GILLIGAN DISCUSSES ‘BREAKING BAD’
ABQ as community to be discussed
Vince Gilligan, co-creator of the TV show, to talk about the cultural phenomenon.
It’s no secret that Vince Gilligan created a world that resonates with an audience.
As the co-creator of “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” the Emmy Award winner has successfully embedded Albuquerque into the cultural lexicon.
This is one of the reasons the Honors College at the University of New Mexico invited Gilligan to take part in a question-andanswer event at 7 p.m. Oct. 18.
The event is free, open to the public and will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis. It will also be streamed on Facebook Live on the Honors College page.
“We came up with a whole list of people that were interesting, and we wanted individuals outside of the academic world,” said Ryan A. Swanson, associate professor in the Honors College. “Vince was at the top of our list. The theme for the series is New Mexico and we wanted to have a discussion about it.”
This event kicks off a year of programming for the UNM Honors College Carruthers Lecture Series.
This year’s theme, “My New Mexico,” was selected to begin a multifaceted exploration of ideas and questions
about New Mexico that can be examined together as a community in the upcoming year of Carruthers programming.
“The event is taking into account that a lot of people think of New Mexico through the lens of ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Better Call Saul,’ ” Swanson said. “The point is to think about the relationship between our shows and community. The shows have brought a lot of opportunity to the community. They’ve also cast us as the meth capital of the U.S. We wanted to have a discussion about this.”
Swanson hopes the event will move the conversation forward of what Albuquerque is as a community, and the opportunities and the diversity of experiences within the city.
“The goal of the evening isn’t to revel in the fandom of the series,” he said. “But to use them to see where the city and New Mexico is at. This is an ongoing conversation.”
The event is being co-sponsored by the Albuquerque Film Office. Mayor Tim Keller will also be part of the discussion.