The new Netflix show 13 Reasons Why has stirred up a lot of controversies. Many people have been upset that the show did not cover mental illness more intensely. While I understand the concern of not addressing mental illness and educating people on the matter, that was not the objective of the show. The objective of 13 Reasons Why was to shed light on the effects of bullying and sexual assault, and how even small things can make a big impact on someone's life, and they conveyed that point extremely well.
Suicide is, obviously, a very serious matter. There is no one reason why a person kills themselves and this show has portrayed that. The thirteen events that led up to Hannah's decision to commit suicide conveyed how something can stick with a person even after many others forget all about it. They also showed how something that is small by itself may not be so minor when every other factor is added in, as we see in Zach's tape. We also never truly know what someone else is going through which is why many people do not understand why a person reacts the way they do. These are all interconnected. For example, a girl may have been a victim of sexual abuse, so when a boy at school objectifies her by slapping her ass, she experiences a flashback and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She may even have nightmares for weeks. While the girl is suffering from all of this, the boy has already forgotten about it as easily as he forgot about what he ate for breakfast five days ago.
Bullying comes in all shapes and sizes. It can come from girls, boys, jocks, drama kids, teachers, friends, anywhere. It can be online or in person, long lasting or one time. It doesn't matter how someone is bullied, it all hurts just the same; the only difference is how someone deals with it. Some people are able to brush it off easier than others, but for some, bullying sticks with them. Hannah was the type of person who tried to move past it, but because of the sexual trauma she suffered from, she was not able to.
13 Reasons Why is the most real show I have ever seen. The way they were able to portray high school as close to the reality as they did is amazing. There were no easy topics in this show and they did not shy away from the severity of any of it. 13 Reasons Why was able to address the effects of bullying and sexual abuse, and how common it truly is. This show was able to address topics that many people avoid in an eloquent and realistic way, which should not be taken away from them.