13 Reasons Why - My take
So I recently binge-watched the Netflix series, Thirteen Reasons Why, based off the book by Jay Asher of the same name and I have some thoughts ...
I've seen a lot of blog posts about why kids shouldn't watch it here and here and here and here, to highlight just a few. The consensus seems to be that the show is well done but it's triggering and could lead to copycat suicides or an increase in suicidal behavior.
The Syracuse.com article said "Netflix said it knew that the show covered sensitive topics, and so worked with mental health experts on the depictions in the show. That is also why the show has a TV-MA rating (kids under 17 shouldn't watch it), explicit warnings were added to the three most graphic episodes, and the show has an after-show episode, called "Beyond the Reasons."
And I get it -- no one wants to glamorize suicide or imply that it is the only solution to some really dark situations. But there's something this show, and the book, has done, and that is START THE CONVERSATION.
This Good Men Project article summed up a lot of what I was feeling after watching it. These problems are a fact of life for modern teens, just as some of these issues were faced by us parents in high school all those years ago. That doesn't mean the emotions and feelings portrayed in the show and book are not valid. Do you remember being an angsty teen? How your parents, however well-meaning, just didn't understand what you were going through? I sure as hell do, and I'm not going to condemn the series for its accurate portrayal.
Was the suicide scene done to be dramatic? Absolutely! Did it make me want to slip in the tub with a razor blade? Absolutely not. Were the rape scenes uncomfortable to watch? Of course they were -- because it's wrong and we know it's wrong.
Maybe I'm not as upset as the other parents because I don't have teenage daughters yet, or maybe it's because suicide is a topic that has personally affected my family. No matter what, I'm happy for the publicity this series and book is getting because it means we are talking about bullying, talking about slut-shaming, talking about rape and consensual sex, and talking about suicide as a community, and in our families.
Let's keep it up ...
The Syracuse.com article said "Netflix said it knew that the show covered sensitive topics, and so worked with mental health experts on the depictions in the show. That is also why the show has a TV-MA rating (kids under 17 shouldn't watch it), explicit warnings were added to the three most graphic episodes, and the show has an after-show episode, called "Beyond the Reasons."
And I get it -- no one wants to glamorize suicide or imply that it is the only solution to some really dark situations. But there's something this show, and the book, has done, and that is START THE CONVERSATION.
This Good Men Project article summed up a lot of what I was feeling after watching it. These problems are a fact of life for modern teens, just as some of these issues were faced by us parents in high school all those years ago. That doesn't mean the emotions and feelings portrayed in the show and book are not valid. Do you remember being an angsty teen? How your parents, however well-meaning, just didn't understand what you were going through? I sure as hell do, and I'm not going to condemn the series for its accurate portrayal.
Was the suicide scene done to be dramatic? Absolutely! Did it make me want to slip in the tub with a razor blade? Absolutely not. Were the rape scenes uncomfortable to watch? Of course they were -- because it's wrong and we know it's wrong.
Maybe I'm not as upset as the other parents because I don't have teenage daughters yet, or maybe it's because suicide is a topic that has personally affected my family. No matter what, I'm happy for the publicity this series and book is getting because it means we are talking about bullying, talking about slut-shaming, talking about rape and consensual sex, and talking about suicide as a community, and in our families.
Let's keep it up ...
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