#13 REASONS WHY SEASON 2 CONTROVERSY MOVIE#
#13 REASONS WHY SEASON 2 CONTROVERSY SERIES#

Last month, a handful of Canadian schools banned students from discussing the series on campus. Shortly after its release, 13 Reasons Why - a show about suicide marketed to minors - became a magnet for controversy. ‘13 Reasons Why’ Insults Teens Everywhere With popularity comes scrutiny, and it turns out 13 Reasons Why has struggled to withstand the intensity that comes with being a phenomenon, let alone a phenomenon based on a subject as heavy and fraught as teen suicide. The show was just renewed for a second season on the back of those successes.īut the renewal also comes on the heels of an overwhelming backlash to the show’s tone and message from varied parties like high schools, parents, and medical associations. And in the ultimate act of validation for a piece of teen-targeted pop culture, the show also gave rise to a vindictive meme.

More than a month after its premiere, the show is still very much in the cultural conversation.

#13 REASONS WHY SEASON 2 CONTROVERSY MOVIE#

In a sort of reverse baton passing, the cast presented an award at this weekend’s MTV Movie & TV Awards to the Stranger Things ensemble. But by every qualitative standard, 13 Reasons is a smash.

'People end up feeling alone, and people end up feeling hurt, and then when people feel alone and hurt, that's when they do things like this.Because it airs on the notoriously opaque Netflix, we’ll likely never know how many people actually watched 13 Reasons Why, the unflinching high school drama enumerating the events that led bright, sensitive high school student Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford) to take her own life.

'The show is about how if we don't treat each other better, if we don't have conversations, if we don't communicate, horrible things happen,' he said. Members of the production team said they consulted with mental health professionals extensively while making the series and provide suicide prevention resources and information on crisis hotlines in more than 35 countries on the website .ĭaniel Feinberg, a television critic for The Hollywood Reporter, told ABC News that the show definitely 'demands conversation.' 'It's dangerous not to talk about it, because there is always room for help,' he added in 'Beyond the Reasons.' Jay Asher, the author of the book '13 Reasons Why,' said, 'Suicide is an uncomfortable thing to talk about, but it happens, and so we have to talk about it.' 'We wanted to do it in a way where it was honest, and we wanted to make something that can, hopefully, help people, because suicide should never, ever be an option,' Gomez said in 'Beyond the Reasons,' a video released by Netflix to accompany the series.Ĭo-producer Brian Yorkey added that the show's creators 'worked very hard not to be gratuitous, but we did want it to be painful to watch, because we wanted it to be very clear that there is nothing, in any way, worthwhile about suicide.' Producers for the show said they hope the series can help those who may be struggling with thoughts of suicide. If your child makes a threat about wanting to hurt themselves, take it seriously.' 'If you have a family history of mental illness, be aware of it, talk to your children. 'We have to break the silence, talk to our parents, talk to counselors,' she added. 'I think we don't talk enough when things aren't going well,' she said on ABC's ' Good Morning America.' 'I had one patient say, 'I have to be perfect because I'm so flawed.' Where did she get that? SAVE partnered with another suicide prevention group, the Jed Foundation, to provide tips for viewing '13 Reasons Why' and talking points for parents and teachers discussing suicide with young people.Ĭhild psychologist Janet Taylor said she applauds Gomez for addressing mental health issues on the show. 'My thoughts about the series are that its probably done more harm than any good.' The show doesn't talk about mental illness or depression, doesn't name those words,' he added. 'The show actually doesn't present a viable alternative to suicide.

13 reasons why season 2 controversy