By Gaby Lewis Opinions Contributor
I had been waiting for the day that 13 Reasons Why came out. When I watched it, I binge watched the thirteen episodes in one weekend, and I was not disappointed.
While critically acclaimed, the show has faced much controversy for their decision to use graphic scenes of rape and suicide. In the show, each heart-wrenching episode tells the story of the suicide of Hannah Baker. As the show exploded in popularity, no one can miss the discussion of the show in the hallways as arguments go back and forth about the many difficult issues that 13 Reasons Why puts a spotlight on.
The school responded by sending all parents an email to discuss the show’s content with their children and decide if their children should be allowed to watch the Netflix series.
When I initially heard this, I thought that the school should not be telling us what we should or should not watch in our own free time. In fact, I think that the show has many important messages such as bullying, signs of suicide, the effects of a fellow student committing suicide and rape that should not be missed. I can not think of another show that has been so direct with the complicated issues that many teenagers deal with, and opening up the conversation is an important part of solving these problems.
I thought that the schools should be encouraging this straightforward discussion, despite the graphic imagery. This show is not a public service announcement, but instead, a brutally honest portrayal of suicide that makes people pay attention and see that suicide is a process which is neither painless nor easy. It helps prevent conversations about suicide from being swept under the rug.
A concern of the school system is that witnessing a suicide increases the chance of suicidal thoughts. The writer of the show defends their choice saying that he wanted the viewer to understand the complexities and difficulty behind suicide. The graphic scene of Hannah dying by herself in the bathtub displays some of those difficulties like the pain and loneliness of bullying and suicide.
CNN finds that it is unlikely that one show alone could trigger a suicide, but it might have a greater influence on people who may be vulnerable to mental illness or suicidal thoughts.
This becomes a reason why a school email to the parents is necessary, and helps us understand the school’s decision. The school has a responsibility to protect students, so they need to share with parents what’s going on in the school community if they think it might impact their health and safety.
Sophomore Hope Zhu is not sure about the email, but agrees that the school should be cautious.
“Newton has had some problems with suicides in the past and there’s a lot of stress in this community, so I think that it’s important that the school reached out to parents and make sure they were aware of all the resources that their children had,” said Zhu.
There’s a lot to be learned from 13 Reasons Why, but it should still be handled with care. Parents should be able to make informed decisions, especially if it can trigger past mental health issues or suicidal thoughts in a teenager.
Sophomore Amelia Pennell thought the school email addressed the problem well.
“They’re not completely disregarding or trying to change one’s ideas about whether they should watch it or not, just encouraging parents to invest in talking about it with their child,” said Pennell.
While it can be concerning that some high school students are watching the series, I had not initially considered that students in younger grades might also be watching the difficult show. I was shocked when I heard my eleven-year-old sister tell me that she has friends who are currently watching 13 Reasons Why.
Younger students might not be able to understand the important messages such as rape of the show and only take in the negative explicit imagery and therefore not be ready to watch the show. Thus the decision if those younger students should see the show should include their parents.
The school did the right thing because they are opening up the dialogue to discuss mental illness and suicide to try to make sure this district is never plagued with such tragedies again. While it is easy to be angry with the school for meddling in students business, providing parents with information so they can discuss 13 Reasons Why is a necessity to hopefully prevent another tragedy.
