Do Not Let Your Kids Watch 13 REASONS WHY
13 Reasons Why is a show on Netflix based on the Best Selling Young Adult Novel by Jay Asher. The book takes place just after a teenage girl kills herself and she has left a series of 13 tapes behind for the people in her life that are the reasons why she killed herself to listen to. I read the book several years ago and have followed the author online for several years. I am a bit of a YA junkie, and I was really excited for this series to come out. Which means that going in, I knew that the booked touched on extremely triggering topics like rape and suicide.
I watched the series fully intending on sitting down with my middle school aged daughter and watching with her. I knew that the topics touched on were hardcore, and that it would lead to some serious discussions between the two of us. But I am not so naive as to think that her friends aren’t already talking about sex and suicide. Even as a sixth grader, my daughter has brought a string of texts between her and a few friends where one of the girls was threatening to kill herself. This is heavy stuff that I hate my kid is learning about at such a young age, but it IS happening, and we as parents DO need to be aware of it.
All that being said, I beg you to, no I IMPLORE you, DO NOT LET YOUR KIDS WATCH 13 REASONS WHY! (And if they have already watched it, but you haven’t, keep reading, because you have some damage control to do.)
Why am I not okay with this Netflix Original Series? Why do I not want kids to learn about the aftermath of bullying, drugs, alcohol, rape and suicide? (This show is rated TV-MA by the way, which means Mature Audience Only. This program is specifically designed to be viewed by adults and therefore may be unsuitable for children under 17. So Netflix doesn’t disagree with me.)
- This show was overly graphic. The last four episodes especially, so if you watch the first couple and think you have a good overview of how intense the show is, you don’t. They have explicit warnings at the beginning of each episode, but that isn’t enough. The show features two rapes of teenage girls. These rapes are gritty, horrifying and not something your children need to actually witness just in case they need to deal with something like this. They did a good job of showing Hannah (the girl who committed suicide) and how she felt during the rape, but watching her body writhe with each “thrust” was completely unnecessary and not something we needed to watch in order to understand the gravity of the situation.
- The suicide toward the end of the series might as well have been a handy dandy how-to graphic for how to kill yourself. They showed her stealing razors, and the showed the actual cutting of her wrists, the way she cried out and laid in the bathtub until she was gone. Why show a kid exactly how to do it? Why was that important? Don’t you think we could have gotten the same feelings if we hadn’t watched the blade actually pierce and slice her skin? (Also, in the books, she took pills. Was that not graphic enough for television?)
- The other big problem I had with the suicide was the build up, the entire series lead up to Hannah killing herself. Which isn’t different than in the books, but for some reason, they made it feel like a big reveal, an event that you were waiting on. Something exciting. Suicide should never EVER be exciting. And I was disappointed that they depicted it as such.
- They glamorized Hannah, the girl who killed herself. They made her out to be this big amazing person that everyone remembered and was heartbroken about after she left. In the book, the story was more about the kids she left behind, but for some reason, the series made this about her, like she left some sort of legacy only a dead girl could leave behind. Why would you want kids to think their lives will only have meaning after they die? What kind of effed up message even is that?
Look, I get it. I get that the whole point of the series is to make me feel uncomfortable because you SHOULD be uncomfortable when it comes to these topics. I understand that the scenes were overly graphic because they were trying to be real and show kids that actions have real consequences. I am just saying that it went too far. That the message is lost in the uncomfortableness, and that the way the series is depicted isn’t fair to the story or to the characters and what they went through.
The bottom line is this:  There are differences between reading books and watching shows. With books, if things get too intense you can easily skim ahead a bit and avoid certain content. With shows it isn’t that simple. And a younger watcher might not be emotionally prepared to watch someone else’s depiction of these events. That development takes time. Seeing it thrown out there before they have the emotional strength to understand it us unfair to them and it isn’t right for us as parents to do that.
I remember the first time I watched the Lord of The Rings, when the orcs came on and how scared I was of them. The thing is, when I’d read the book as a kid, the orcs were only as scary as my imagination would let them be, and they were nowhere near as frightening as they were in the movie. I think this is sort of the same thing happening here. When you read something, your mind is only going to let it go as far as your mind can handle but when you watch it, you are at the mercy of someone else’s mind, and this time 13 Reasons Why did a poor job of understanding how much high school and middle school aged kids can handle.
