'13 Reasons Why'/Why Not

If you have not watched this series, then you may want to click away... There are major spoilers!

The Netflix show 13 Reasons Why has blown up in the teen community since the first season was released last year. If you don't know what it is, I'll sum it up for you without ruining it.

Hannah Baker is a troubled teen who goes through many challenges and decides to commit suicide, but before she goes she wants to leave those she's leaving behind a message. She records 13 cassette tapes that tell the story of why she did what she did, one for each person who contributed to her decision. And now Clay Jensen is trying to uncover everything and get justice for her.

This show is filled with many real-world situations that people find very disturbing, and that's why it is such a controversy today!

So, therefore, I am going to share some ideas and contemplate in the old Rene Descartes way on why or why not this show is a good one to air.

Let's begin

Many people claim that it glorifies suicide and depression—In my opinion, it really doesn't. Throughout the whole series, it shows how much pain the people who are close to her are in. There is no glory in that.

It shows sexual harassment/rape—This is what I believe is the most controversial thing, especially in season 2 episode 13, when the recovering kid is sodomized in the bathroom with a broken broomstick... This enraged many people. I can see where they are mad, but at the same time, many movies display these actions and don't get this much backlash. Many people didn't have much to say in season one when Hannah Baker's rape was presented, so why does this become a problem when a male is?

It triggers depression—I will be honest. After finishing this series, I did have some bad memories from my personal experiences come back and haunt me for a couple of days. But that is because I ignored the warning at the beginning of every episode. They clearly tell you that there are some triggering content and if you basically can't handle it, stop watching. They also present sources at the end of the show... So if you do have these feelings, then you could talk to someone.

It presents explicit scenes that no one should see—They were specifically referring to Hannah Baker's suicide being aired, as well as rape scenes. The reality is that these things happen all the time and NO ONE wants to talk about it, and that is what really causes depression and suicide.

It promotes love and revenge in suicide—I don't agree with this at all. They believe that Hannah made the tapes out of revenge, but her motives were not completely stated. She may have just wanted people to know her truth. And just because Clay Jensen is still in love her and doing everything he could to get justice, does not mean anything because he loved her before her suicide.

This show is controversial for obvious reasons, but I still think that it is relevant to today society. It also rings up evident topics that surround these cases, for example, those who are privileged get away with a lot more than those who aren't. They discuss drug abuse, school corruption, mass shootings, and so much more.

It is a touchy show, but a very relevant one to watch and I only suggest it if you have the stomach for it.