13 Reasons Why premiered this past Friday. It is based on Jay Asher's popular novel of the same name. Instantly, it became an overnight success and one of the biggest trending topics on social media. While the show has a large fan base because of the book, the show itself is written well and cast perfectly, which has led to its success. However, there is another cause of its extreme success. It has an imperative message about bullying, harassment, and perhaps most importantly, suicide.
13 Reasons Why tells the story of 17-year-old Hannah Baker and her tragic suicide. Before she ultimately takes her own life, she recorded 13 cassette tapes containing the reasons why she committed suicide and left them behind for the 13 people who caused her to do it. These cassettes were to be passed around to each person following the order of the names on the tapes. Hannah Baker was bullied, sexually harassed, and even raped all within her sophomore year of high school. It all started with a kiss, her first kiss to be specific. The first boy she kissed took a picture of her sliding down a slide at the playground, exposing her underwear beneath her dress, and passed it around to everyone in their school. That one picture started rumors that would soil her reputation for the rest of her high school career. It caused girls to call her names such as "slut" and guys to call her "easy". It caused guys to grope and grab her in public and feel entitled to her body. It caused her to lose her best friend. It caused another friend to create a "Who is Hot, Who is Not" list and brand her as the best ass, which only furthered the sexual harassment. A boy even stalked her and took pictures of her through her bedroom window and sent them around to the school. It eventually led to a senior boy raping her in a hot tub after a party. Hannah Baker was so horrifically and endlessly bullied and harassed that she felt as though her only option to make it stop was to take her life.
This show sheds some light on a very sensitive topic. People do not like to talk about the issue of bullying and its relation to suicide, it makes them uncomfortable. People would rather ignore it or pretend that it only occurs once in a while and is dramatized in film and TV. Obviously, that is not the case. Suicide is a very real issue that occurs more than we would like to believe. 13 Reasons Why aims to display to the audience just how important it is to be aware of the signs of suicidal tendencies. It teaches us that every single thing we say and every single action we make has an impact on others, no matter how little or big those words or actions may be. It should be common decency to treat people with respect and kindness, but unfortunately, there are many people that need to be reminded of this. That is the purpose of 13 Reasons Why. The cast and crew of this show want to make people think twice about what they do and say to others, to realize that no one knows what is going on in another person's life and anything could cut them deep inside. They want to show that suicide is a horrible, painful, heartbreaking choice that ends up causing immense pain for the people who care about the one who committed suicide. It is not something to take lightly. The ultimate message of this show is to tell people that we absolutely have to treat people better. We have to stop judging and gossiping. We have to stop and think about the consequences of our actions. We have to do better.
If you or anyone you know is feeling lost and feeling like there is no escape, please talk to someone trustworthy. The National Suicide Prevention Hotline number is 1-800-273-8255. There is always a better option than to end your own life. There is always someone there to help you or a loved one. Your life has value.
