Multiple times throughout, characters utter phrases like, “Did I kill Hannah?” and “Who killed Hannah?”. While themes like cyber bullying, sexual assault, and substance addiction are important to discuss and can contribute to individuals choosing to end their own lives, it is never fair to paint the picture that it is anyone else’s responsibility when a suicide occurs.
As a mental health professional, this entire premise is infuriating to me. The tapes were left to one young man named Tony and then passed from person to person so they can hear why they caused her to end her life and why the other people on the tape influenced her suicide as well.
13 REASONS WHY 2 BROOMSTICK SERIES
The entire series is built on the storyline of Hannah Baker-the narrator and character who commits suicide-and her audio tapes outlining the 13 reasons why she chose to end her life. This would be very triggering content for these individuals. Every week, I sit in my office with young women and men who are struggling to stay above water because they have experienced assaults that are all-too-similar to those depicted in the series. The series shows the entire scene multiple times from different viewpoints (the girl’s, the boyfriend’s, the friend’s) throughout the series and the explicit nature of how it is portrayed could be greatly traumatic for many viewers. In one scene, a young woman is passed out on her bed from being intoxicated and a friend of her boyfriend’s graphically rapes her. One thing that makes this series incredibly alluring and equally disturbing is the realistic and graphic way that these things are portrayed. The major themes in season one consist of rape, substance use and abuse, violence among peers, dating violence, social media bullying, stalking, suicide, self-harm, sex, physical abuse with parent’s significant other, and revenge. The series contains very mature and dark themes, extensive profanity, and nudity throughout both seasons. If you have not viewed 13 Reasons Why season one or two yourself, here are some things to be aware of and discuss with your child and some of the reasons why I believe these concepts could be concerning for our youth. With that said, it is likely your child heard about it from classmates, encountered it at a sleepover or friend’s house, or curiously watched it on their own Netflix account.
13 REASONS WHY 2 BROOMSTICK PROFESSIONAL
When season one released last year, it was being consumed rapidly by teens and preteens around the world and the fascination with it grew quicker than any mental health professional could have predicted. Whether you and your child have discussed season one or not, the release of season two is a great opportunity to revisit the conversation. The creators shockingly found a way to top their last gruesome move of season one. For the season one viewers who were traumatized by Hannah’s graphic suicide scene in the season one finale and thought season two would be less traumatizing, think again.
Since the release of the second season only a little over a week ago, I have had multiple teens and preteens in my office explaining how traumatized they felt by the season two finale and how their fear and depression have only increased in light of viewing these images. There is no doubt in my mind that 13 Reasons Why has only contributed to the increase in self-harm and suicide rates with our teens and children. While the creators will say they are promoting a discussion and awareness of “teen issues,” as a therapist who specializes in child and adolescent counseling, I do not believe this is happening. Over recent years, we have seen teen and child suicide rates skyrocketing (CDC, 2017). Since the second season came out recently, I thought it would be timely to inform parents of the content of the show, give my analysis as a licensed professional in the mental health field, and provide some parenting takeaways. As easy as it is to be engrossed with the characters, it is equally as easy to see how disturbing, dysfunctional, and toxic the themes in this series are.
The camera work is done beautifully, the end of each episode is a cliffhanger, and the creators expertly make you fall in love with the tortured teen characters. If you have watched 13 Reasons Why, it is easy to see why it has become such a phenomenon.