Does 13 Reasons Why Glorify Suicide? | Teen Ink

Does 13 Reasons Why Glorify Suicide?

May 12, 2017
By _emmarowe BRONZE, Orient , Ohio
_emmarowe BRONZE, Orient , Ohio
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

On March 31st 2017, at 12:30 PM I was in my bed, sick. All of the sudden I start receiving text messages from my friends. They read “LOOK AT WHAT JUST DROPPED” with an image of a show on Netflix, in the picture was the new show 13 Reasons Why and the first two episodes, “Tape 1, Side A”, “Tape 1 Side B.” I texted back instantly because I couldn’t believe that I had forgot! I had read the book by Jay Asher before the show was even announced. I began watching and had finished it by the next day. At first I thought about how amazing it was! How great is it to have your favorite book turned into something real that you could watch over and over again! But as the internet wore down the initial shock of it, and all of the good parts, there was nothing left. I was sick and tired of people talking about how beautiful Hannah Baker, Justin Foley, Jessica and Alex were. I was sick of people saying that it taught them that they should always be nice to people. Did you need a tv show about someone killing themselves to teach you that? The book showed how something so small can affect someone's entire life, and the show represented how suicide affects other people's lives. They did pretty good job of this, so I don’t blame the show, I blame the people. People are turning this into a revenge story, “How a Dead Girl Got Back at People Who Treated Her Badly”. They don’t pick up on what the show is trying to get across and are only seeing that people loved Hannah Baker, and so many people missed her, and that if you died too that there would be memorials and people would realize how they wronged you. This isn’t just harmless thinking, as we saw in Michigan recently a young girl who glorified suicide had made a “prank” where she convinced her 11 year old boyfriend that she had committed suicide. Later that night his mom found him hanging in his closet and he died later that night at Children's Hospital. As someone who has lost someone to suicide, I don’t understand, why would you want to put your friends and family through that because you want to be praised and loved? 13 Reasons Why showed how much Hannah's suicide affected Clay, her school, and her parents but the people who glorify it completely skipped over it. So to answer the question I asked in the beginning, does it glorify suicide? No, but people are interpreting it the wrong way and giving it a positive connotation, which isn’t good.



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This article has 3 comments.


Panthera GOLD said...
on May. 19 2017 at 6:40 pm
Panthera GOLD, Plymouth, Minnesota
11 articles 0 photos 18 comments

Favorite Quote:
“Don’t let them tell you it was on your back; the point of contention is how they act. Where you draw the line will set you free,” -Chris #1, AntiFlag (The Debate is Over)

I haven't watched the show, but I talked to the author. He didn't make it to glorify suicide. It is his version of what caused his cousin to attempt(and thankfully fail) suicide.

on May. 17 2017 at 12:22 pm
HorseKrazy SILVER, Melrose, Montana
6 articles 17 photos 31 comments

Favorite Quote:
Whatever you are, be a good one.<br /> -Abraham Lincoln

This is excellent. Totally right, and the best part is you didn't sound preachy—a lot of people have a problem with that; expressing their opinion without forcing it on others. Awesome job! Love it!

on May. 17 2017 at 9:46 am
ThatsSoRavyn SILVER, Stamford, Connecticut
5 articles 0 photos 12 comments
I agree with you 100%. I'm 16 and watched the show "13 Reasons". I found out about the show, because literally everyone in my school was watching it. The answer to your question, "Did you need a TV show about someone killing themselves to teach you that?" For some people yes, but I agree that the human mind should know not to be cruel to people. I love your article a lot, it's disappointing how people are astonished by something fictional, and think of it in a negative way in real life.