For the past two years people have been divided about the hit show 13 Reasons Why. Some of the rough challenges teenagers are presented with are displayed throughout the series.
The show premiered on Netflix on Mar. 31, 2017, and the second season arrived on May 18. When the first season of the show came out, there were different opinions on the message. Without a doubt, this is a hard show to watch. It captures the true definition of bullying and displays the social issues we experience on a regular basis. Some of the mature themes they use in the show include rape, bullying, harassment, suicide and more. Junior Marc Laibstain relates to some of the problems described throughout the characters, and appreciates the show’s purpose. “With everything that had been happening in our community lately involving student suicides and any kind of student death, it’s important that we talk about it and not forget the past, which I think this show does,” Laibstain said.
Netflix is one of the most common ways to watch shows. While there are guidelines people can set, there are lots of students who can watch whatever shows they want, even without their parents’ permission. Sophomore Tony Ricciardella has seen 13 Reasons Why and enjoyed his experience watching it. “I really liked it because the plot line was interesting and I thought it was a good show to binge watch,” Ricciardella said.
13 Reasons Why is a graphic show and some of the scenes can be too much for someone to handle. Because the show became such a talked about subject, more and more people felt the need to watch it- not necessarily because they wanted to, but because of other things such as peer pressure or feeling left out. Junior Kyra Goldstein has negative opinions of the show and does not think they did a good job presenting some of the scenes. “I didn’t think the show gave a realistic view of high school situations, and I also think some of the very graphic scenes were unnecessary,” Goldstein said.
With all of the publicity about the new season, people have recently been rewatching the first season. Some of the old emotions that come out of the show have risen and now are getting out of hand with the new season. Junior Anna Brover has watched both seasons of 13 Reasons Why and was not impressed with the series. “In the first season, and also second, the characters were very underdeveloped and relied heavily on high school dynamics and stereotypes to fill in the gaps. The ending was unsatisfactory so Netflix is probably working on a third season right now,” Brover said.
Because of all the attention and problems this show has started, the school sent an email to all the parents and teachers giving a warning about the show. In the letter, they advise that parents talk with their children before allowing them to watch and also give the viewing guidelines provided by the National Association of Psychologists.