Thoughts on 13 Reasons Why

Recently, my Twitter feed has been filled with warnings against watching the new season of 13 Reasons Why. Over the past few weeks, while Netflix has been promoting the show, I have been debating whether or not I would watch it.

Quick background on my experience with 13 Reasons Why. I read the book when I was in eighth grade and learned a lot from it in terms of the dangers of depression and suicide. At this point, I knew about the vague idea of self harm and suicide, and had had some minor experiences with my friends struggling with these issues, but didn’t fully grasp the severity of them. This book started a conversation between myself and my parents, teachers, and friends. After I read the book, a few of my friends became interested as well. The book belonged to one of our teachers who had lent it to me, and decided that students needed to have parental permission to read the book. Those of us that read the book had lengthy talks with our teacher about the issues discussed, and I took this conversation home to my parents with some questions. I believe that these are the type of conversations that the producers of 13 Reasons Why are hoping that their show is initiating.

This is where I think 13 Reasons Why failed. Instead of teaching its audience about the risk of suicide, sexual abuse, and self harm, the show uses these horrific instances as plot points that motivate the characters to indulge in unsafe activities. Instead of seeing Hannah’s death as a calamity that changed the characters for the worse, the show saw it as an opportunity to create more drama, dragging the characters through glamorized tragedy. The 13 Reasons Why cast and crew have done some good things to help mediate the backlash, including drawing attention to support centers and call/text lines. However, I don’t think that’s enough. Not everybody digs deep enough to see all of the help that’s available. Instead they only see what’s shown on screen: an unhealthy obsession with a violent and preventable suicide.

Because of my negative opinions concerning Season 1, I initially thought that I would not be watching the newest season. After doing some thinking I have changed my mind. I will be watching Season 2, at least the first few episodes, simply because I feel as if I should form my opinions for myself. I don’t want to express a negative opinion of Season 2 if it deals with the issues appropriately, and I don’t want Twitter to tell me what to think of something that I have not seen. So I will be watching Season 2. Sorry to my friends on Twitter. I hope that the creators behind the scenes have discovered the balance between reality and glamor, and that they are able to tackle the issues at hand with sincerity and dignity while producing a quality piece of television. Only way to find out is to watch.