'13 Reasons Why' Backlash as Schools Warn Parents on Show's 'Extremely Graphic' Scenes
The hit Netflix series "13 Reasons Why" is facing more backlash from several institutions. Recently, schools reportedly sent letters to parents warning them about the "extremely graphic" scenes in the show.
Although the show "13 Reasons Why" has been gaining popularity, it has also been receiving negative feedbacks for the same reason: tackling sensitive issues faced by many young people such as bullying, suicide, and sexual assault.
The show, co-produced by pop star Selena Gomez and adapted from a same title novel by Jay Asher, revolves around the reasons why a high schooler named Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford) committed suicide. Producers have already explained why they deemed it necessary for them to actually show detailed scenes of when Hannah was raped and the moment she ended her life.
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Recently, Montclair Public Schools District's mental health and harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB) coordinator Andrew Evangelista sent letters to parents of students from the 11 schools covered by the district.
The letter primarily informs the parents about the nature of the show. According to ABC News, a couple who has three children going to one of the schools under the Montclair Public School District decided, after receiving the letter, to allow two of their kids who were age 13 and 12 to watch "13 Reasons Why" but only with their presence and as long the youngest, a 9-year-old, was not around.
ABC News has also obtained a copy of a letter from the New York private school Ethical Culture Fieldston School that was sent to its students' parents in the light of "13 Reasons Why's" popularity.
The letter reportedly reads: "While the show's producers claim their intent is to start an important dialogue about bullying and suicide, mental health experts have expressed deep concerns about how the show may be perceived as glorifying and romanticizing suicide, and they worry about how it may trigger children who are vulnerable."
Meanwhile, in Rockland County, New York, mental health director Dr. Susan Hortner has also raised some concerns that the show might result to suicide contagion, according to CBS. Schools within Rockland County have reportedly agreed to send parents warnings about the show.
Since the show apparently appeals to the younger audience, the president of the National Association of School Psychologists, Dr. Melissa Reeves, has also commented that the show's contents are "not something that children and adolescents can really process on their own."
As for the creators of the Netflix series, writer Nic Sheff said in an article published through Vanity Fair: "It overwhelmingly seems to me that the most irresponsible thing we could've done would have been not to show the death at all."
