“Breaking Bad” Controversy

By Shradha Singh, Staff writer

“Breaking Bad” was a television show that aired from 2008 to 2014, and received a great deal of critical acclaim and audience praise for its riveting storyline and heightened suspense. But when it comes to its new line of action figures, the show has received more mixed results.

A Florida mom, Susan Schrivjer, was outraged when she saw dolls of Walter White, the show’s main character, a former high school chemistry teacher who becomes a crystal meth dealer during the course of the show, and his student sidekick, Jesse Pinkman, on sale at Toys R Us. The dolls come equipped with accessories that include a fake bag of meth and detachable sack of cash.  Schrivjer considered these children’s toys, “a dangerous deviation from [the company’s] family friendly values,” according to the petition she started on Change.org to remove the toys. Over 9,000 other people agreed with the Fort Myers mom resulting in an “indefinite sabbatical” for the dolls at Toys R Us.

But the show has not taken the blow lying down. Bryan Cranston, the actor who portrays the character of Walter White, has made numerous tweets, including, “Toys R Us puts Breaking Bad toys on ‘indefinite sabbatical.’ Word on the street is that they were sent to Belize. Nicely played Florida Mom.” Aaron Paul, who plays Jesse Pinkman, has been a bit more vocal, tweeting, “Wait, so @ToysRUs pulled all of the Breaking Bad action figures from their shelves but still sells Barbie? Hmmmm…I wonder what is more damaging?” Paul has also shown support for a petition to return the dolls to store shelves, which has gained about 60,000 signatures so far.

This entire fiasco raises the question: what was Toys R Us thinking? Although admittedly the company has said the action figures were meant for adult collectors ages 15 and up, the fact remains that it is a toy store, one that is primarily known for its market geared towards younger children and the family demographic in general. The dolls may be placed in a separate aisle, but they are still only a stone’s throw away from other playthings such as G.I. Joe, Super Mario Brothers, and Ninja Turtles figures that, and this should go without saying, are definitely of interest to children. If you want to sell drug dealing dolls, then at least do it in a setting more appropriate for such merchandise. A comic book or novelty store for adults perhaps?

As for Aaron Paul’s comment regarding the toy store and its connection to another controversial product, Barbie, he does have a point. Toys R Us does not always promote entirely positive merchandise, even for its younger customers, and toys like Barbie do perpetuate eating disorders and other body image issues. However, does that really mean that we need to add to negative images with dolls dedicated to the drug trade, that even have props related to crime? We already are selling video games with excessive violence and breastfeeding dolls for little girls. TV has been less than perfect, displaying more violence and sex lately than family friendly programs. Psychologists estimate that children as young as 8 or 9 are already being exposed to sexually explicit material through media outlets. How far do we have to go until we start legislating what children are exposed to? Barbie and its related counterparts may be, unfortunately, legal. The drug trade, on the other hand, is mercifully not.

Toys R Us has just gone too far in trying to boost profit. Though it may be true that sales of “typical” children’s toys have gone down (with the exception of LEGO, which seems determined to take over the world), that is no excuse to potentially expose kids, especially little kids, to something most decidedly NOT child friendly. It is just too much to ask from a store which has already been a less than perfect influence, and which seems to get worse with every new, “fun” toy it decides to add to its shelves.

Grow a conscience, Toys R Us. Understand that you have a huge part in shaping a child’s psyche and determining their ideas of right and wrong, normal and not, depending on the toys you sell and they play with. As for collectors, try and find somewhere else to buy your merchandise. I hear Walmart has a pink “Breaking Bad” teddy bear on sale.