Simone Anderson
Selena Gomez has made a name for herself in the television industry when she became an executive producer on the Netflix show 13 Reasons Why. The first season of the show gained critical acclaim, so much so that they were picked up for a season 2, which aired last month. Both of these seasons however have quiet a lot of controversy behind them.
13 Reasons Why is a TV adaptation of the novel written by Jay Asher of the same name. The show follows Clay Jenson, a high school student who one day receives a set of tapes that were left by a fellow classmate of his, Hannah Baker, who committed suicide weeks prior. She leaves behind 13 tapes, one for a person who she feels was responsible for her death. To people who have used her, betrayed her, stalked her, humiliated her, stolen from her, raped her and didn’t bother trying to help her.
The controversy comes from the notion held by some that the show somehow ‘glorifies’ suicide and might have others follow suit in their suicides by leaving behind revenge tapes to people who have wronged them. The Parents Television Council (PTC), which is an organization that aims to protect families from things such as violence, sex and profanity in the media, has urged Netflix to cancel the show due to its potentially harmful content. The show does show rather graphic scenes of abuse, sexual assault and the actual suicide scene and gained some backlash because of it.
The show has warned viewers of its graphic content and advises caution while watching it. It is understandable that parents are concerned about the content watched by their children, but can a show really be blamed for future actions of others?
To some, teenagers especially, the show looks to show people the struggle that teenagers face in life and in school. It shows that our actions always have consequences. The way we treat people matter and the things we do or say to them can have a huge impact on their lives. By Hannah leaving behind the tapes, she is showing these people how their actions affected her, even in ways that they didn’t think it would and so they can learn from them and grow to become better people. The show highlights incidents that happen to teenagers everyday, especially bullying. Bullying plays a big part in season 2, cited as the main reason for the suicide. The message is for anyone who has ever bullied another person. It’s not alright to make someone feel so low that they feel the only option is to end it all. We have to treat everyone with kindness and respect and if we ever see someone who needs help, then it is our responsibility to help them.
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