Hello lovelies! It's been such a long time since I wrote a post, but I like to write about something that I find engaging and know enough about to talk about and nothing has grabbed my attention. This was up until I binge watched the new Netflix series 13 reasons why. The series takes the audience on a journey of going through the 13 reasons why the protagonist, Hannah Baker, killed herself. Now I could criticize some of this series from a creators perspective but I believe these discrepancies are easily forgotten when you conclude the series, the last two episodes are very powerful and discuss difficult and serious issues. Due to this there wont be any criticism here but a focus upon those last two episodes and what I took away from the series.
(picture credit: Google)
Obviously there will be spoilers ahead, so if you haven't watched the series yet or haven't finished it, come back to this post when you have!
I am so pleased that Netflix is the platform that has this series. With series' that you can binge watch, you get very quick responses and reviews. As a result it creates a hype and buzz around new series. This means more and more people watch it so they can be involved in the discussions surrounding the series. This is good for this particular series as it touches upon issues that TV shows do include but do not focus upon completely. If this series was on the BBC or ITV I don't believe it would be as popular as it is. Mainly because another message of the series is it is supposed to reflect the tapes literally. For example; did you binge watch the series as Alex binge listened to the tapes? Or is it too disturbing for you and you have to take a break like Clay? This show has so many levels and by having it on this platform it allows the audience to access all of these. Onto my more focused post though.
Episode 12 depicts Bryce's tape, of how he raped Hannah at a party she was at and episode 13 shows how the school councillor, Mr Porter, failed Hannah with the bad advice he gave her. There are triggers to both of these episodes due to the depictions of rape and suicide, with a warning before each episode started, which gave me a lot of respect for the show as many programmes do not warn of these things.
The first issue I wanted to talk about was rape. The show not only shows how this affects Hannah but also what happens to her and how she's treated when she tries to tell someone what happened to her. The scene where the rape occurs is difficult to watch as all the audience want to do is help Hannah and stop Bryce attacking her. Here she describes herself as 'already dead' and this is physically shown in the scene when Hannah is shown to have given up and goes limp whilst the attack is happening. This makes it even more disturbing to watch as she is completely helpless and the audience sees the last spark of Hannah fizzle out.
What I admired about Hannah is, even though she felt lost and totally isolated, she decided to seek help after her attack and went to the school councillor- Mr Porter. However, when she told him about this crime he asked if she 'regretted it' and asked if she had been drinking. Furthermore when Hannah seemed terrified to go to the police, as many victims are, the councillor simply told her to move on. To me this is what killed Hannah. I know every other reason that Hannah listed meant that she felt lonely and victimized, which of course contributed to her change in mental state and added to her decision to take her own life, but this devastating event of rape and Mr. Porter not taking her seriously enough and dismissing her, dealt the last blow. It was the worst thing to happen to her in the space of the two years the tapes are based upon and with everything else leaving her with no support, she felt as though she couldn't turn to anyone. She had a good relationship with her parents and many people could say she could have spoken to them, but after everything that had happened to her she felt that everyone would be better off without her. This is why the councillor is responsible as he should have spotted this and notified her parents- an action that would've saved her life.
(photo credit: Google)
The other issue is suicide itself. The last episode shows Hannah killing herself, very graphically, that is very shocking for the audience but I think it was needed. Many people brush off suicide as a weak action and are very quick to judge the victim. However, this horrible disturbing scene shows the audience how much courage you need to do it as it shows how painful it is. It highlights how much emotional pain they must be in also to cause themselves so much physical pain. This is why this scene is needed, it forces the audience to wake up and confront the issue of suicide. The issue needs more discussion as too many people are not getting the support they could easily access due to their state of mind. If the issue was spoken about more then more lives could be saved.
This scene not only shows the victims pain though it also shows the pain of her parents who find her. The acting that Hannah's mum (Kate Walsh) was superb, my heart broke as she entered the bathroom and tried to convince herself that Hannah was okay. The acting of all of the cast has made the majority of the audience stop and think which is what the shows creators and the original books author wanted to convey.
(photo credit: Pop sugar)
As the credits rolled up at the end of episode 13 I was left in tears and shock at the revelations and messages we were left with. Alex has tried to commit suicide, not being able to live with what he did to Hannah, Tyler (the stalker) has a lot of ammunition in his possession and the message were left with of how everything you do and say to someone can have different impacts on different people. I was speaking to my boyfriend after I finished the series, he had finished it too, and I just couldn't stop speaking to him about if anyone we knew were going through anything like Hannah was. Hannah herself said that someone in her position 'looks like nothing' making it difficult to spot and I think this is the main message of the show. To think of the little things you do and say, either good or bad, as the people who treated Hannah Baker badly drove her to kill herself but if anyone showed her support she may have decided that life was worth living.
