Drawing by @palol_drawings on Instagram
It's #mentalhealthawarenessmonth making it the perfect time for a review of a very controversial series. On the 31st March at 8am, Netflix released the 13-episode series: Thirteen Reasons Why. It is the story of Hannah Baker, who left 13 tapes that explain why she killed herself. We follow the story as Clay listens to the tapes and see the impact of her death on those who were a part of her life, including her parents, and how every action, no matter how small, can really impact a persons life. It tackles issues surrounding bullying, mental health, sexual harassment, and ultimately suicide.
After its release, it quickly blew up on social media, leading to the discussions the producers hoped it would encourage but it also received a lot of negativity from those who suffer with Mental Heath issues and worried parents. This was partly due to its hard hitting nature, which led to memes on social media.
Humour is often used to cope with heavy topics and is a sign of the stigma that the show was trying to overcome. However, 'welcome to your tape' jokes quickly spread across Twitter, trivialising suicidal thoughts - each time Hannah said welcome to your tape, it was about a person and their actions which had ultimately led to her suicide, but these jokes used stupid things that aren't related to the bullying and sexual harassment Hannah faced. Netflix even joined in on the joke, devaluing the message behind the show by making Hannah seem over-sensitive. People called her attention seeking, selfish and a drama queen.
The show didn't openly tackle mental health issues, which was quite disappointing because a few of the characters definitely were dealing with these issues and bringing them clearly into the open would have been helpful for many viewers. It feels like there was a lack of support for people who may be vulnerable to suicidal thoughts and bullying. Instead there was a very negative portrayal which highlighted the lack of support in schools (that could make viewers 'lose hope' like Hannah Baker), and it blamed her classmates for 'killing her'. This is potentially very upsetting for anyone who has dealt with someone close committing suicide because they have probably blamed themselves for something that happened in that situation.
So, although it's good to think about the impact of our actions, you could tell Clay felt attacked and tried to blame himself for everything. This put his mental health in serious danger. The audience were supposed to relate most to Clay, so with similar experiences it could definitely be triggering for someone watching. It also had specific, very triggering scenes of rape and her committing suicide. So anyone vulnerable to these triggers can't really watch the show.
Every case of suicide is different because it's of the complexity of why a person would choose to end their life. And it is always very hard hitting for anyone involved. This makes it particularly hard to create a show that doesn't gloss over any of the issues in an attempt to make it more relatable, to appeal to a wide target audience. So I do give this series credit for not shying away from the triggering scenes. I personally found the graphic part of her suicide too hard to watch. But the moment just after when her parents walked into the bathroom was so raw and even just thinking back to when I watched it makes me very emotional. I love how realistic it was and think this part in particular avoids romanticising her suicide because you see how her parents react, and we see how much it destroys them throughout the series. If her suicide wasn't included it would have been easily glorified because it would seem like an easy escape or revenge. But when you actually see it, you realise it's not beautiful and it's not easy.
Clay can barely listen to the tapes and we see how much it destroys him to find out everything that happened to Hannah and he feels like he should have done more to help and show he cared. This isn't really fair on him because he is a quiet person, who struggled to reach out - similarly to Hannah who struggled to reach out but showed it very differently. He had his own issues to deal with, and as a character was very sensitive and caring.
They increased the romance between Hannah and Clay in the adaptation which wasn't really necessary for the message they were trying to get across, but this is because romance sells in films. And it possibly made it more 'relatable' so it would reach a wider audience.
There was also a big negative backlash on characters like Courtney and Bryce. This is completely understandable because of what they did. Bryce was a serial rapist and Courtney was prepared to push anyone else under the bus or let anything slide (even rape) if it kept her in the closet, and valued her popularity over telling the truth. However, I did see a fair amount of negativity against these characters that was doing exactly what the show was telling us not to do. But with so many stories and only enough screen time to explain Hannah's story in depth, you only saw one side of some of the characters. Although, over the series some of the characters and their stories definitely developed as we started to understand what was going on in their lives. For example, we saw Justin's family life and the situation this put him in with Bryce.
There is going to be a second season due to the popularity of the first, which I hope will develop the story lines of the characters further but with a more in-depth understanding of mental health and a more positive outlook on getting help. I also hope it takes us through Jessica's recovery after she was raped. And I hope there is more support for her that can give hope to viewers that have experienced any kind of sexual harassment, to encourage them to seek help themselves.
Overall, I think this show is a good start for discussion of mental health, bullying and sexual harassment, but we still have a long way to go. I don't think you can expect one show to solve the stigma and lack of support immediately.
If you did want something else to watch that tackles the theme of bullying and suicide 'A Girl Like Her' is also available on Netflix and shows the effects of bullying on both the bully and victim. It is filmed like a documentary and based on a true story, but unfortunately didn't reach as wide an audience and Thirteen Reasons Why.
*This post is not sponsored by or affiliated with Netflix*
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