Review: 13 Reasons Why this is so important

I  was initially very reluctant to watch 13 Reasons Why, the story of a young woman who commits suicide and the effect it has on those around her. This was due to reading some ominous articles on some news websites, that bleated about various characters and how a subject like this should not be discussed, as it could influence young people and other negative aspects. 

But I did manage to sit myself down and watch it. And I was pleasantly and if not without tears quite happy I did. The series brought up a lot of memories for me growing up and all the insecurities I had. I’ll be honest, I’m in my forties now so it was some time ago! But it was scary to discover how much has changed since the eighties. Nowadays with social media, your teenage years seem a more threatening and frightening time then they were before. What 13 Reasons depicts and reflects is how meandering our relationships are in modern times because of technology. But I would argue that it has always been this way, it’s just that social media has and continues to expose it for how nasty it can be.

I would also argue that it’s not just like that in high school. The modern workplace can be just as toxic. You do get the odd post on Instagram or Facebook that inevitably goes viral, due to some inexplicable act of stupidity whether it’s to do with airlines or restaurants, or shoes.

Others have commented on how the programme may influence others to commit suicide, but to be brutally honest, it is a choice that some, unfortunately, would make for themselves. It’s up to those around them to stop then from doing that if they can. And it will take more than a television show to do that.

After contemplating and digesting the show, it made me think about the attitude of the West towards death itself. It is not a good one, in my humble opinion. In some parts of southern America, death can be celebrated. In Nigeria, as I have recently experienced, when the coffin is lead out of the mortuary, there is a band playing, celebrating the deceased’s life, happy for where they are going to next. In the West, death is still something to be feared, a dark mystery which should never be acknowledged. This I think is the reason why many viewers find the subject matter of the series, difficult to come to terms with. Death is something that needs to be acknowledged in Western society and it simply isn’t. Another taboo that needs to be dealt with in an honest fashion. Suicide itself needs to be examined thoroughly too, to see why many people are drawn to think about it at all and why it seems to be on the increase, especially with young men across the Western world.

The music used in the series is modern and important to note because of it’s relevance to the characters and the situation. The gravity of “Into the Black”, by Chromatics, the impending and unamiable truth of ” Oh! Starving” by Car Seat Headrest and a soul splitting listen to a wonderful eighties ballad called “Vienna” by the wonderful Ultravox.

The series contrary to popular opinion does need another season, which has now been confirmed. There are still a lot of unanswered questions that the finale left us with.

We need more honest television like this, TV that challenges the norm and allows us to confront ourselves and ask the hard questions and be honest with the answers. TV like Six Feet Under, The Wire and The Sopranos that break different ground and are creative in their approach. Then, we can feel free to open up about our own experiences with the subject matter and be honest and finally help others, if and when they need it.