13 Reasons Why created a buzz of praise and disapproval when it began streaming on Netflix in March. I first heard about the show on social media and began watching it without knowing its subject matter. While I praise the show's creators for addressing suicide, rape, and mental health as a whole, I find that it wasn't handled in the best way.
Season one is over, and the buzz has died down. However, season two will begin streaming in 2018. As the season is in production now, I would warn the creators and viewers to be aware of the first season's faults.
1. The Wrong Focus
While the show follows what led to Hannah Baker's suicide and the events that followed, there is a significant element of a love story involved in the tragic plot. The show's protagonist, Clay Jensen, loved Hannah during her life. In flashbacks, Hannah and Clay's relationship takes a main focus. Before I fully knew what the show was about, I saw a friend post a picture of the show on social media with a caption commenting on how 'cute' and 'sweet' Hannah and Clay were together. After understanding that the subject of the show, I found it disgusting that so many people would find a way to romanticize it. This is Hannah's path to taking her own life, not her love story. The difference was not emphasized.
2. Suicide Is 'Cool'
Hannah is noticed and talked about after her death. She gets attention and love from her peers and family. To the young teen who watches the show, this is a dangerous concept. With Hannah's death, suicide can be viewed as a legitimate option and a chance to be noticed. Not every viewer has the maturity to recognize that Hannah's death is the end, and that there is no turning back. Her death does not quite feel complete because the viewer sees constant flashbacks to her life, so in a way she feels alive. Not every viewer can fully understand that suicide should not be seen as a choice, but for Hannah it appears to be a choice that turned out for the better.
3. Lack of Trigger Warnings
Until May, there were few graphic content warnings, or trigger warnings, on the episodes. The episodes that displayed graphic rape and Hannah committing the act of suicide had warnings, but many people found other elements of the show to be disturbing and trigger unhealthy thoughts. 13 Reasons Why has been called a "How to Kill Yourself Guide," as we see Hannah's motivation, preparation, and aftermath of her suicide. Any scene or moment has the potential to spur an unhealthy reaction in a viewer, especially when the show touches on such a broad spectrum of problems. Bullying, mental illness, rape, and suicide are a number of issues that a viewer may connect to, especially when shown as graphically as the show is. Netflix added a warning to viewers before the pilot, and this was due to viewer complaints.
4. Unrealistic Situations
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Samaritans, the Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and more all exist. They have accessible resources, and actually have the capacity to save lives. Hannah does not seek help from any of these resources and they are not even pictured as an option to her. When she tries to talk to her guidance counselor he is of little help. He does little to comfort her or ensure that she would not hurt herself. In a realistic situation, Hannah would have been aware of these resources, and if she was not her guidance counselor would have definitely recommended them to her.
5. Copycat Syndrome
A copycat suicide is when an individual attempts to take their life after the another person, fictional or not, does so. Copycat suicides can be driven by sorrow, a desire for attention, or simply an emotional and mental trigger. Journalists are even trained to prevent copycat suicides when they must address suicide in articles, but they still try to keep mention of it at a minimum because of the dangerous consequences. The largest copycat case that the show created was the death of Franco Alonso Lazo Medrano, a 23-year-old man from Peru. Medrano left behind tapes, just as Hannah did, to the people that he felt led him to suicide. It is pointless to say that his death was entirely the shows fault, but I can only imagine what could have gone differently if the show had been more carful with its idealistic depiction of suicide.
6. Blame
The purpose of Hannah's 13 tapes was to leave a final impression with the people that she felt led her to suicide. These classmates all hurt her or failed to help her, and she accuses them as the reason why she took her life. Hannah is raped, bullied, and rejected by other people, but (I hate to say it) she was at fault too. Hannah faces some difficult situations that are not her fault, but the show still makes it seem as though shifting blame is acceptable. Hannah is responsible for her own death, but the show makes it acceptable to blame others.
7. Suicide Is Not Revenge
Hannah's notes are revenge, nothing more. Hannah only wants to make her peers feel guilty for her death, and the creators made the fatal mistake of allowing this to happen. The people on the tapes feel the guilt and consequences from their actions in various ways, so Hannah's is successful. This is not accurate in any way. Suicide should never be viewed as revenge.
8. The Memes
So many jokes emerged from 13 Reasons Why, and they were typically funny. However, isn't this wrong? How can we find a way to make jokes about a story of suicide? One of the most common jokes that emerged is the 'Welcome to your tape' meme.
At the beginning of every tape dedicated to a peer that led her to suicide, Hannah says 'Welcome to your tape.' We have turned what is meant to be a serious phrase into an ironic overreaction. What does this say about the maturity of the shows audience? Most of the viewers are teenagers, so is this subject matter truly appropriate for us?
9. What Can We Learn?
Simply watching 13 Reasons Why does little to teach the viewer about mental health and suicide. In fact, mental health is never fully identified in the show though several characters clearly suffer from depression and anxiety. The show claims to address and educate the viewer on these issues in the hopes that people are more tolerant, but this is not really done. Yes, the viewer might leave with the mindset of being nice to others, but their knowledge of mental health will certainly not change.
10. Get Ready To Be Sad
The show is a downer even though it ends on a semi-positive moment of Clay driving away with Skye, Tony, and Brad. Theres no positivity in any part of Hannah's story because there is the constant knowledge that she is dead and cannot be saved. If you are seeking some solution or happy ending, this show is not for you.
11. Saving Hannah
Hannah never truly feels dead until the final episode in which she actually commits the act of suicide. We see her every episode in flashbacks, but it can be hard to remember that these flashbacks are in the past. At every turn in the story, I found myself hoping that Clay would say or do something to save Hannah as if her fate could be changed. Hannah is dead already and there is no changing that, but it isn't always so obvious to the viewer.
12. Behind The Reasons
Much of the shows intentions are explained in a small series that follows the show entitled Behind The Reasons. In it, the cast and crew explain why they chose to depict graphic scenes, the message that they hoped to send, and how to get help if you are in danger. I applaud this idea, but very few people saw it. These messages should have been conveyed in the show, and viewers should have been even more encouraged to seek help if needed.
13. There Should Be No Season Two
According to producer Selena Gomez, the show's goal was to depict Jay Asher's novel and raise awareness for suicide and mental health. If this was truly the case, there would be no plan for a second season. The show was wildly popular and even received the most social media attention of any other Netflix show, so why wouldn't they continue the trend? So of course, the second season is being created purely for money. Any good intentions associated with the creation of the first season are no longer applied. The message has been sent, there is no reason for the show to continue, it's simply to make money off of those who became obsessed with the plot of the show, not its message.
