Dear Netflix,
First of all, I know... you placed a warning at the beginning of the series and reassured viewers that it is in fact fictional, based on a book. However, I still am not okay with the fact that not only did you allow Season One to air... but you allowed a Season Two to release this week! Nothing about mental illness, violence or suicide should have a place on television. It's an area of concern to many, and it just pushes the need for a tv show too far.
There are countless of other things for you to create, you didn't need to make this a Netflix original. This TV show is not suitable or pleasurable for anyone. Not only does it glorify mental illness, but also glorifies suicide-- along with showing it. It's not cool, end of story.
1. It's overly graphic.
Young kids are being exposed to things they should never have to see. Not only does the viewer see a suicide first hand, but there's also a rape scene that comes up with little to no warning. Regardless of warnings, children should not be able to be so easily exposed to something so gruesome and disturbing. Netflix is so easily accessible to thousands of children every day, thus, there is no way to prevent children from seeing this once they are logged onto the site. So why give the children the opportunity to view something so graphic with such ease?
2. It glorifies mental illness.
Mental illness is no joke. It's a serious disease that a majority of the people in the nation have to undergo and deal with on a day to day basis. Nothing about mental illness is entertaining, and nothing about it is fake, like everything else viewers watch during this show. Using something as heart wrenching and difficult as mental illness to entertain an audience is just disgusting.
3. It glorifies suicide.
You're almost waiting for Hannah to commit suicide, which is nothing like the books. It's disgusting how you're just waiting for her to give it all up and end her own life. It also shows how easy suicide is as an "exit," without really stressing that suicide is a permanent decision for a temporary feeling or event. Nothing is worth ending your life, and this show glorifies just the opposite.
4. It glorifies bullying.
Hannah essentially ends up killing herself due to the bullying and harassment of these thirteen students at her school; and she leaves them tapes essentially explaining to them why they are some of the reasons she decided to take her own life.
5. Triggers galore!
Mental illness is a serious thing, and someone with mental illness could be so easily triggered while watching this show. The graphics, the vulgarity, everything about it desensitizes everything mental illness, and it is not okay.
6. It's very mature content.
Nothing about this show is appropriate, even for viewers over seventeen years old. Nothing about the show is enjoyable to watch, so why bother? Who would want to watch something that makes them anxious and depressed? Nothing about that seems enjoyable or fun...
7. We know nothing about Hannah prior to the suicide scene.
Hannah is defined by her suicide. We learn nothing in depth about her character until after viewers watch on as she commits the act of suicide.
8. There are no resources anywhere for anyone.
24 Hour Help Phone Lines
National Suicide Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 Alternative Lifeline for Deaf/Hard of Hearing: 1-800-799-4889 The Trevor Project: (for LGBTQIA and questioning individuals) 1-866-488-7386 National Hopeline Network: 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433)
If someone is in danger, call 911.
Text DBSA to 741-741
Nowhere during the first season do you see these resources anywhere. With all the triggers and gruesome content, I find this appalling. Viewers are being exposed to all things mental illness, sexual assault, and suicide.
Even the person with no mental health issues could have an issue and need to talk to someone about what they are watching on their free time... these resources should be everywhere throughout both seasons. It shouldn't have taken until Season Two to have a serious talk about it.
9. The suicide scene took over the entire show.
This scene ended the show for me, 100%. Not only does it show step for step an effective way to commit suicide... but it can desensitize someone from the idea of suicide itself. This could have been accomplished for the viewers without actually having to watch Hannah commit the act. Things got too real too fast, and it's not appropriate for anyone to watch.
10. It's heartless.
Hannah decides to commit suicide and decides to tell thirteen people why they are part of the reason she did so. Thus, those students are to live with a lifetime of guilt and pain because Hannah decides that she wants to blame these particular students for her personal actions. Don't get me wrong, they could have done things to Hannah that upset her, but nothing is bad enough to force someone into suicide. That was her decision.
11. It desensitizes suicide.
Suicide is a permanent decision for a temporary feeling or event. You don't come back from it. Once you make the decision to end your own life, it's all over. This show seems to skip over the severity of all of that, and instead place blame on those that caused Hannah to commit the act.
12. Sex, drugs & alcohol.
With this show, it almost seems like the characters cannot have fun at a party unless sex, drugs, and/or alcohol are involved-- which obviously is not the case realistically. However, young viewers watching this show will not realize that and believe what they're seeing, which could essentially lead to poor decisions on their part in the future. Do we want viewers getting those bad ideas in their heads?!
13. It's a story.
13 RW is just that... it's a story. It's fake. However, even I got into the show with the reality that is suicide. The events in the show are so real and vulnerable that you almost forgot it's a fictional show with fictional characters played by actors. Imagine a young viewer watching?
To them, these types of shows are in fact real life, which gives them a sense of a false reality that is suicide and mental illness.
Altogether, 13 RW is not appropriate for viewers of any age, and should never be used for entertainment purposes. The struggles and hardships portrayed throughout this show are sadly real life to some people, and it's not okay to use that pain to create "entertainment." There's plenty of other things to use to create new TV shows Netflix, I'm disappointed in the choices you've made this year.
