mom or a teacher), you probably had a
moment of thinking, “Uh-oh. It’s that
look.” You’re in trouble and you can
probably calculate fairly closely just how much trouble you’re in. That is the essence of nonverbal
communication.
Just three examples to illustrate. I’ll try to stay spoiler-free, but know the
first two come from Season 3 and the last one is from the first episode of Season
4. If you haven’t watched to that point,
just stop now, okay?
SKYLER from the very end of Season 3, Episode 3 (“I.F.T.”). Skyler has taken a desperate road in her
effort to get Walt to leave the house.
Walt is in fine fettle, trusting that his efforts to manipulate the
situation are causing things to break his way – she cares too much about the
family to cause a scene in front of their son and his friend, whom Walt has
cannily invited to stay for dinner. (“Look
honey, I made pot roast instead of meth!”)
Just watch her as Walt prattles on.
There’s a monologue of frustration, disgust, and revenge in her face here, which gives her line that much more power when she delivers it. And now it's time for salad!
THE COUSINS from pretty much any episode in the first half
of Season 3. Both are trained and ruthless
killers and neither of them talk much.
In fact, it’s Episode 6 (“Sunset”) before we hear a word from either of
them. Silence can make a scene heavy
with meaning and the meaning is often threatening or menacing. Think of seeing people meet each other at an
airport – the ones who are happy squeal, stretch out their arms, and dash
towards each other. The ones who just
glumly stare at each other – well, that car is going to host a different
conversation on the way home. From the
cold open of the first episode of Season 3 (“No Mas” [which was directed by
Bryan Cranston who plays Walter White]), something very, very creepy is going on
here – and we don’t need dialogue to tell us that.
GUS from Season 4, Episode 1 (“Box Cutter”). To be fair, I could’ve picked nearly any
scene with Gus. I find the casting of
Giancarlo Esposito in this role to be downright inspired – he can do so much by
staying so very, very still. Gus is a
very dangerous man wearing a very pleasant face and that fools many people who
interact with him. (I doubt his Los
Pollos managers think of him as a particularly harsh boss, although he is very meticulous
about how he wants even minor tasks done, for example.) To borrow an old phrase, he’s a wolf in sheep’s
clothing. And at the end of this
episode, he doesn’t have to say a word to get his point across. Also note the difference in Walt and Jesse’s
reactions to what Gus does – it says a lot about the changing relationship
between all three characters.
There's much more - Hector Salamanca's "bell of doom" comes to mind, which communicates so much without words - but it's a start!
