Since the end of March, all of my friends have been raving about the new Netflix show, "13 Reasons Why." I got multiple snaps, Facebook messages, text messages, you name it. After a month, I finally decided to give in. I sat down and watched about half of the series - not because I liked it, but because I can't stand to not know what happens to a character or storyline once I start. This series made me so angry, and I think it perfectly reflects the state of our society.
If you haven’t watched the series, It’s basically just the story about a high school student who kills herself. She leaves tapes behind to explain the reasons why she killed herself and who was to blame. It makes for great entertainment, I suppose, but it can especially dangerous.
"13 Reasons Why" glorifies and romanticizes suicide. I find that its easy to romanticize mental illness or suicide ideation nowadays. It’s almost as if we treat mental illness and suicide like some trendy style of clothing that people throw fashion shows for. Well, it's not. There’s something cognitively wrong that shouldn’t be glorified or deemed ‘cool’.
Before, I mentioned that, though "13 Reasons Why" makes good entertainment, it can be potentially dangerous. Say , for example, that someone with Bipolar Disorder finds themselves watching this show. They’re currently in the depression phase. They think about suicide but don’t have the cognitive energy to do so. Fast forward, and they’re transitioning into the manic phase where they’re finally getting enough energy to turn the thought’s they’ve been having into reality. They see something like "13 Reasons Why" and find it’s the final push they need to end their life. Now, I know this sounds complicated and unrealistic, but this is an entirely plausible situation.
What if you’re not bipolar and jus a normal high school student going through what every high school student goes through - your struggling to find identity and place in the world, something Erik Erikson categorizes in his Psychological Stages of Development, - and you watch this show and approach suicide like it fixes all your problems. All the appraisal and the human need to fit in and be accepted can be resolved one simple act. Then, this show suddenly becomes a tipping point.
The affects this show can plausibly have aren’t some abstract idea and concept, they’re things that can affect the lives of the thousands upon thousands of people who have watched the show.
