Sophie Gilbert, May 4, 2017<\/p>\n
The Netflix show is a huge hit. It\u2019s also being denounced by educators and experts for the ways in which it tackles suicide.<\/p>\n
By Netflix\u2019s metric of success, 13 Reasons Why<\/em> is a huge hit. The 13-episode drama, structured around the narrative of a girl explaining posthumously why she killed herself, is the most tweeted-about show<\/a> of 2017. It\u2019s also been enormously popular among teen viewers, whom Netflix is eager to hook<\/a>. Given that the streaming service\u2019s business model values perceived popularity over actual popularity<\/a>, the record levels of engagement with 13 Reasons Why<\/em> make it such a surefire winner that the show\u2019s writer\u2019s room was reportedly brainstorming a second season<\/a> within days of the release of the first.<\/p>\n But the positive buzz around the show has been engulfed in recent days by charges that the show glamorizes suicide<\/a>: that its graphic portrayal of Hannah Baker\u2019s death is fundamentally irresponsible<\/a> and could contribute to a contagion effect<\/a> that leads vulnerable teens\u2014the show\u2019s primary demographic\u2014to end their lives. The National Association of School Psychologists has issued guidelines<\/a> for educators in talking with students about the show, while the New Zealand Office of Film and Literature has created new standards<\/a> to advise that under-18s don\u2019t watch the series without adult supervision.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Netflix announced<\/a> that it was adding \u201cadditional advisories\u201d to the show, including a new warning card at the beginning of the first episode. But the scene of Hannah\u2019s death remains in the final episode, urging the question of how a show themed around such a sensitive subject managed to break virtually every rule in the media playbook when it comes to treatment of suicide\u2014so much so that when a suicide-prevention expert was shown episodes in advance, he reportedly advised Netflix not to release it.<\/p>\n 13 Reasons Why<\/em> was created by Brian Yorkey, a playwright and librettist who received the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the musical Next to Normal<\/em>, which also deals with the subject of mental illness. The series is adapted from the 2007 young-adult novel of the same name by Jay Asher, although it deviates from the book in many ways, particularly in regard to the portrayal of Hannah\u2019s suicide. When the show was in production, a number of mental-health professionals were consulted, including Dr. Rona Hu, a psychiatrist at Stanford Hospital, and Dr. Helen Hsu, a clinical psychologist with the city of Fremont.<\/p>\n Hsu explained to me that she provided feedback on some draft scripts, and on how to portray some of the show\u2019s themes\u2014which include sexual assault, abuse, and addiction\u2014sensitively, but accurately. She emphasized that Hannah\u2019s death had to be portrayed in a way that showed the pain it caused her family and friends, and not in a way that romanticized suicide by making it look serene or pretty. \u201cWe had to balance the potential harm of showing it with the potential harm of not showing it, and having it be mysterious or avoidant,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Nic Sheff, one of the writers on the show, detailed in an op-ed<\/a> for Vanity Fair<\/em> why he thought it was vital for 13 Reasons Why<\/em> to not shy away from depicting Hannah\u2019s suicide. In discussions with other writers, he recounts, he made the case for portraying it honestly by referencing a moment in his life when, after swallowing a number of pills, he remembered a woman describing how horrendous and painful her own suicide attempt had been. \u201cI stand behind what we did 100 percent,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI know it was right, because my own life was saved when the truth of suicide was finally held up for me to see in all its horror\u2014and reality.\u201d<\/p>\n This seems to have been the primary motivation for the show\u2019s treatment of Hannah\u2019s death\u2014that in its ugliness and brutality it would serve as a deterrent to people who might be considering suicide themselves. But this line of thought is directly contradicted by some suicide-prevention experts, who warn about a contagion effect<\/a>, where the explicit treatment of suicide in media leads to a related increase in suicide attempts. One example is the 1962 death of Marilyn Monroe: After her death was reported in the media as a suicide, suicide rates that month in the U.S. increased by 12 percent<\/a>.<\/p>\n While studies vary on the extent<\/a> to which such a contagion effect is felt, suicide-prevention groups have long published media guidelines<\/a> for tackling the subject responsibly. The British organization The Samaritans advises against<\/a> publishing precise details about suicide attempts, which can encourage copycat behavior, or over-emphasizing portrayals of grieving family and friends, which can suggest suicide is being honored rather than mourned. It also urges reporters not to include life circumstances that may have been a contributing factor in stories about suicide, since this may cause readers to consider their own similar circumstances equally insurmountable.