13 Reasons Why: glorifying suicide
Each year more than 80% of teens die from suicide. These numbers have been higher than ever since the release of the show 13 Reasons Why. This show is about a high school girl, Hannah Baker, who commits suicide and leaves behind 13 cassette tapes. Each tape is made specific for a person, who are one of the “reasons” she kills herself. Her best friend who also happens to be her crush, Clay, receives the tapes at his doorstep and he is forced to figure out and seek justice for Hannah. Throughout the show many characters are also seen contemplating suicide or even attempting it. This netflix series had the potential to talk about mental illness just like “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”. This drama filled
…show more content…
According to the parents Bella, who was just about to turn 16 in three days and Priscilla, who was struggling with school and also battling depression both had finished the hit Netflix series 13 Reasons Why days before they both committed suicide. Even the shows writer has stated that this show portrays suicide in a very awful way. Following this, a 24 year old puru man jumped from the 4 floor of his apartment building. A few witnesses had heard him say something along the lines of “I can’t take this heartbreak” right before he jumped. When police entered into his apartment they found two suicide notes, one possibly addressed to a past lover name Claire and the other to his friends and family. According to reports the police had also found 13 audio cassette tapes. They believe this is a “copycat” suicide in reference to the show 13 Reasons …show more content…
A father had stated that his son was very eager to watch 13 Reasons Why with him and his wife. The father also explains that he didn’t see why so many people disliked the show and he felt as if he had a better understanding of teen depression and suicide. This father believes that the show actually is shining light in teen suicide and depression, a topic he feels isn’t much people talk about. The producers of the show think that shining a light on teen depression and suicide the way they did was a good thing because the show will be returning to netflix for a second season. despite all this and many other people saying the show is worth watching in reality, it is absolutely not. Shows like “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” go about mental illness the way it should. It doesn’t glorify it or make it something that should be hard to watch with someone who is under the age of
Two years after being raped and facing non-stop harassment, Cassidy committed suicide when she was 15-years-old.
People often like to joke about famous people that are develop mental illness. Others show sympathy towards them and do whatever they can to help them. The author of THE DOUBLE STANDARD OF MENTAL ILLNESS suggest that “we sympathize with those who suffer in silence and gawk and grimace at those who suffer in plain sight” (1). In the 19th century an average citizen wouldn’t know that a famous person was suffering from mental illness because information wasn’t spread as quickly. In the 21st century information is spread very quickly which causes people to learn things really fast. Comedy shows often make light of the issues a celebrity is going through as a form of entertainment. Recently comedian Robin Williams committed suicide after suffering from depression. Many people showed sympathy towards him & his family. However recently Amanda Bynes, a child star, has been suffering from schizophrenia and has been made fun of constantly. The majority of people don’t see mental illness as a problem unless someone dies as a result of
Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, who had committed suicide two weeks earlier. On the tape Hannah discusses the 13 reasons why she committed suicide him being one of them. Clay Jenson goes around town listening to Hannah and her thoughts about how she saw life. In the end he learns that a lot of people hide in their own skin and face challenges most people can’t see. In the end his view changed and it is showed by him going to a girl in the back of the bus who used to be popular but suddenly changed, showing he notices her change like
People are constantly bombarded with negative images of people with mental illness. In movies especially this is seen. Most horror movies are centered around a character with mental illness who goes unnoticed and performs horrible crimes because of their illness. People who are portrayed as being depressed, anxious, or compulsive in media are usually seen in a negative way, whereas the characters who are carefree and have no emotional problems are seen in a more positive way. Media is significantly adding to the stigma of mental health.
Suicide is when someone takes their own life because they feel like there is no other way out or that they do not matter. In addition to the novel, a Netflix original TV series has come out based on the book. The executive producer Tom McCarthy explains, “...When you get a piece of material like this that’s actually about something? You take that seriously and you really hope the discussion begins and will continue.” Sheff echoed that sentiment in his Vanity Fair piece: “I’m proud to be a part of a television series that is forcing us to have these conversations, because silence really does equal death.” The TV show and book are forcing people to have conversations about suicide, which is helping society because as Sheff put it, silence equals death. With this in mind, making students talk about it at school could break down imaginary walls that divide students and mold schools into a more encouraging place for kids to go to. Also, Based off of the article ‘13 Reasons Why Controversial Depiction of Teen Suicide Has School Counselors Picking Up the Pieces’, The book Thirteen Reasons Why “has also been lauded for starting a conversation about suicide, which is the second leading cause of death among teens.” The quote clearly states that suicide is the second leading cause of death among teens, so this topic is very relevant to the school and the students inside of it. This
On October 7, 1999, a student at Ramapo College killed himself reportedly due to a break up with his girlfriend, similar to what allegedly caused the fourth NYU student, Diana Chein, 19, to commit suicide by jumping from the top of her boyfriend’s apartment building after a break up on March 10, 2004. The cycle of depression and self destruction is apparent in all cases.
