The Netflix original series 13 Reasons Why has been a big topic for young people. The show is
about a high school student who commits suicide, but first recorded cassette
tapes as a sort of suicide note for the people she blamed for leading her to
take her own life. People have billed this show as something designed to teach
students about the horrors of bullying, and if that is the case, it would be an
important tool. However, if that is the case, this show has greatly missed the
mark. Since the main character Hannah Baker left thirteen reasons why she took
her own life, I will offer thirteen reasons why this show should be ejected[1].
1.
This
is not What we Want to Teach Kids. If the point of this show is to demonstrate
that bullying is unacceptable and can lead to suicide, that would be a good
thing. But this program glorified and glamorized everything wrong with society.
While trying to teach a moral, it threw morality to the wind.
2.
Language.
I may sound like an old fuddy duddy
here, but the language in this show is flat out offensive. The cast is composed
of high school students, and they all use the “f” word often and with ease.
Additionally, the “s” word and “gd” are also peppered throughout. I am
absolutely furious that anyone would use language like this in something
peddled to students, and horrified that any parent would ever let their kids
watch it. To go back to the first point, if we are trying to teach students a
lesson, then why have such salty language? The real lesson that comes through
is, “everybody talks like that.”
3.
Drinking/Drugs.
The amount of underage drinking and drug usage is astounding. There are
numerous parties where houses are filled with drunk kids and no adults, in
addition to teens being stoned. Again, the take away here is that these parties
and substances are par for the high school course.
4.
Sex.
As one can imagine, the show is teeming with sexual activity, from locker room
talk among the guys, to ranking girls’ bodies, and the obvious sex scenes. Once
again, the audience is made to think this is normal behavior.
5.
Parental
Absence. Some characters’ parents are nonexistent, but the parents who are
featured are mindboggling. They make almost no effort to discipline or correct
their kids, and they seem to be aloof at best. They stand idly by while their
kids swear and drink (like the mom who asks her 11th grade son, “Are
you drunk? On a school night? You never do that.”). Like much of the garbage on
TV that undermines the family unit, this show glorifies the buffoon parent who
exists to only cook and chauffer; there is no sound wisdom or advice from mom
or dad. I can imagine students watching this show thinking their parents are
lame for caring too much, unlike the checked-out “parents” on this trashy show.
6.
Bad
Counselors. Like many other shows that subtly belittle authority figures,
13 Reasons makes a mockery of the school’s guidance counselors. The original
counselor is a goofy woman who is predictably called the “b” word, and she is
replaced by a man who seems top notch, until later episodes reveal he was a
part of the problem. When the main character confided her rape by a school
jock, he told her the best option was to simply, “forget it,” and, “move on.”
If this show is trying to prevent suicide, they should be glorifying, not
vilifying, the school counselors who can actually help at risk students.
7.
Where
are the Teachers? In the same vein as the bad counselors are the moronic
teachers. We see the coach sleeping through history class and playing a John
Wayne movie, a rude principal, and an out of touch teacher in some type of
social behavior class. Where are the Mr. Feeneys who used to go out of their
way to help their students? Kids today need to know they can trust their
teachers, and this show doesn’t reinforce that concept.
8.
Too
Graphic. The final episode shows the suicide of Hannah Baker. As she sat in
a bathtub and slit both wrists, she began to pant and shiver and slowly,
graphically die. It was so realistic I had trouble sleeping, feeling ashamed
that I watched someone die without intervening. The scene is disturbing, and when
we remember that the target audience is minors, it is even more disturbing.
9.
Suicide
Glorified. The violent scene notwithstanding, suicide is glorified
throughout the series. As Hannah is able to almost torture her tormentors
posthumously, viewers can fantasize about their last revenge. A person on the
edge may actually decide to go through with suicide after seeing how Hannah was
able to get the last laugh.
10.
Blame
Shifting. While bullying in any form is wrong, if a person does choose to
commit suicide (and I say this with sensitivity), the choice was made by the
one taking his own life, not by classmates or anyone else. While it is
important that we teach people not to be factors in the decision (i.e., treat
people the right way), this show’s conclusion, in the finale, was that 13
people were at fault for Hannah’ death, and none of them was Hannah herself.
She is the victim and the 13 others bear the guilt. This just simply isn’t
true.
11.
No
Positive Elements. Not only are so many vices glamorized, there is also an
absence of goodness. With the exception of the show’s protagonist Clay Jensen,
there is virtually no one doing anything noble or decent. There is no character
that makes you think, “I need to be more like him.”
12.
Questionable
Motives. Netflix and the shows bosses are standing by their work, using the
predictable line of, “starting a conversation” about this topic. It seems,
though, that if the motivation was getting out the message, they could have
made one movie or a much shorter season. Instead, they put out 13 hour-long
shows; the extra airtime resulted in more profanity, more drinking, more sex,
etc. They could have gotten to the point much quicker, and it leads me to
believe the motivation behind this project was much more financial than it was
beneficial. Sex sells, and they sold a lot of it.
13.
Incorrect
Conclusion. If this show had been done right, teenagers would come to the
finale and leave with a positive message: I need to treat others the way I want
to be treated. I need to watch what I say, and put others’ needs ahead of my
own. However, as stated at the beginning, I’m afraid the conclusion will be far
from that. I believe the conclusion will be that in order to be cool, kids need
to swear like sailors, sleep around, get wasted at un-chaperoned parties, and
get their advice from peers as opposed to parents, teachers, counselors, or
other trusted adults.
I decided to give this show a try after hearing some middle
school students talking about it. I was absolutely appalled that this garbage is
available to kids, and that there are parents who either allow that filth to do
the parenting, or else are too uninvolved to know or stop it. Parents, please
think twice before you let your kids watch this show.
[1] I
watched the first two episodes, then skipped ahead to the final show because I
did not want to keep listening to the filthy language.
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