Hanling Cao
Queen’s University Belfast
ABSTRACT
This article investigates the role of genre conventions in shaping audience engagement and cultural understanding through a comparative analysis of Breaking Bad and The Wire. It explores how both series innovate within and subvert the crime drama genre by employing textual analysis of narrative form, mise-en-scène, editing, and sound design. By destabilising traditional genre expectations, this study examines how each text fosters complex representations of crime, morality, and institutional power, contributing to broader cultural discourses. The article underscores genre’s centrality to media production and reception, offering insights into evolving audience interpretations within contemporary television narratives.
Keywords:
crime drama; audience reception; media production; cultural discourse; genre theory
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