Honestly, I am disappointed that I can’t share this show with my child. That we can’t talk through the things that happen, the cyber bullying, the sex, the kids and the way they treat each other and use this series as a tool to breed the conversation. I would have loved to see this series be something we could show to our high schoolers. A teaching aide for them to understand that life isn’t as dramatic or dire as they think it is in high school. It is such a missed opportunity that because of the overly graphic nature of a few scenes that this series can’t be more valuable to us as a society.
If your kids have already watched it, or you are planning to let them watch it anyway, talk to them. Talk through what they’ve seen and what their friends are talking about. Really spend some time on these topics and assess how it made them feel, because if this show shocked me as an adult, I can’t imagine how much it is going to rock the thought process of an adolescent.
I appreciated your point of view, thank you for writing this because it really got me thinking.
I believe in 2 things concerning this.
1. Any show that I feel might not be appropriate for my son I will watch/screen it first. Then I can decide if he can watch it alone, or with us so we are able to explain anything to him.
And 2. I truly believe that it depends on the individual child themselves. Every person develops emotional maturity at different ages. Some 30 year olds seem like they are 12 in their understanding of, well, life. And I’ve met 13 year olds who blow my mind in their awareness and understanding of difficult situations.
I guess my point is that it is up to us as parents to do the research and to think about each child differently and make a choice. That is called parenting. Makes choices that we hope are the right ones. I do believe this show could really open some doors between parents and their children about some scary parts of life that they need to learn about from their parents and to hope they make good decisions if they are ever faced with these extremely real situations.
Just because a show is “based” on a book geared towards young adults doesn’t mean that it’s going to be appropriate for children. The show is rated MA. That should be the first red flag of not being appropriate to have your child watch. Next you’re going to warn us about not letting our children watch Game of Thrones. That’s got a gritty rape scene. Or how about the Borgias? That’s got a gritty rape scene. Orange is the New Black. House of Cards. 13 Reasons Why. What do they all have in common? They’re all rated TV-MA and the intended audiences are ADULTS. Not CHILDREN.
Um…you know there’s an internet, right? If a kid is looking for a how to on suicide, there are literally tens of thousands of places they can find information without turning to fiction in Netflix.
And why…if there is an explicit warning that the content is explicit, would you not heed that warning? Especially if you weren’t aware that your kids have unfettered access to any type of explicit material? Material they can imagine through their phone, or the library, or even the school’s computers if they can figure away around the protections to prevent such viewing…which many of them do.
Obviously you have the right to view or not view whatever you like, and dictate the viewing habits of your kids, as any parent does. But I don’t understand why you’d be so upset about something that warns you from the start, and doesn’t depict anything nearly as real as what can be freely viewed in the internet.
I couldn’t agree more. I also thought about watching with my 6th grade twins. I watched first and was disturbed with the content. I teach middle school and MANY children are watching the series. It worries me. Thanks for this article!
You say “I get it”, but your article shows you really don’t. Have a read from someone who DOES: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/sickpilgrim/2017/04/13-reasons-netflix-invites-us-spiritual-works-mercy-holy-week/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=socialnetwork#
I watched the series with my husband and 15 year old son. I feel that they effectivly showed how the desicions teens make and how they treat others can have a huge imapct on their peers or themselves. It depicted how ones actions can affect everyone differently and how important it is to communicate to your peers and to parents. We fast forwarded the rape scenes, but we did have some really deep conversations with my son that I know we would have never had…had we not watched this together. I liked that the show also gave me an opportunity to talk with my son about how he treats girls and that he should never ignore a girl being secually assaulted or mistreated.. or any boys either. I was able to listen to my son’s perspective and listen as he told us things about how kids are at his own school. I would encourage all parents to watch this with your teens because it will open the door to some really important conversations and will give your teens an opportunity to share with you. I have always been very honest and open with my kids, from a very young age because I want my kids to feel that they can talk to us without judgement or getting in trouble if they are going through something. With social media, teens have access to far worse things and at least this show shows a true and very real depiction of teen depression, sexual assault, bullying, and suicide… ALL very important topics to have with your kids. Everything was done in tastefully, but real. The purpose is to make you feel uncomfortable when watching how rape, assault or bullying is happening. That is the point… to gain perspective and insight. The scenes made us feel uncomfrotable, but there was not any more nudity than an episode of dancing with the stars! My daughter (age 19) did not get to watch the entire series with us, but she is watching it now and we are also having some very great discussions. My daughter got suspended in 6th grade for 2 days for punching a boy in the face for touching her leg. She socked him right in the eye and he was pretty bruised up. The boy was NOT suspended for touching my daughter because he swore he never did. He told a story that my daughter just punched him out of nowhere. I believed my daughter and praised her for standing up for herself. She is NOT ever violent and she should have been believed no matter what. We need to be more aware and active as parents when it comes to these tough topics because they are not going away and ignoring these conversations will not do any good. The series allows you to have real conversations about these topics without being a “nag” or a “parent” if that makes sense. Because you will be talking openly about a fictional story, your kids will be far more open about talking and discussing these topics. I HIGHLY recommend this. I do not, in any way, feel that the show was glorifying suicide… AT ALL….. we all cried as Hannah made that decision and my son even said how sad it was that she felt she had no other options or anyone to turn to.
