March 29, 2024

Column: ‘13 Reasons Why’ you should notice the stigma

There has been endless buzz about a Netflix series that was released last month. The show “13 Reasons Why” has prompted a good amount of bad reviews, but I think especially in this case, bad reviews are better than no reviews.

Just like most iconic series, the show was initially a book and it was written by Jay Asher. The fictional story is about a teen girl, Hannah, who commits suicide following intense bullying, harassment, sexual assault and other incidents during her high school life that are portrayed throughout the series.

I have only made it through episode five and in all honesty some scenes are cringe worthy. That isn’t because the acting is bad or it’s unrealistic, and that’s the thing, it is so gut-wrenching realistic I can only tolerate one episode per day, which is unlike other shows I can shamelessly binge watch. It’s heart-breaking and far from uplifting in comparison to “Gilmore Girls.”

I don’t enjoy watching it, but I decided to finish it out solely because I want to be “in the loop” when I hear people talking about the show, and I want to find out how it ends.

It seems like social media is booming with comments and reviews about the show and how some schools have even sent home notes to parents saying they should be cautious about letting their kids watch. Although I’m not entitled to give a review quite yet, I do think the series has prevailed in doing its job. It has gotten people talking about mental illness.

There might be flaws in the show and some scenes are probably completely inappropriate for teens to watch, but I think it is valuable for adults to absolutely watch. Not only does it bring to light what teens struggle with in today’s world, but it also depicts true signs of depression that clearly weren’t taken seriously by the adults in the show.

So far, I would not recommend the show to anyone younger than 16, but I do think it could be used in a positive way, such as, a conversation starter for parents and as an example for school counselors to use if they were to show appropriate scenes to a class and address the seriousness of bullying.

Most of all, I applaud the author for not taking the issues that trigger mental illness and shoving them under a rug. The way Asher portrays the kids in the book and show is terrifying. When I have kids one day, am I going to fear sending them to school where they could potentially be bullied and harassed with no repercussions for the perpetrator? I’m not saying we should baby teens, but there is a real concern of what is considered “too far,” and how do school districts deal with certain situations?

I hope parents, teachers and the community will be mindful of the real issues young people are facing. I hope they will notice the stigma of mental illness. Our teens are our future of tomorrow.

Contact Kayla Langmaid
at klangmaid@newtondailynews.com