As many people know the second season of "13 Reasons Why" was recently released on Netflix for everyone to watch as they please. The show has received a lot of criticism since the first season was released last March. Some stating that the show glorifies suicide, that it doesn’t portray mental illness properly, or that it doesn’t show the students trying to get help when they clearly need it.

If the creators would have shown Hannah's suicide any differently, people would still have something bad to say about it. Mental illness affects everyone differently, so there is no one correct way to portray it. They are portraying it in a way that they believed the fictional character, Hannah Baker, would have dealt with it. Hannah tried to get help, she may have not said exactly what happened, but she showed signs that something was wrong, but no one picked up on the signs just like what happens in real lfie all the time.

I understand where these claims are coming from, but I have to say that I completely disagree. This show is meant to make people uncomfortable with the truth that we live in a world where everything presented in it happens way too often, and yet we continue to do nothing about it.

We need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Lately, a lot of controversy has sparked over the last episode in season two, more specifically minutes 38-40. This scene shows Tyler Down being sexually assaulted by another male student with the end of a mop. Because of this scene, many people have said it is “disgusting,” “inappropriate,” “unnecessary” or that they urge Netflix to cancel the show immediately.

This is the exact problem. I will not disagree that the show is very graphic, but I think that is majorly important to what the show is trying to do. “13 Reasons Why” is trying to get us talking about these major issues in the best way they can. They are showing us full on what is wrong in schools today and our society as a whole. We let things like bullying, rape, sexual assault, suicide, and many other issues happen then talk about them for a week and then we don’t think about it until the next bad thing happens.

Many people say there is a “stigma around mental health” and we need to talk about it. To be clear I whole-heartedly agree that we need to talk about mental health more. Yet, a show like “13 Reasons Why” comes out addressing the exact stigma people have a problem with and no one wants to talk about it because it makes them uncomfortable.

I’ve also seen comments saying that “why would they show that happening?” Everything that was put in “13 Reasons Why” was researched and talked over with many people to make sure everyone was prepared and on board with what the show was going to present. Everything that was sent to air was because it happens in our society all. the. time.

Women get sexually assaulted. The men who assaulted them don’t get the punishment they deserve, instead, they get something ridiculous, like three months’ probation. Men get sexually assaulted. These often go unreported and seen by other people as something that is too disgusting for others to hear about. Rape culture doesn’t just exist for women. People commit suicide. School shootings happen. Kids get bullied and don’t know how to deal with it. Mental health is overlooked. All of these issues are presented in “13 Reasons Why” and yet no one wants to talk about them, because it makes them “uncomfortable.”

The show’s creator, Brian Yorkey, brought up some very good points in an article released on the Vulture, where he defends the rape scene in season two. I highly recommend that no matter what side of this show you are on you should read it and see where he is coming from.