I agree with you. My first reaction was this should be mandatory in high school.. my gosh even the counselor acted like she had done something wrong. I overlooked the language that offends me but you know what that is how kids today talk. I thought it was extremely realistic and well done. It could be a tremendous educational tool for our children.kids today are much smarter in so many ways than us parents dreamed of being as a teenager.
I don’t think that “smarter” is the right word…sadly, maybe “worldly-wise” is more accurate.
I absolutely agree with you, Michelle, because this is exactly what I did with my 14 year old. We paused in almost every chapter to discuss things we needed to address, just at the moment they occurred.
=)
This post completely missed the entire point of the show. You’re right that it might not be appropriate to show a child for educational purposes but for mature viewers it’s fine. And as far as the suicide scene being a “handy-dandy how-to graphic”, do you think any non-suicidal person couldn’t name other 5 ways to do it even more simply than that? It doesn’t take a tutorial to understand that anything dangerous can do the trick. The scene was ugly and it was disturbing. No, you probably wouldn’t have realized the gravity of the situation if they didn’t show that scene. Maybe a little, but not as much as you obviously did. That’s what it was supposed to do. How is Hannah glamorized at all? She was depressed, she was bullied, she wasn’t in control. Everyone “remembering” her is the irony. All these students left notes on her locker and claimed to have been her friend but none of them really knew her or tried to understand/help her. The point of the show was that life SHOULDN’T matter only after you’re dead. It isn’t supposed to be a comfortable show or one that should even be enjoyed. It’s supposed to show how horrible suicide is and how we should be more aware of the signs. It’s not a show that’s appropriate for kids or for people who suffer from suicidal thoughts but the people that need the show are the ones who can help prevent it. People are talking about suicide awareness more now that the show has aired so I’m sorry that it made you uncomfortable, but it’s making suicide a reality that people are aware of in a more intimate way.
I didn’t see any glory taking place in Hanna taking her life. Students did do the memorials but I felt they also did a good job of portraying how the memorial wasn’t a true heartfelt action.
Rape and suicide isn’t pretty and the show was very detailed in showing these acts. Both sides. It is graphic and unless you have a relationship with tourchild to discuss this as open as they present it I would not recommend them watching but I don’t think they did a poor job of out to it . If it made you uncomfortable as it did me it showed some realness to those who have not been in those places.
I think there is value in paying attention to the ratings of a show, we have our Netflix locked down so the highest rating which can be viewed is PG. There are reasons things are rated TV-MA, first and foremost is that those things are NOT made for children to watch…..and personally, I choose not to watch TV-MA offerings either because even though I can and will discuss things which are uncomfortable and even downright hideous with my children I do not need to see it in living color to know that something is wrong with certain actions.
I’m just going to say…although I’m not sure there is a point…rape isn’t comfortable. Suicide isn’t comfortable. It’s not peaceful and when either of those things happen in real life, they aren’t suited for younger children. Yet it happens. And they see it. Why not make it uncomfortable, show your child what can happen. Because it’s going to happen in the real world. We are sheltering kids too much these days. I’m not saying let the 6 year old watch it. But I bet your 12 and 13 year Olds can handle a lot more than you can….and should.
THIS SHOW IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!!!!! After she is gone, all the kids realized what they had did to cause such a thing that a girl would kill herself. Someone kills themselves everyday, and nothing is done about it. There are movies strictly about rape/murder/violence etc.
1. for her first reason: people see sex and hand stuff and people shot on every other movie
2. For her second reason: kids play video that they kill people in or get killed in that have HORRIBLE language, and violence
3. For her third reason: she was someone that everybody already obviously knew. So of course it would be a big deal and the crap people did to her is a big deal
4. For her fourth reason: the biggest focal point of the movie: everyone in the movie was there for a reason, took part in Hannah’s life. And they figured out what they did to have an impact on her life
It’s a god damn show, these events take place in most movies these days.
