Okay, so I know that there is a lot of controversy around this Netflix series, but I decided to watch it, in fact I binged it yesterday and today. I have to say I didn't like it.
I will be honest, the teenage years are hard for a lot of us, as humans, puberty, and learning who you are and what you like or want, it is not only confusing but there is zero guidance. We do the best we can, and some of us make it through the teenage years, while some of us struggle through or don't make it at all. I am not saying that these years are hard for everyone, but in all honesty, it is, if nothing else, confusing and questioning.
When I was in 8th grade I was horribly bullied, and it really started in 7th, but got worse in 8th. I was called names, I was shunned from groups, and I was teased endlessly. Painting a picture of myself, I was a scrawny girl, with glasses too large for my small face, and brownish curly hair that at this point I did not know how to handle. I was quiet and artistic, and when I tried to make friends I was told that I was stupid and should just go away (which a child can take many ways). Things got a little better when I went from a christian school to the public high school. The people I met there were just as cruel, but there were more students, so it wasn't all focused on me. Girls were often called sluts, and teenage angst meant many of us fought, internal and external struggles. We made out with each other because we were curious and scared. We were scared that no one would understand why we were still virgins at seventeen, and we often wondered what was wrong with us. Today the only thing that has changed is we can go after each other through multiple layers of social medial.
So back to 13 REASONS WHY. The biggest problem with this is that the suicide is portrayed as everyone's fault but the actual person who committed suicide. Everyone else in the show is blamed by the deceased girl as someone who caused or contributed to her death. My opinion: suicide is a selfish choice people make when they feel like they have nothing left to offer or any other avenues to get help. It is no one's fault but the person who has taken their own life. No one is to blame for a suicide but the person who has actually committed suicide. Yes, there may be warning signs, but then again there may not be signs.
Suicide is NEVER the answer to solve your problems. It is a final decision, and you can never turn back from that. I know people who have attempted and been unsuccessful and I know people who have been successful, I hurt for them, but there is nothing I can do, or could have done, to change their minds. The only thing left after a suicide is pain, and it isn't even something I can fathom explaining.
Another thing I disliked about this show in particular, none of the characters were likeable. The main character, Hannah, is possibly the worst human being. And - SPOILER HERE SO STOP IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT - the fact that she watched her friend being raped and did absolutely nothing was utterly disgusting. As a human being I was so angered by this I almost stopped watching there, because who does that? Who sees someone being assaulted and doesn't say anything? I know a lot of people witness crimes and don't report it, but none of the characters were likeable, and this was just one thing. Another character I hated was the other main character, Clay. He kept listening to the tapes Hannah left behind like a big idiot and he did nothing. One of the other students has been seen stalking and photographing female students and he doesn't go to the police. He just lets it go, even though he tells the stalker kid that he doesn't want to see him, he doesn't report it, meaning that other students might still be stalked by this student. And I have seen teenagers, what teenager has seven, yes, seven, visible tattoos. I mean, some of these students seemed like they were in their twenties at least.
None of the characters were likeable, and I felt that the students portrayed were only a small section of students. Teenagers, like every other freaking person on Earth, can be cruel. You have offices where women judge other women by the length of their skirts, or the tightness of their clothes. You see men judging men on the brand of shoes they wear or the types of cars they drive. And honestly NONE of it matters. You know what does matter, humans. We matter to each other and this television show not only shows the worst side of EVERYONE, but it also glorifies suicide. No one, well almost no one, in the entire show says that Hannah's death is Hannah's fault. It is entirely Hannah's fault. No one is to blame but Hannah. Her death isn't an answer to anything, it didn't solve any of her problems, it was literally just an end, a stupid end to a person's unfulfilled life.
This show has no redeeming value. There is no point. It doesn't say suicide is bad. It doesn't say there is help out there for people who are struggling. It doesn't even offer help for teenagers who might be struggling through some of the issues involved in the show, like: Alcoholism, substance abuse, parental abuse and neglect, depression, rape, bullying, teen sex, and I could go on!
I do not recommend this show to anyone. It has no redeeming value. There is no point to it, except to say that if someone commits suicide it is not there fault, because someone out there should have noticed, and someone out there should have done something. If someone really wants to commit suicide, they are going to do it. Plus, the scene of the actual suicide, while some may be disturbed by it, it wasn't actually very realistic.