<\/p>\n 13 Reasons Why <\/em>is a fictional television show, not a news story, but the fact that it\u2019s aimed at teen audiences makes its burden arguably higher. It violates all of the preceding guidelines. Hannah\u2019s suicide is the definitive event around which the show is structured, with each episode targeting a particular person and event that contributed to her decision to take her own life. The grief of her friends and family underpins the series. Her suicide is shown in such explicit detail that it\u2019s extremely hard to watch, unlike in the book, where it\u2019s mentioned only that she \u201cswallowed a handful of pills.\u201d And in another deviation from the book, Hannah\u2019s suicide and the tapes she leaves behind are portrayed as being a force for good in her school community. Her friend Jessica is prompted to talk to her father about her sexual assault. A serial rapist is implicated.<\/p>\n Dr. Dan Reidenberg, the executive director of Suicide Awareness Voices of Education, was asked to review 13 Reasons Why<\/em> prior to the show\u2019s release. He told me he had a number of concerns about it: \u201cthe glamorizing, sensationalizing, memorializing aspects of the series; the violence and brutality; the rape; the failure of reaching out for help; the lack of options and alternatives to Hannah\u2019s suicide; the revenge plot.\u201d Had he been involved earlier, he said, he would have advised producers to do \u201ceverything that they can to reduce the risk of copycat behavior and suicide contagion by following safe messaging standards.\u201d<\/p>\n In a previous interview<\/a>, Reidenberg told Syracuse.com that he advised Netflix not to release the series. He wouldn\u2019t confirm this with me, saying that he wasn\u2019t at liberty to discuss it, and that he preferred to focus on the protection and safety of potential viewers. But he made it clear that he disagreed with the argument that the show has contributed to suicide awareness simply by creating so much exposure around the subject. \u201cIt has definitely started a conversation,\u201d he said, \u201cbut it hasn\u2019t been the right one, so that is not a success to me.\u201d (A spokesperson for Netflix didn\u2019t reply to interview requests for this story.)<\/p>\n Dr. Hsu counters that the show succeeds overall in the ways it portrays the manifold pressures teens encounter at school. \u201cI\u2019ve spent almost 20 years in clinical work being frustrated to no end at how often adults minimize or deny the real risks and stressors young people experience,\u201d she said. \u201cNot out of malice, but out of sheer ignorance or fear.\u201d She was surprised at the \u201cvehemence\u201d of some of the reactions to the show, and argues that it was meant to be entertainment, not a PSA. Parents are naive, she said, if they think that 13 Reasons Why<\/em> is the only depiction of suicide that kids can access, and \u201cno one form of media can cause a person to act dangerously unless there are many other existing factors.\u201d<\/p>\n Hsu acknowledges that the 30-minute aftershow that accompanies 13 Reasons Why<\/em>, Beyond the Reasons,<\/em> which includes information about suicide-prevention hotlines, could have been presented as a pre-show resource instead, and that more guidelines could have been issued. (Individual episodes don\u2019t include phone numbers or URLs<\/a> for viewers who might be considering taking their own lives.) But she\u2019s also surprised by the show\u2019s impact. \u201cIf young people around the world love it,\u201d she said, \u201cas so many have and keep telling me they do\u2014then I think we as adults need to really sit down with them and listen to what resonates about it.\u201d<\/p>\n While engagement with the show among teen viewers is notably high, it\u2019s drawn criticism from a number of high-profile figures. Paris Jackson, the daughter of the pop star Michael Jackson, republished a damning Tumblr critique of 13 Reasons Why<\/em> on her Instagram page, calling the series \u201cextremely triggering\u201d:\u00a0[Go to article at link below for above]<\/p>\n Car Seat Headrest\u2019s Will Toledo also weighed in on Twitter<\/a>, saying, \u201cas someone who contributed to the soundtrack for \u201813 Reasons Why\u2019, I am obliged to tell you all that it\u2019s kind of fucked \u2026 writers: please don\u2019t tell kids how to turn their miserable and hopeless lives into a thrilling and cathartic suicide mission.\u201d<\/p>\n Contributing to the issues with the show is Netflix\u2019s model. Episodes can be streamed all at once, allowing viewers to immerse themselves in Hannah\u2019s world. Although the show is rated TV-MA to signify that it\u2019s intended for mature audiences, and adults can set parental controls to their Netflix accounts to restrict access, many may have no idea what their children are watching online. And unlike shows on network TV or cable, Netflix isn\u2019t always party to guidelines that might govern its content. In the U.K.<\/a>, for instance, the broadcasting watchdog Ofcom dictates that \u201cmethods of suicide and self-harm must not be included in programmes except where they are editorially justified and are also justified by the context.\u201d (In the U.S., the FCC has no similar regulations <\/a>regarding suicide.) But Netflix, as an internet streaming service, doesn\u2019t have to obey these standards.<\/p>\n The creators of 13 Reasons Why<\/em> will likely be able to respond to critics with a second season<\/a>. The final episode of the first seemed to set up a storyline about a school shooting, showing a character who\u2019d been humiliated by his peers stockpiling guns and explosives, and creating a collage of students he saw as his enemies. It\u2019s an equally provocative subject that has similarly in-depth guidelines <\/a>with regard to how it can be treated responsibly by the media. And it has the potential to be just as influential, and just as divisive.<\/p>\n