I’m the age of the characters in the story, and the show was extremely tramatizing for me. I watched it last night and I literally couldn’t sleep. I’ve seen the results of things like that first hand, and the show really was way to graphic. There was a line where a guy even told them that it was their fault she was dead, you should never say that to anyone in real life of on screen, you don’t promote that stuff, A friend of mine killed himself a couple years ago and I thought the same thing, and to have a show make it out like it is the victims friends fault it just horrible and not true. Kids were even telling me that they were turned on by the rape scene, not that they thought rape was okay, but it was just so graphic it caugh their attention, I’m not joking, Teenage horomones turned onby a rape scene, and you’re going to promote that? And the suicide scene literally made me sick. I was about to vomit. I’m all about bullying awareness but this is just not right, I totally don’t recommand this for anyone, really all the show really says if you only get attention when you dead, and that’s not a message I would want to promote to the youth of this generation.
Well that’s one womans opinion personally I don’t agree with her I think graphic scenes are necessary you should impact of these crimes I do believe that Hannah was a coward and when I watch this with my child I will continually point out that Hannah was a coward I honestly believe that every child sixth grade and up and every parent should watch this
Thank You for your review on this, I have not viewed it yet and not sure I want to as sexual assault is triggering – this month, April, being Sexual Assault Awareness month this film may or may not assist in the prevention/awareness message. I am curious about the statistics of how often females are depicted in films/media as a victim of sexual violence (before, during, and after) and how that influences societies opinions and actions on it (www.seejane.org might want to check into that).
As a Master’s student in psychology(LMFT) I was in class last week and overheard classmates discussing this series – they had mixed feelings about the message as well between; whether or not this was appropriate for adolescents, whether the message was encouraging youth to use this method instead of seeking therapy, a positive message for awareness or a negative message of attention seeking with her voice basically torturing the 13 as if they pulled the trigger for her choice, and some felt that it missed the point of how survivors of suicide no matter how they are connected to it, handle it after (guilt, shame, sad, grief, anger, loss, etc.), the fact that the mixed feelings from adults in a therapeutic learning environment on how this show is represented and some think adolescents can totally process the content, be careful of those expectations exceeding the limitations of the youths development levels. Understanding child and adolescent development are essential in what we as parents decided to subject our children to, all for the purpose of protecting them or opening communication. As soon to be therapists entering the field we have been told repeatedly, we will have children and adolescents in our office who have actually lived what some may have only viewed in media, also we will have children and adolescents who will have suffered trauma due to things they have seen but not a physical experienced. It is important that as parents we don’t subject our children to unnecessary vicarious trauma through media outlets. If parents are going to watch this with their youth I suggest reading up on the facts and helpful resources on the subject/content before, we don’t have the ‘sex talk’ without some facts and helpful healthy choices for discussion. Be prepared.
I respect your opinion but this was not a good title for this article. IT scares parents when many of the teens, and parents, I’ve spoken to have seen it to positive effects — I work in policy and work with educators, child psychiatrists and development experts, and to turn people away from what could be helpful is not the way to go about it.
This show can be watched with your teen or discussed afterwards. For graphic scenes, go to the show’s wikipedia page and read it, so you know what to fast forward. But this can be informative for us, as parents and caretakers, and a teaching moment.
This show reflected one of the most nuanced story of how different genders view the same situation. That is critical. In fact, in my work, being able to see another’s POV solves so many issues.
Most teens do deal with rape and bullying and are subject to alcohol and drug abuse — if they don’t participate, they witness; if they don’t witness, they know about it. Honestly, I’ve traveled up and down the state and from the richest to the poorest schools, there is not much teens haven’t seen: slut shaming lists, tit pix, athlete glorification. And sadly, many of them feel unheard. Their parents want to bury their heads in the sand. Teachers are overstressed.
Gender violence and suicide rates are rising. The majority of female rape victims — 79% — are attacked for the first time before they turned 25; 40% of rape victims are under 18 when they were first assaulted. By the time they hit 18, it’s too late for both genders. That’s why California is the first state to start consent education as early as kindergarten when gender roles already start solidifying.
