13 reasons why Netflix orginal

[Colleen27]

I had a very hard time watching it, and by about halfway through I was thinking many of the things the critics are saying - it has too strong an element of revenge fantasy and while maybe glorification isn't the right word it certainly portrays the suicide as making Hannah "matter" more than she did in life. I think that could be dangerously appealing to a troubled kid. The tapes were her way of getting back at all of the people who hurt her, and it worked. That's the sort of thing bullied and "invisible" kids fantasize about, and depicting it so graphically and in such detail seems more celebratory than cautionary to me.

And from a purely TV perspective, I hated the ending. Instead of wrapping up the story they threw all sorts of new and extra crap into the mix that was never resolved, making it feel like a cheap set-up for a sequel even though from what I understand there will not be another season.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

I had a very hard time watching it, and by about halfway through I was thinking many of the things the critics are saying - it has too strong an element of revenge fantasy and while maybe glorification isn't the right word it certainly portrays the suicide as making Hannah "matter" more than she did in life. I think that could be dangerously appealing to a troubled kid. The tapes were her way of getting back at all of the people who hurt her, and it worked. That's the sort of thing bullied and "invisible" kids fantasize about, and depicting it so graphically and in such detail seems more celebratory than cautionary to me.

And from a purely TV perspective, I hated the ending. Instead of wrapping up the story they threw all sorts of new and extra crap into the mix that was never resolved, making it feel like a cheap set-up for a sequel even though from what I understand there will not be another season.

I know not the point but I thought I read online they where talking about a season two

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I don't know that "glorifying" is the right word for it. But I do feel as though it kind of romanticized it. That's kind of the trend right now though. Mental health, life threatening illnesses, addiction...for example the show about teens in rehab on ABC Family. I get that a lot of the content is relatable, but a lot of the real issues get left out and the writers kind of make it look "cool".

 

[xjillianpaige]

I have not watched it, so take my comments with a grain of salt. But I did study mental health (I'm a licensed social worker but am still learning every day).

I think that this is a double edged sword. There are elements of this show that are harmful, particularly the "revenge fantasy" idea. There are a number of articles that do a nice job articulating this idea, so I'll find them and edit this later with the links.

On the other hand, this is a great opportunity for parents to watch with their preteen or teen and talk about the issues. Talk about mental health and consent and suicide.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

So I just finished 13 reasons why and honestly the only reason for a season 2 is to see if the parents win the
Law suit and to see if Alex lives or not last I want to know how her parents and mr porter react to the taps

 

[godders]

I've watched the whole series and I'm pretty sure here in the UK we had warnings before each episode and it gave information about seeking help. I was also the victim of a sustained bullying campaign that led me to be suicidal when I was at university.

What I thought the main message from the show was to be kind to others because you never know what is going on in their lives. I think both Hannah and Clay were shown to get things wrong and so many of those kids on the tapes were victims too. I don't think it was about placing blame but about an explanation. You never know how something you say might be interpreted by another person because you haven't been in their position and you don't know what is going on with them. In my opinion as someone who has been through something similar I felt like it was one of the most honest and realistic portrayals of that spiral that I've ever seen depicted, especially in teenish shows.

In my house we have many a debate around the dinner table but when I was depressed the confrontation would make me cry and it felt like a personal attack. It's not my the fault of my family, it's just the way it was. And pretty much anything would set me off. But you know the one thing that kept me from ever hurting myself was how much pain it would put my family through and I couldn't do that. And in 13 reasons we get to see how the parents of several of the kids, not just Hannah, are affected.

I think people need to make sure they watch the "making of" episode which is only 30mins long. Gives a bit more of an insight into the intention of the program and might help those who are watching it.

 

[Tinkerbelle's Mom]

Unfortunately I think any high school telling kids not to watch it is only going to ensure that the majority of kids watched it. My dds (16) school district hasn't put out an official word on it all. Some of her teachers have talked about it mainly because it was a huge source of discussion among the kids and conversations were going on about it all over the place.

I did watch the entire thing with her. We talked about each episode. The thing that has really changed at her school is that kids are more aware of their interactions with each other -- at least among her friends.

It is a painful controversal show. I agree with Godders that watching the making of episode gives a lot more insight into the program. A lot of the social media accounts associated with the show are getting information out about where to seek help.

 

[erin1715]

My husband and I watched about 4-5 episodes I think, and then we stopped for various reasons. My husband is a teacher and we talked about whether or not he should bring it up with his students because if by some chance they hadn't seen it then he didn't feel like it was something they should be watching. He teaches middle school. We both felt it romanticized suicide. They made it seem like the person who committed suicide would be around to see what happened after the fact. And I also don't think it's fair to blame everyone else either. And I felt those kids just had a lot of time on their hands with not much adult supervision. Maybe I'm just out of touch with kids these days. I think there was a better way to address suicide than showing it as a way to get revenge.

And like others said, I think the show is okay for kids who are not already on the edge or at risk, but if someone is already teetering on the edge and clinically depressed, this show could push them over the edge.

Another thought I had was that it's wonderful that a lot of parents in this thread were able to watch it with your child and have a discussion about it, but there are so many kids whose parents simply don't care and the child will watch it on his/her own and have nobody to talk to about it.

 

[WDWBarb]

I watched it only because my daughter was friends with a member of the cast when they were very young. So I was just curious. I found myself shocked at how dangerous I thought this show to be almost immediately. "Revenge" suicide is a concept that doesn't need to be glorified by showing how someone can ruin the lives of those who hurt them by dying themselves. And then the last few episodes just... wow. I had to see it through to see if I was going to get the point of this series, but I never did.

Young people are going to watch it so their parents should, too. The one thing I think it did do a good job of portraying is how easy it would be for parents to not know what is going on in their teen's lives and be entirely clueless about their state of mind.