Netflix Series Romanticizes Suicide, Raises Concerns
Since the release of the Netflix original series, “13 Reasons Why,” the Exeter community has expressed both enjoyment for the show and concern over its graphic depictions of suicide and sexual assault. Several mental health organizations and suicide prevention groups have explicitly spoken out about the show’s disregard for censorship guidelines since it came out and Exeter faculty and students discussed it at this week’s department and advisory meetings.
“When a caring person listens, empathizes, and discusses suicide with a distressed person, it decreases the chances of that distressed person ever making an attempt.”
The series, which premiered on March 31, 2017, chronicles high school student Hannah Baker, who resolves to commit suicide in response to misdeeds her classmates have committed against her. Prior to killing herself, she records thirteen tapes describing what led her to commit the acts, and distributes them to the students she claims are responsible for her suicide. The show centers around her close friend Clay Jensen listening to the tapes and coming to terms with the death of the young woman he loved. The series is based off of Jay Asher’s young-adult novel, published in 2007. Due to its wild success, it will be returning to Netflix for a second season.
Chair of the Department of Health Education Michelle Soucy watched the show and raised her concerns about the effect it may have on students at a recent faculty meeting. “I found the show very disturbing as a parent, a teacher and a dorm head,” Soucy said. “The issues that the kids in the show were facing were pretty realistic.”
Soucy read reports from adolescent psychologists that she felt she had to bring to administrative attention. According to her, many researchers who study mental health have deemed the show unhealthy. “The idea was presented that it was someone else’s fault that a main character took her own life, and I think that it’s a bad message to send because when someone takes their own life, it is their personal decision,” she said.
Other faculty also felt that the show was not fulfilling its intent to prevent suicide. Psychologist and counselor Christopher Thurber felt that the show romanticizes suicide. “This is a stylish, web television series, which makes it inherently glamorous, albeit fictional,” he explained. “Millions of people have ogled at Hannah’s painful experiences and tragic, calculated suicide.”
Soucy shared the same concerns and hoped that by bringing the show to the attention of the administration, the staff could engage in productive dialogue. “I just thought that because we’re around students, we should be aware that it exists and what the controversies are,” she said. “We provided the faculty with some tools for having a discussion with a student who has seen the show, and also provided them with suicide prevention training that they could take to prepare for those situations.”
Dean of Student Health and Wellness Gordon Coole wished that the show had highlighted the “many positives of intervention efforts such as mental health counseling.” Although the main character seeks out the help of a counselor, she does not receive proper help from her visit. However, Coole is glad to see that the show has sparked honest dialogue on campus. “The series has indeed stimulated discussion so the desired effect is happening,” Coole said. “Let’s continue to find ways to have these challenging discussions by maintaining safe spaces where students can connect with trusted, empathic, well-trained peers and adults. When we do this, positive outcomes are consistently produced.”
Thurber agreed that one of the faults with the show is how it portrays adults as absent or unable to aid those in need. “Most teen films portray adults as unhelpful,” he said. “But in real life, most adults are helpful and most adolescents know whom they can lean on for support.”
In one of the final scenes before Hannah takes her life, she reaches out to a school counselor, Mr. Porter, and speaks to him about her experience with sexual assault. Thurber saw the scene as an inaccurate portrayal of how a certified counselor would behave in reality. “Rest assured that trusted adults are rarely as negligent as the ‘school counselor’ Mer. Porter,” he said. “In response to Hannah’s concern about being sexually assaulted, Porter asks, ‘Did he force himself on you?’ Hannah replies, ‘I think so,’ at which point Porter incorrectly and unethically asserts that if she can’t give him the boy’s name and is unwilling to press charges, then ‘there really is only one option…you can move on.’”
Other concerns among faculty members wre the show’s graphic scenes depicting suicide and sexual assault. In the last episode of the show, the audience sees the main character, Hannah Baker, kill herself. This scene was more realistic than usual suicide depictions, and Netflix originally played it without trigger warnings.
Some, like former co-head of Active Minds and upper Alyssa Kuwana thought that the scene was important to portray how complicated and devastating suicide is. “I think it was necessary, because without it, people will think that suicide is really easy,” Kuwana said. She added that “13 Reasons Why” differs from other television programs in its realistic depiction of suicide. “Most shows don’t go over the graphic details on suicide, and I think that it paints the picture that suicide is a simple task to do. But it really isn’t,” she said.
Lower Emmy Goyette agreed with Kuwana, describing the scene as an important asset to the show and saying that as long as Netflix uses proper trigger warnings, she thinks that the “violence and brutal honesty of that scene is so important.”
“It’s the scene that stops the romanticization of suicide–it shows it as violent, painful, and the kind of tragic that almost makes you nauseous,” she said. Lower Tori Simon agreed, and admitted that although she was “uncomfortable” when watching the scene, the graphic portrayal helped her to realize the gravity of Hannah’s situation. “I think the reference to suicide opened my eyes to reactions of those close to the suicide and what types of things lead to it,” Simon said.
Lower Kate Denny shared a similar view, but felt that the producers could have done a better job connecting the suicidal themes to mental health matters, as well. “I do think the show could have gone about [crafting the series] in a way that drew more attention to mental health because most suicidal ideologies come from a place of deteriorating mental health or mental disorders and to omit it is a little insensitive,” she said. “I think bringing up that topic and how to get help would be important, as well as adding hotlines and ways to get help before or after each episode. If the point of the show is to help with suicide, the best way they can do that is to give resources.”
Thurber hopes that the faculty on campus can inspire students in need of help to reach out to a trusted adult. “When a caring person listens, empathizes, and discusses suicide with a distressed person, it decreases the chances of that distressed person ever making an attempt,” he said. “Yes, suicide is an uncomfortable topic, but talking about any uncomfortable topic demonstrates your concern.”