The “yes means yes” campaign is spreading. See if it’s in your area: http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2017/04/12/yes-means-yes-grappling-with-teen-sexual-assault
Tbf the writer isn’t ‘hiding from these things’ or living in a bubble from what I read. It’s more she doesn’t agree with using this particular thing to show to children to make them aware things like this happen and how things can trigger it….I totally agree tbh. There are better ways of teaching without being so horrifically graphic…like rape scenes? Hopefully most kids would not have to deal with rape to that extent…and I think showing the brutality that has been described (I have not seen it personally nor do I want to) is unnecessary…it’s not like a rite of passage that will definitely take place. It’s something that happens to an unfortunate number of people and they should be offered all the help they need. Teach kids to be open about things and be kind to others also. You don’t need to mentally scar them just in case it happens…
Agreed. And, sorry, as someone who has been through this, I am not sure how the graphic representation of it can help anyone. It is a well known fact that men who rape do it for the power, not the sex, and “guilting” them into a conscious cannot happen. Sex offenders are some of the least likely mentally ill to be rehabilitated. They also often struggle in learning empathy.
For the rape victims, it would not have helped me to view it prior to the event. It wouldn’t help me after. I don’t think it helps others to develop an understanding of how horrible it is, because even watching a graphic representation of it on a TV show is not the same as experiencing it.
For those saying “Well, rape IS uncomfortable,” you miss the point. Rape is worse than uncomfortable and there is nothing to be gained by glorifying it.
I hate those kinds of comments “there are better way of teaching: but you don’t offer any suggestions. If you don’t actually have a better suggestion than just keep your comments to yourself.
To everyone saying she missed the point – this could have been done in a way that was suitable for a younger audience. Subjecting a child to graphic rape scene is too much in my opinion. Maybe if it wasn’t so graphic and violent … then sure … let your kid’s watch it and have a talk with them after, but subjecting them to watching something that traumatizes me, as an adult, probably isn’t a good idea.
I am absolutely sick of graphic rape scenes. They are EXTREMELY triggering and not necessary at all. I feel like they are exploitative of women and showing rape and abuse so frequently in our media almost normalizes in a sense. Rape is not a cinematic tool. It’s traumatizing. Children should 100% not be subjected to watching something like that. It would have scarred me at a young age, for sure. Thanks for this article. I was going to watch this series, and will not be forgoing it as scenes like that make me feel sick to my stomach for weeks. I see it all too often in movies and tv series.
Thank you, from a rape survivor, for getting it. I appreciate that so much, I could hug you.
It disgusts me that so many people who have never been through this think it is a good thing to use it in that way. It should NOT be normalized. It should NOT be glorified. It is NOT something to watch for entertainment.
As much as I see your point, you just said people were going to have to sit down their kids and talk to them if they had already seen the show. THAT IS THE EXACT REASON FOR THE SHOW. The second you start talking about it the more likely they are to avoid those situations. They are hard topics that no one wants to talk about and it needs to be brought up. You said it is not necessary for them to show the rape scenes so graphically, but quite honestly this just shows that nothing like that has ever happened to you. As a sexual assault survivor, I can tell you the conversations that need to be had are still not occurring. As much as you think shielding your children from this show is better than facing these ugly realities, you are hurting them more in the long run. Hannah Baker and more importantly suicide is not glamorized. It is shown as lonely which is why she is such an emphasized character.
I couldn’t agree more, I was raped in a similar way as the character Jessica Davis was and let me tell you maybe if I had seen something like this then I wouldn’t have had myself in that situation. When I thought of rape I thought it would be in a club or on a street in a busy city like the movies depicted. But that rarely even happens like that. I also felt like the suicide scene was done truthfully and as honestly as they could cinematically. Do you think taking razors to your wrist is like slicing through butter? I’m kind of shocked at people’s comments tbh. I plan on buying this book and hopefully the series to keep to share with my son and daughter when they get to the teen years. Yes of course if you know it will scar your kids then don’t show them if they’re not being exposed to social media and relationships such as these characters, by all means you’re the parent you know what’s best for your kids. But I would rather have these hard and difficult moments and have a healthy discussion in the hopes my kid never felt like they needed to take that option, to end their life or to maybe see the warning signs of situations that could end badly.
You dont know Jamie . You dont know if she has ever been a victim of sexual assault. I think its pretty dumb for you to assume that. Everyone handles experiences different in life. As far as her review i think its dead on. But my question is the author and the director for the filming of this show who is your intended audience? I think the answer to this question would solve questions about why they chose to be graphic for this tv show.
Really? Because I have been in that situation and I agree with the author.
I agree to a point. You should watch it with your kids because it will show them what kind of effect it’s going to happen if they have thoughts like that. Plus, its like saying they can’t read. Their are many books out there that are graphic and volgure. That go into detail about what is going on. So what difference does it make between the books they are reading or this show. Not only that there are other shows that express the same things as in this show. Don’t get me wrong I do understand 13 Reasons Why is way more graphic then the other shows but we can all imagine the details another show is describing or a book. I think the show is good but think you should watch it with your kids so you can help them through it.