I cannot wait for the second season, to teach not only the younger generation but everyone, meaningful messages that can save lives. A much needed and important series.
(picture credit: Google)
Obviously there will be spoilers ahead, so if you haven't watched the series yet or haven't finished it, come back to this post when you have!
I am so pleased that Netflix is the platform that has this series. With series' that you can binge watch, you get very quick responses and reviews. As a result it creates a hype and buzz around new series. This means more and more people watch it so they can be involved in the discussions surrounding the series. This is good for this particular series as it touches upon issues that TV shows do include but do not focus upon completely. If this series was on the BBC or ITV I don't believe it would be as popular as it is. Mainly because another message of the series is it is supposed to reflect the tapes literally. For example; did you binge watch the series as Alex binge listened to the tapes? Or is it too disturbing for you and you have to take a break like Clay? This show has so many levels and by having it on this platform it allows the audience to access all of these. Onto my more focused post though.
Episode 12 depicts Bryce's tape, of how he raped Hannah at a party she was at and episode 13 shows how the school councillor, Mr Porter, failed Hannah with the bad advice he gave her. There are triggers to both of these episodes due to the depictions of rape and suicide, with a warning before each episode started, which gave me a lot of respect for the show as many programmes do not warn of these things.
The first issue I wanted to talk about was rape. The show not only shows how this affects Hannah but also what happens to her and how she's treated when she tries to tell someone what happened to her. The scene where the rape occurs is difficult to watch as all the audience want to do is help Hannah and stop Bryce attacking her. Here she describes herself as 'already dead' and this is physically shown in the scene when Hannah is shown to have given up and goes limp whilst the attack is happening. This makes it even more disturbing to watch as she is completely helpless and the audience sees the last spark of Hannah fizzle out.
What I admired about Hannah is, even though she felt lost and totally isolated, she decided to seek help after her attack and went to the school councillor- Mr Porter. However, when she told him about this crime he asked if she 'regretted it' and asked if she had been drinking. Furthermore when Hannah seemed terrified to go to the police, as many victims are, the councillor simply told her to move on. To me this is what killed Hannah. I know every other reason that Hannah listed meant that she felt lonely and victimized, which of course contributed to her change in mental state and added to her decision to take her own life, but this devastating event of rape and Mr. Porter not taking her seriously enough and dismissing her, dealt the last blow. It was the worst thing to happen to her in the space of the two years the tapes are based upon and with everything else leaving her with no support, she felt as though she couldn't turn to anyone. She had a good relationship with her parents and many people could say she could have spoken to them, but after everything that had happened to her she felt that everyone would be better off without her. This is why the councillor is responsible as he should have spotted this and notified her parents- an action that would've saved her life.
(photo credit: Google)
The other issue is suicide itself. The last episode shows Hannah killing herself, very graphically, that is very shocking for the audience but I think it was needed. Many people brush off suicide as a weak action and are very quick to judge the victim. However, this horrible disturbing scene shows the audience how much courage you need to do it as it shows how painful it is. It highlights how much emotional pain they must be in also to cause themselves so much physical pain. This is why this scene is needed, it forces the audience to wake up and confront the issue of suicide. The issue needs more discussion as too many people are not getting the support they could easily access due to their state of mind. If the issue was spoken about more then more lives could be saved.
This scene not only shows the victims pain though it also shows the pain of her parents who find her. The acting that Hannah's mum (Kate Walsh) was superb, my heart broke as she entered the bathroom and tried to convince herself that Hannah was okay. The acting of all of the cast has made the majority of the audience stop and think which is what the shows creators and the original books author wanted to convey.
(photo credit: Pop sugar)
As the credits rolled up at the end of episode 13 I was left in tears and shock at the revelations and messages we were left with. Alex has tried to commit suicide, not being able to live with what he did to Hannah, Tyler (the stalker) has a lot of ammunition in his possession and the message were left with of how everything you do and say to someone can have different impacts on different people. I was speaking to my boyfriend after I finished the series, he had finished it too, and I just couldn't stop speaking to him about if anyone we knew were going through anything like Hannah was. Hannah herself said that someone in her position 'looks like nothing' making it difficult to spot and I think this is the main message of the show. To think of the little things you do and say, either good or bad, as the people who treated Hannah Baker badly drove her to kill herself but if anyone showed her support she may have decided that life was worth living.
I cannot wait for the second season, to teach not only the younger generation but everyone, meaningful messages that can save lives. A much needed and important series.
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