Thirteen Reasons Why is a very popular T.V. series based upon a novel by the same name written by Jay Asher in 2007. The series revolves around a high school student, Clay Jensen
and her friend Hannah Baker, a girl who committed suicide, after some sufferings which were brought to her by few individuals in her school. A box of cassette tapes were recorded by Hannah before her suicide which gives a detail of thirteen reasons why she ended her life.
I won’t go into the details of the story of this popular T.V. series. I really just want to write about the strong message this series has come up with. Some people who watched the show are busy comparing themselves with the girl who committed suicide.
But to be honest, it is very easy to compare yourself and say that you may have acted in a more prudent manner. However, it becomes difficult when you actually come across all the things she had faced. Many of us have thought that this show is sending out a wrong message. But sorry to say, according to me, it is absolutely not.
It is an eye opener for everyone that the little things that we do (i.e. abuse someone not physically but mentally) on a daily basis can affect someone adversely.
At some points, it is a very difficult show to watch but it should be watched anyway. Why? Because it is absolutely relevant.
It is said
“No ONE KNOWS FOR CERTAIN HOW Much
IMPACT THEY HAVE ON THE LIVES OF OTHER PEOPLE.
OFTENTIMES, WE HAVE NO CLUE.
YET WE PUSH IT JUST THE SAME”
Many teenagers at some age might have gone through this. Body shaming, being called a slut or being made a spectacle just because of one’s body is not so uncommon these days. So this series delves into these reasons. Why people commit suicide during this phase of their lives. This is important because it sheds some light on the issue. It shows the tell tale warning signs that you can look for in someone who is contemplating harming themselves.
So, here were some good points that were delivered to us through this series, if we look towards it in a positive way. This reminds me of a popular dialogue from Thirteen Reasons hy itself-
“IT HAS TO GET BETTER.
THE WAY WE TREAT EACH OTHER
AND LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER.
IT HAS TO GET BETTER SOMEHOW.”
However, I cannot neglect some of the negative points that had been shown. I don’t deny the fact that Hannah faced a lot of harm. She had a reached the peak point of her tolerance and that the only solution she saw was ending her life. Maybe, this was correct or incorrect.
She decided to end her life, but never thought about the people who were really concerned about her. How badly will they get affected by this step of her. Her parents were kept in the dark until the end of the season. She never told them about what was she going through.
However, these are just my thoughts about Thirteen Reasons Why and obviously, every one of us has a different perspective of looking into things. Maybe you won’t agree with mine.
“Sometimes we have thoughts that even we don’t understand.
Thoughts that aren’t even true- that aren’t really how we feel-
but they are running through our heads anyway because
they’re interesting to think about.”
-Thirteen Reasons Why
-Megha Gupta
Edited by Mrinaal Datt.
Read more about them here.
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