*Spoiler Alert Ahead*
"Hello, boys and girls. Hannah Baker here. Live in stereo. No return engagements. No encores. And absolutely no requests. I hope you're ready because I'm about to tell you the story of my life. More specifically, why my life ended."
This was the line. The line that not only opened the show but also hooked millions of viewers, including myself. The line that we will all keep in the back of our minds because of the everlasting impact the story had from illustrating the topic society doesn’t want to discuss: suicide. For those who haven’t heard, read or seen the most talked about Netflix series yet, "13 Reasons Why" is about a girl named Hannah Baker who records herself explaining the 13 reasons as to why she chose to take her own life.
After watching the entire series, I realized just how important the show really was, even if it wasn’t based on a true story. It taught me a valuable lesson; you don’t know what another person is going through and how impactful your words could be towards them. This is something that has always been preached but never put into action. This show emphasizes just how crucial it is to follow this lesson we know would benefit others, including ourselves.
Scrolling through social media, I was appalled and honestly surprised that people didn’t take this message to heart, but rather made "13 Reasons Why" into another binge-watching drama series. Saying Clay (the boy who had a crush/friendship with Hannah) and Hannah are “relationship goals”, making memes, creating prom proposals out of the tapes, and even more; defeating the whole entire purpose as to why the show was created in the first place. But the one thing I was shocked about the most was the audience requesting for a season two.
Of course, I’d say that I would love to know where the characters’ life goes on to be, how the parents are dealing with Hannah’s death, especially since they have a copy of the tapes, and to ensure that Alex hopefully survives the conspiracy gunshot wound to the head, who wouldn't? However, adding another season would only make the show go down hill, losing the underlying purpose; helping those become aware of how it feels to be in Hannah's shoes as well as how to handle serious situations like these.
Think about it. This whole story was made based only on 13 reasons as to why Hannah took her life, adding more conflict and plot will take the focus away from Hannah and the emotions she felt. Another season would turn this show into a drama, rather than giving people time to reflect and apply this fictional story towards their real, everyday lives. People wouldn't care to think about Hannah's story, but only worry about when the next episode would be added onto Netflix.
I know how easy it is to get wrapped up into entertainment; especially if it's a show that you enjoy watching. However, our generation needs to be focusing on the importance of the message this series brought to the table, rather than worrying if there is more entertainment being created in hopes to take up some of their spare time. Suicide is a serious topic and many people you may know could be struggling; why would you try to portray it as something that it's not?
