Over the past week, I watched the new Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. When I was in the 9th grade, I read the book, but that was so many years ago, so, naturally, I have forgotten almost everything about the series. I remembered the basis on the book, so I knew what to expect and I knew how to prepare myself for what was to come while I was watching this show.
When I started this show, there was a lot that I didn’t expect to happen on this show, and when it happened, I didn’t know what to do or what to say. It was shocking watching it, but that is partially what made it one of the best shows that I have seen in a long time.
*SPOILER ALERT*
If you haven’t watched the show yet, please watch it, and then continue reading, because there will be spoilers from this point forward. From the beginning of the show, they honestly don’t explain much. Because I haven’t read the book in many many years, there were a lot of details that I had honestly forgotten about.
One of the many things that I did enjoy about this series, after reading it, and watching it, is that they did not shy away from suicide and sexual assault. These are very difficult topics, especially in the world that we live in today, and because of that, a lot of people are afraid to talk about it, or the victims of such things are afraid to come forward and talk about it. Not being able to come forward when a sexual assault happens because they are afraid of being judged or whatever else people will say if a terrifying thing. As a society, we should be able to welcome anyone that has been a victim of such things, instead of instantly judging them as many people do.
In the series, Katherine Langford, who plays Hannah Baker talks about everything she has witnessed or experienced herself that caused her to commit suicide. There are many things that cause people to end their lives, and the show did a really good job highlighting everyone in Hannah Baker’s life that pushed her over the edge, little by little until she thought that she had nothing left. Baker believed that she was alone and had nobody that loved her and cared for her, but from what we were seeing while watching the show, we see that all of the people on the tapes that have some kind of affect on Hannah’s life, loved and cared for her, even though they may not have showed it while it was the most important time to show it.
Whether you have been personally or indirectly affected by the things that this show highlights, it is a really amazing show to watch and show awareness to things such as suicide, alcoholism, bullying and sexual assault. I believe that the show writers and creators did an amazing job underlining the importance of each of these issues and how to handle them when you see them. One thing that really stood out to me, near the end of the series was after tape 12, I believe, where Langford as Baker speaks in the tapes and says, “You’re probably looking for all the signs now, but there may not be any…” That really stood out to me because of how true it really is. Everyone is affected differently when it comes to these issues, and it may not show in everyone the same way. People tell you what to look for, so those are the main signs to look for in people, but everyone is different, so sometimes it is really hard to tell what someone is going through since we are not inside people’s heads.
While watching the show, if you haven’t already seen it, just remember that everyone is going through something, whether they decide to talk about it or not, and one of the worst things you can do to a person is instantly judge them when they decide to come forward about something that has happened to them.