So, skip this Netflix original series. It isn't worth it. It has zero purpose except to place the blame of someone's suicide on anyone but the person who is dead.
I will be honest, the teenage years are hard for a lot of us, as humans, puberty, and learning who you are and what you like or want, it is not only confusing but there is zero guidance. We do the best we can, and some of us make it through the teenage years, while some of us struggle through or don't make it at all. I am not saying that these years are hard for everyone, but in all honesty, it is, if nothing else, confusing and questioning.
When I was in 8th grade I was horribly bullied, and it really started in 7th, but got worse in 8th. I was called names, I was shunned from groups, and I was teased endlessly. Painting a picture of myself, I was a scrawny girl, with glasses too large for my small face, and brownish curly hair that at this point I did not know how to handle. I was quiet and artistic, and when I tried to make friends I was told that I was stupid and should just go away (which a child can take many ways). Things got a little better when I went from a christian school to the public high school. The people I met there were just as cruel, but there were more students, so it wasn't all focused on me. Girls were often called sluts, and teenage angst meant many of us fought, internal and external struggles. We made out with each other because we were curious and scared. We were scared that no one would understand why we were still virgins at seventeen, and we often wondered what was wrong with us. Today the only thing that has changed is we can go after each other through multiple layers of social medial.
So back to 13 REASONS WHY. The biggest problem with this is that the suicide is portrayed as everyone's fault but the actual person who committed suicide. Everyone else in the show is blamed by the deceased girl as someone who caused or contributed to her death. My opinion: suicide is a selfish choice people make when they feel like they have nothing left to offer or any other avenues to get help. It is no one's fault but the person who has taken their own life. No one is to blame for a suicide but the person who has actually committed suicide. Yes, there may be warning signs, but then again there may not be signs.
Suicide is NEVER the answer to solve your problems. It is a final decision, and you can never turn back from that. I know people who have attempted and been unsuccessful and I know people who have been successful, I hurt for them, but there is nothing I can do, or could have done, to change their minds. The only thing left after a suicide is pain, and it isn't even something I can fathom explaining.
Another thing I disliked about this show in particular, none of the characters were likeable. The main character, Hannah, is possibly the worst human being. And - SPOILER HERE SO STOP IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT - the fact that she watched her friend being raped and did absolutely nothing was utterly disgusting. As a human being I was so angered by this I almost stopped watching there, because who does that? Who sees someone being assaulted and doesn't say anything? I know a lot of people witness crimes and don't report it, but none of the characters were likeable, and this was just one thing. Another character I hated was the other main character, Clay. He kept listening to the tapes Hannah left behind like a big idiot and he did nothing. One of the other students has been seen stalking and photographing female students and he doesn't go to the police. He just lets it go, even though he tells the stalker kid that he doesn't want to see him, he doesn't report it, meaning that other students might still be stalked by this student. And I have seen teenagers, what teenager has seven, yes, seven, visible tattoos. I mean, some of these students seemed like they were in their twenties at least.
None of the characters were likeable, and I felt that the students portrayed were only a small section of students. Teenagers, like every other freaking person on Earth, can be cruel. You have offices where women judge other women by the length of their skirts, or the tightness of their clothes. You see men judging men on the brand of shoes they wear or the types of cars they drive. And honestly NONE of it matters. You know what does matter, humans. We matter to each other and this television show not only shows the worst side of EVERYONE, but it also glorifies suicide. No one, well almost no one, in the entire show says that Hannah's death is Hannah's fault. It is entirely Hannah's fault. No one is to blame but Hannah. Her death isn't an answer to anything, it didn't solve any of her problems, it was literally just an end, a stupid end to a person's unfulfilled life.
This show has no redeeming value. There is no point. It doesn't say suicide is bad. It doesn't say there is help out there for people who are struggling. It doesn't even offer help for teenagers who might be struggling through some of the issues involved in the show, like: Alcoholism, substance abuse, parental abuse and neglect, depression, rape, bullying, teen sex, and I could go on!
I do not recommend this show to anyone. It has no redeeming value. There is no point to it, except to say that if someone commits suicide it is not there fault, because someone out there should have noticed, and someone out there should have done something. If someone really wants to commit suicide, they are going to do it. Plus, the scene of the actual suicide, while some may be disturbed by it, it wasn't actually very realistic.
So, skip this Netflix original series. It isn't worth it. It has zero purpose except to place the blame of someone's suicide on anyone but the person who is dead.
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