A 17 year old boy, Douglas Stewart, came home from school to find his mother lying on the sofa with a strained back. Being concerned for her he rubbed her back briefly then put on some easy listening music. Douglas then proceeded downstairs to his bedroom. Two of his friends came to the door. His mother waited to see if he would return to answer it; minutes later she answered and then yelled for him to come up. When he did not come, she went downstairs to get him. That is when she found him strangled and her son’s body dangling from the ceiling. This is a senseless tragic sight for a mother to endure. The mortality rate from suicide in 1996 showed 9.5 per 100,000 for 15-19 year olds. This also shows boys are four times more likely to commit suicide then girls. However, girls are twice as likely to attempt suicide. (American 1996) It is imperative to reverse this trend and in doing so we need to understand the characteristics, behaviors and events associated with youth suicide.
Megan Meier, age 13, was depressed for years before she committed suicide. She was unhappy and hated life until one day. She checked her MySpace and had a message from a boy named Josh Evans. They soon became cyber friends and because he lived in another state, they could no...
There is an umbrella of different mental disabilities that are not shown on television. Common disorders are usually depression, anxiety, and less often, bipolar disorder (Bastién 12). Even more common, when disorders such as schizophrenia, dissociative identity disorder, and antisocial personality disorder are portrayed on television, they tend to give off a negative connotation on mental disorders. Not all people with mental disorders are “idiosyncratic serial killers” like Hannibal or “grotesquely destructive characters” like Elliot on Mr. Robot (Bastién 13). If society is not developing a stigma of those with mental
Recently, a popular TV series “13 Reasons Why,” raised the awareness of suicide and mental health. Suicide and mental health are big deals, since suicide is the “second leading cause of death for ages 12-24,” according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (“Suicide Statistics”). People attempt suicide for various reasons, and mental illness is a significant factor. Consequently, risk factors such as chemical imbalance in the brain, genetic vulnerability, environmental factors, and family relationship intertwine and cause mental illness. Among those mental illnesses, depression is one of the most common and heavily associated with suicide. Depression is difficult to identify among the young people because the symptoms are easily
Mental illness is often portrayed wrong in the media. Most movies and television shows exclude the details that truly go along with mental illnesses. We must clarify the actual effects of mental illness versus the misrepresentation we are shown on television and in movies. Mental illness is unfortunate, becoming a cliché.
People with schizophrenia are inaccurately portrayed in the offensive and stigmatizing film Me, Myself & Irene. The only way to prevent the stigma associated with these films is to get involved. Watch your own attitudes and behaviors and educate yourself and others as much as you can. Comedy and fantasy have their place in film but not at the expense of children and adults who struggle daily to overcome mental illness. A comedy that similarly made fun of cancer or AIDS would never be tolerated. The entertainment industry must learn that this exploitation of mental illness is unacceptable. Unfortunately, the entertainment industry continues to present people with mental illness in a negative light. They have wide ranging consequences for the lives of those with mental illness and for the ways people act towards others with psychiatric disorders.
Suicide is a decision one makes to end his or her own life. People who make the decision to end their own life have often experienced depression, guilt, emptiness, or a combination of those, and many more negative things. Hannah Baker is a character in the book Thirteen Reasons Why By: Jay Asher who has lost hope in all aspects of her life. In this story, a boy who contributed to Hannah’s suicide receives tapes of her explaining the reasons why she did it. The tapes take him throughout the city they live in and help him understand further how and why she did this to herself. In this journal, I will be predicting that Clay will help Skye, questioning why both Justin and Hannah said nothing about what happened to Jessica, and connecting Hannah
It is hard to precisely determine the cause of an adolescent suicide. But through notes that are left by the victim and the turn of events that have seemed to have taken place in the young person's world, common causes can be found.
Suicidal tendencies in adolescents begin around the ages of 10 through 19, with warning signs, prevention, treatment, and the causes and effects it has on the human psyche. Suicide is when someone decides to take his or her own life because and are suffering from a painful mental treatable illness and have lost hope in who they are. Because when hope is lost, some feel like suicide is the only solution to truly make the adolescents pain go away permanently. Scientific evidence that shows the people who have committed suicide had a diagnosable treatable mental disorder or substance abuse disorder (The National Institute of Mental Health, 2010). Those people might have been suffering from illness such as depression, mood disorders, personality disorders and or suffering from bullying. Being a victim of bullying can be linked to suicidal thoughts as well as behavior in adolescents. Other causes might also include having family problems at home, problems at work, school and or with school peers. Suicide is a serious problem though it not only affects the victim, but it also affects family members, loved ones, along with friends.