Breaking Bad Video Essay: Self Acceptance Isn't Enough. Guilt is Good (Jesse Pinkman) 

you can feel guilt and still accept yourself at the same time. yes you can feel bad about something you have done, but all you can do is learn from that situation and do better. there is no reason to ruminate on a mistake youve made. we are all human and everyone should have self acceptance AND be able to improve yourself.

The interesting thing is Guilt and acceptance are not enough. Aaron paul's character in Bojack Horseman said it, "You can't keep doing this. You can't keep doing shitty things and feel bad about yourself like that makes it okay. You need to be better!"

Your focus on the therapist's advocacy of self-acceptance is a welcome addition to the analyses of BB. One initially buys into the therapist's advice on account of one's deep compassion for Jesse. Jesse's rejection of that advice is a wake-up call inviting us to engage in critical thinking. The writers of BB have done brilliant work. They give us a nuanced, complex, uncomfortable examination of morality. BB is the Shakespeare of our time.

The sad reality of Jesse is that it reflects alot of young teens or adults that are genuinely kind hearted but because of circumstances fall into that kind of life, like Mike says it there are bad cops and good criminals, bad priest and honorable robbers. Jesse is a reminder not only accept what u did but repent and strive to do better, improve ur self into a better person. Great video analysis

Self acceptance has been helpful for me, and although its somewhat different than what the group leaders idea of it is, its still somewhat based on it. Self acceptance doesnt mean you just say that everything you did was good and move on. Its about facing and taking accountability for the bad things you did in the past, but also its choosing that those things wont define you, and that they dont have to be the things you do in the future. The 'accept' part of it is about coming to terms with your past and looking at it truthfully, instead of ignoring or sugarcoating it. I think the big issue with it is that self acceptance is just one step of the process, it has to be followed by action in pursuit of improvement. It also works best when the person youve harmed the most is yourself, so the message didnt work as well for jesse.

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Surprised this doesn’t have more views. This was a very nuanced take- great video

Great video, right as I finished my Breaking Bad rewatch

Great video! Flies in the face of everyone"speaking their own truth."

i can't believe this has 2000 views, it's incredible! i love ur insight and i think it goes as far as making me and possibly others introspect about our own lives and how we deal with guiltand shame. i definitely took your ideas to heart :)

Great video. I really loved the distinction made between guilt and shame

Insanely thought provoking, and awesome perspective that you brought to the table! Awsome analysis man!

All of these Breaking Bad analysis videos are great!

I’ve watched many BB analysis videos, but this video might capture what makes it the best show of all time. We live in a very selfish and self accepting world, where everyone tries to pretend like there is not “good and evil”, but our subconscious minds scream against this, and that is illustrated best in breaking bad. “Virtue doesn’t make sense in a world of survival of the fittest, and the consequence of virtue is suffering.” Maybe this is why Dostoevsky tells us in the brothers Karamazov to “seek happiness in sorrow” through the great Zosima.

dude i laughed so hard when i switched tabs back and all fo the sudden its a big black dude flexing lol. btw gains looking good keep on it.

Step 1 for change is acceptance

I would not go so far as saying that guilt is always good - because some people absolutely engage in performative guilt. They feel guilty for what they do, but have no desire to change because what they do still feels too good to stop. So they feel guilty, so they can tell themselves how they are really a better person, despite not making an effort to be better. Saul Goodman is a perfect example of this.

Very good insightful video. Funnily enough I found your channell by accident because of your video for the dumbbell anime after doing a little "research"

underated video

Great video as always.

The abs comercial is crazy

The one thing that bothers me about this plot line in the show is just that it’s not at all what treatment is like in my experience. It feels like a “normie” interpretation of what they think AA is like. I’m not a fan of AA for many reasons, but I’ve always found that accountability was a gigantic part of the program. The whole goal was to change your behaviors for the better, and mend your relationships through action. Also wanted to mention that I think some guilt and shame can be toxic. A lot of abuse victims end up holding onto the shame that their abusers should be carrying. I believe Jesse has both positive and toxic guilt and shame. It’s positive that he feels guilt about Gale. But he is experiencing toxic shame when Walter convinces him he was wrong about him poisoning Brock. He feels like such a bad person for believing Walter could do such a thing and for threatening him for it, when in reality he had every right to do that.

Interesting video

Well damn

Feeling guilt over making bad decisions, especially those that hurt other people, is good in itself, but it isn't enough if it doesn't motivate us to change. There is no such thing as subjective morality.There are certain things that are always things that are always wrong, and no matter what bullshit you try to spin to justify it, the things that are inherently wrong will always be such.

Great Vid, also 1:0 like to dislike ratio!

brooooo, don't spoil that much directly at the beginning. I accidentaly clicked this.