Thanks for the honest and open review! I have only heard the opposite and how people SHOULD watch this with their kids. When I told my husband people were saying we should watch it with our kids… not even knowing what the show was about, he looked at me in shock and said it’s for adults, not kids. Then I read your post. THANK YOU! We talk about all kinds of things with our tween and teen. They are into comedies and still love Disney movies. I am the same as you, I want to keep them kids as long as I can. We have known teens who have committed suicide and talk about it. There is so much kids have to deal with already. I’m not sheltering them from the world, but I don’t have to watch this with them to discuss hard topics. We talk about things all of the time. This was well written. Thanks!
First of all, I do not want this to sound mean or rude to you in anyway, but I believe YOU ARE TOTALLY MISSING THE POINT. I completely agree with you when you said this show is not for kids. Of course it isn’t… It is for young adults and above who have the voices to speak up. It is for those who have experienced what happens in the show. It is for those who needed to learn that it is okay to speak up. Last but not least, it is for those who need to be shown the signs of someone who feels like harming themselves is the last option.
If you haven’t watched Beyond The Reasons and you only watched the show, I completely urge you to do so. In it, the cast and crew talk about why they did what they did, why it was important to show the rapes and the suicide. Yes, the show was a jaw dropper, very different from the book. However, Jay Asher himself talked about what this show means and I think before you go on to beg people to not watch the show… (Which is completely crazy, I might add) educate yourself on why it was shown, who it is meant for and what the real message is.
I think I think that the real message here, is that rape and suicide are two very real, very preventable things that happen in today’s society. It is important for those of us who have the voice to stand up and educate, will know what signs to look for and how even just a little smile and a greeting could turn someone’s day around…
I hope you and your child can sit down and talk about this, when she is older. However I urge you to rewatch the series and realize all that uncomfortableness was there for a reason, and you are now better equipt to deal with this issue when it will inevitably show up on your doorstep in some way.
Why can’t you read the book with your child? You could re-read it too. If you read it together, you could discuss it as you go. Movies (series) are never as good as the book. I think that’s due to what you said about our imaginations allowing us to take things as far as we want. I would, however, tell her why you’re reading the book together rather than watch the series because I can guarantee that many students at school will watch the series and talk about it at school. Just a thought.
I have to disagee. I actually think that it’s important they showed that stuff. I think the suicide scene showed that it’s not glamorous or something exciting. It’s terrifying.
Exactly!
THIS SHOW IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!!!!! After she is gone, all the kids realized what they had did to cause such a thing that a girl would kill herself. Someone kills themselves everyday, and nothing is done about it. There are movies strictly about rape/murder/violence etc.
1. for her first reason: people see sex and hand stuff and people shot on every other movie
2. For her second reason: kids play video that they kill people in or get killed in that have HORRIBLE language, and violence
3. For her third reason: she was someone that everybody already obviously knew. So of course it would be a big deal and the crap people did to her is a big deal
4. For her fourth reason: the biggest focal point of the movie: everyone in the movie was there for a reason, took part in Hannah’s life. And they figured out what they did to have an impact on her life
It’s a god damn show, these events take place in most movies these days.
I think you missed the point of this show. The whole series I wasn’t “excited” to see her kill her self, I was hoping that there was a way (with movie magic) that she could be saved and shown that there is hope. It did glamorize Hannah into this big great person like everyone could be. They did this to show how the nicest people can be torn down by the bastards, and made to feel worthless. How each negative incident adds up to be a unbearable weight.
The harsh scenes needed to be graphic so people who haven’t experienced this can be empathetic. When she cuts her wrists we feel the pain she feels, and the impact on her parents finding their unsaveable child. (When we visualize something we put our selves in the situation and in a sense we experience it.) Are you so nieve to think that this show is what would teach our kids how to commit suicide? That this in any way glorifies it? That they will be loved by all the people who didnt like them when they were alive, this show depicts how people only act like they cared after to get attention for them selves.
I recommend everyone to watch this show. If you have teenagers watch it first, if you think they are ready then watch it with them and have in depth discussions during and after every episode. But do not be the majority that just looks a way and ignores the big issues in life.
I could not agree with you more Aaron. I was up until 11pm watching it. I am sitting here listening to my twins get ready for school. I hugged each one of my kids a little harder than I already do. This bubble the writer lives in must be nice. I hope it truly doesn’t pop for her.