Thirteen Reasons Why

By: Victoria Carra

Netflix recently came out with a television adaptation of the novel “Thirteen Reasons Why” by Jay Asher. The television show became an instant hit with millennials as they all read the book in their pre-teen year.

The story is about a guy named Clay that receives a box of cassette tapes. What is on the tapes? They are recordings made by a girl who had commit suicide, and the thirteen reasons/people that drove her to kill herself. If you receive the tapes it means you are on them, and if you don’t listen to all thirteen, then the whole world will hear the tapes.

There is a lot of controversy surrounding the television show and how it was portrayed. The actual story is very touching and has a lot of lessons that teens and adults need to learn. Things such as learning not to blame the victim, and watching what you say. Now, what bothers people is that the show can be a little graphic. There are two scenes showing girls being brutally raped, and they show the actual suicide in the show. Showing the suicide is a huge taboo when it comes to talking about self-harm and talking to teens about suicide prevention.

It is said that the producers were told by suicide prevention organizations that no matter what they do, they must not show the suicide. Some say they did it for ratings or shock value. All I know is that it made me look away and almost turn the TV off. But maybe that’s what they wanted. Suicide is something we never talk about until it is too late, because it makes you feel uncomfortable. I think the producers want us to realize that we are uncomfortable with this situation and that that is a big part of the problem. The show spoke to many people and hopefully helped people see that what they say and do matters.