Remember the Canadian show Degrassi? I absolutely loved that show. It was such uncharted territory for me, as it was the first show I'd ever seen that tackled complex issues like sexual assault, coming out, self-harm, and even school shootings. I remember being awed by these topics, feeling uncomfortable and curious and fascinated all at the same time. Degrassi was truly an influential show that took core issues that teens deal with and made them seem important and real. It became a pop culture icon when it came to depicting high schools in the media and entertainment world.
With the age of Netflix, new TV shows pop up almost every day and are accessible to anyone with an account (which is basically everyone). These streamable shows provide easy entertainment for viewers, as they are fun to binge watch and obsess over. (Handmaid's Tale, anyone?) So when 13 Reasons Why came out on Netflix, people deemed it wildly entertaining and easy to binge-watch as well. It was another show, like Degrassi, that aimed to depict real high school issues in responsible and realistic ways. However, it hasn't really succeeded. As everyone probably knows, the show follows Hannah Baker's path to an eventual suicide as she leaves behind 13 tapes explaining the reasons for her death, blaming various people who led her to take her own life. It is later revealed that the main reason for her suicide was that she was a victim of a brutal rape by a successful athlete at the school. I'm all for opening up conversations about depression, suicide, and sexual assault. They are real problems for real high school and college students. But 13 Reasons Why lacks empathy for viewers who may actually struggle with those issues, showing graphic scenes of rape and suicide in a show meant for teenagers.
In my second year at UVA, I was facing a stretch of particularly bad depression. In the midst of this, 13 Reasons Why was becoming more popular. I remember my roommate talking about how much she loved it and how it opened up a lot of great conversations about mental health. However, at the same time, my mom, who is a guidance counselor and health teacher, had been talking with her high school freshmen about the show and its implications. She thought the opposite, mainly because the show doesn't really talk about mental health at all. In fact, the suicide doesn't have anything to do with being depressed or feeling hopeless. It's a revenge tactic to make Hannah's peers feel guilty about bullying her. It romanticizes suicide as the only way out and the only way for people to feel bad about what they've done.
I asked my mom if I should watch it. I'm an adult and can do what I want, but I really sought my mom's opinion on this. She told me not to, and I listened. As I mentioned, I was mentally struggling at the time, and a graphic suicide scene wasn't really something I wanted to engage with. But a few weeks ago, I watched it. I'm in a much better place now, but that scene still made me extremely upset and emotional, and brought back some really hard feelings.
That's why, when I read about what happens in the finale of Season 2, I was horrified and disgusted. At that moment, the creators of the show completely abandoned telling any "true" story. It's pretty evident that they only care about shock value. However, they issued a statement defending the violent, shocking rape scene, claiming that "We’re committed on this show to telling truthful stories about things that young people go through in as unflinching a way as we can." I'm all for telling those stories. But the graphic violence depicted in a show marketed towards teenagers is completely over the top and unacceptable. Do people really think that viewers won't watch the second season because of the half-assed trigger warnings in the beginnings of the episodes? Here's an idea: maybe don't show those events in the first place. There was no need to show a graphic suicide scene: viewers know that she's dead, it's the whole premise of the show. Similarly, there was no need to include a graphic sodomy scene in a "teen drama."
However, the problem goes way below the surface, not merely resting on the graphic scenes, but on the ways that these scenes try, and fail, to "educate" teenagers and start conversations about sexual assault and suicide. It is very dangerous to link revenge with suicide, completely abandoning the omnipresent epidemic of mental health (the TRUE cause of teen suicide). It is extremely dangerous to visually depict suicide, as it can lead to copycat suicide. And worst of all, it is completely irresponsible to market these events to young, impressionable girls and boys. Hannah committed suicide for all the wrong reasons, and glorifying those reasons is a disgusting excuse for entertainment and "education about mental health."
Suicide is an epidemic. It is not a means for revenge. When you consider suicide, it is because your brain is sick. By using suicide as a revenge tactic without any mention of depression, 13 Reasons Why is a slap in the face. It commodifies suicide as something to be glorified, crowing Hannah Baker as some kind of martyr who will always be remembered.
It's hard for me to be articulate in situations like these because I am extremely passionate about mental health and setting good examples for young people. This show fails in both categories. There are so many other things that I could talk about in regards to the show, such as how it enforces the idea that you shouldn't ask for help. But the main message here is that the show is dangerous. It's irresponsible and goes about discussing mental health and rape in the completely wrong ways. And it should definitely not be allowed to continue.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, sexual assault, or thoughts of suicide, please reach out and ask for help.
Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
Sexual Assault hotline: 1.800.656.HOPE
Love,
Virg
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