The hit Netflix tv series, 13 Reasons Why has been widely viewed worldwide and consistently controversial in the media. With over 3,585,110 tweets about the show during its first week of airing, viewers are asking the question, 'does the popularity of the show glamorize teen suicide?' The show stems from the Jay Asher novel, which shares the same name. The second season was released recently with even more controversy than the first due to a particular scene at the end of the season. The show stems around many aspects of mental health, which is the main reason for the review. Below there will be spoilers, so if you haven't watched the show, you may not want to read.
Some analysts argue that the show could convince already suicidal adolescents to take their own lives while others argue that it draws awareness to bullying and teaches students the importance of seeking out help for their peers that they suspect may be suicidal. Numerous organizations who specialize in suicide prevention strongly discourage graphic suicidal scenes or suicide discussions in fear that it may plant ideas in their head that weren’t previously there.
On one hand, fans of the hit show applaud the writers for bringing awareness to the tragedy that is teen suicide and hope that it can shed light on how to detect warning signs of depression and the importance of seeking help for people in need. On the other hand, medical professionals are worried that it will urge some adolescnets who already struggle with mental illness to hurt themselves due to the relatable nature.
The fictional narrative follows an American teen, Hannah Baker, that commits suicide. She records 13 tapes that are the 13 reasons why she took her life. The original plot has an addictive pace that many claim glorifies suicide. Each episode of the first season is a different tape. During the second season it follows the case of Hannah's parents against the school district.
What the show does that no mainstream show has done is bring up the topic of suicide in every episode. Mental health has become more prevelant in the media within the past two years, but still lacks full understanding of the importance. The show depicts the struggles of a modern teenager through bullying, slut-shaming, social injustice, social isolation, sexual assault and rape. The importance of depicting a modern teenager in particular is the fact that the bullying cannot be escaped when leaving school. Through the internet, cell phones and social media it continues, at times seeming inescapable. We are shown a version when the extreme is met, which is ultimately when Hannah decided to take her own life.
Due to the show being a drama, there are times that it lacks the educational aspects of mental health. There are many times during the show that the blame is placed on certain individuals, which does absoultely NOTHING when someone has taken their life. They are still dead, no matter whose fault it was. It needs to be known that there are resources for those suffering with depression or sucidial thoughts that individuals can utilize before making a decision that can never be reversed. Such resources are counselers, therapists, friends, family, and of course the National Suicide Prevention Hotline : 1-800-273-TALK.
So what does the show depict poorly? To me, it is the 'glorification' of suicide. The show depicts a life after Hannah's death, which is not what actually happens. This is a double edged sword. What the show does that's positive is that it shows the hurt, blame and confusion felt by friends, family and the community. It shows that it is the worst option available and that you will devastate many. The 'glorification' to me (again, this is my opinion) is that we see what a 'revenge suicide' looks like. We see what seems to be Hannah getting exactly what she wanted through these visions by her peers. This is obviously fiction. Hannah can NEVER see the pain she has caused because, well, she is dead. Once life ends, it ends. There is no viewing party of others left in your wake. There is revenge that she can give to these people by the tapes that she created, but she is not around to witness it. Therefore, it is all for nothing if that was her intention. The 'glorification' is that she seems to get her wish by leaving those who wronged her to face consequences that she gets to witness, which again isn't the case due to her being dead.
After the premiere of the show, the search phrase "how to commit suicide" rose 26% above what would normally have been expected for that time. “According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and others, risk of additional suicides increases when a story explicitly describes the suicide method, uses dramatic or graphic headlines or images, and when repeated coverage of that story sensationalizes or glamorizes a death.” (Henick, Mark) Patients who seek help for their mental illness are taught coping skills by therapists and support groups which often encourages them to think about their insecurities and issues in a positive manner. Therefore, when the show highlights Hannah’s problems and emotions in a negative mindset, it can make it difficult for the suicidal viewers to stay positive about their own issues.
Experts in the field believe that the show falsely suggest that bullying alone is the only cause for a child to feel suicidal, when in fact depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain. The sad truth is that in many cases teenagers are afraid to seek help or believe that being honest about their depression would be discouraged by their family or friends. Our society creates the idea that having a mental disability is viewed negatively in the eyes of our social-media-consumed world due to the stigma surrounding mental health. Mental illness is considered an invisible disability that can easily go unnoticed to the naked eye. This presents a difficult decision for parents. It is hard to help their children or even know if their child needs help if they never voices their feelings. Many viewers believe that it is challenging to advocate and correctly execute a show that deals with suicide.
13 Reasons Why is meant to trigger the audience and leave them unsettled in the hopes that it will not only educate the viewers on bullying and suicide, but encourage teens to advocate for their peers who seem to be struggling. Contrary to this argument, many viewers believe that 13 Reasons Why is something that every teenager should watch. Some even believe that schools should stream the show in class to teach students the effects of bullying and how to catch warning signs of suicidal peers. Mentioned earlier, the search phrase "how to commit suicide" rose 26%, but this wasn’t the only search to increase. The search "suicide prevention" went up 23%; and "suicide hotline number" climbed 21%, based on the paper's data. (Howard, Jacqueline) These statistics prove to the supporters of this side that the show is spiking an interest in teens who want to educate themselves on how to help themselves or others.
They believe that the show is more likely to urge undiagnosed students who are suppressing their depression to know that they need help rather than urging them to hurt themselves. Supporters also think the show educates viewers who are ignorant to the topic that is suicide. 13 Reasons Why shows the viewers what depression and pure emptiness looks like. Since depression is an illness that isn't physically visible, it is difficult to understand what a person who suffers from depression is actually going through.
It is easy to demonize Hannah for putting her parents and friends through such a horrifying loss, but many viewers believe that the show helps people understand why people don’t cry for help. With all of the obstacles that Hannah faced between bullying at school and her parents struggling with their business, she felt as if her ending her life would remove a burden from not only herself, but her parents as well. Again, THIS IS NOT A SOLUTION. The show tackles issues that people don’t realize the impact and delicacy of. From bullying to sexual assault, the show touches on many issues that heavily discussed on a realistic scale. Many audience members mention that when it comes to rape, the show recognizes that just because someone doesn’t fight back to their aggressor, doesn’t mean that the action was consensual.
Promoters of the show believe that it boils down to the most important lesson; the power of kindness. Only a small percentage of viewers will relate to Hannah where the majority of the audience are on the other side. It is imperative to emphasize the importance of being kind to one another. Fans of the hit show applaud the writers for bringing awareness to the tragedy that is teen suicide and hope that it can shed light on how to detect warning signs of depression and the importance of seeking help for people in need. On the contrary, medical professionals are worried that it will urge some adolescents who already struggle with mental illness to hurt themselves due to its relatable nature. As for purely entertainment, the show is brilliant. I applaud the writers for what they're doing with the show, but it needs to be known and directed to a mature audience as it tackles mature subjects.
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