Analysis of Fictional Show "13 Reasons Why"

Every teenager has a dream of making it in life to become someone important in the society. Unfortunately, most of them are not lucky enough to experience that, due to the increase suicides among teens as a result of buying and sexual harassments and rape. Most teenagers commit suicide since they can no longer bare the bullying and rumors that come around with stereotyping. According to the report by the NBC news, Chuck explains the story of Sadie Riggs, a 15-year-old who committed suicide as a result of bullying and stereotyping from her peers. Chuck argues that Sadie was active and could face her challenges before her biological mother abandoned her and she had to live with her aunt, Sarah Smith.

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Like most teenagers, Sadie's aunt explained that Sadie was experienced all form of mockery as her schoolmates made fun of her hair and braces; some even claimed that only devils wore red hair. The manifestation in the Sadie's school's hallway depicts how it rose to social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Since she was in distress, she made an effort to contact the police, but her effort bore no fruits. It was too late when her aunt discovered what was going on in her niece's life; the bullying had already taken its toll. Only after a week of Sadie's aunt breaking her phone, Sadie decided to commit suicide. Such scenario brought a lot of pain and agony to her aunt who was the only family she had after her mom left. According to Chuck, there has been a drastic increase in the number of cases in teen suicide, and self-harm especially is among adolescent girls Sadie Riggs' age. She also adds that studies indicate that social media has played a significant role in this case as it increases anxiety, bullying, and stereotypic thoughts among teenagers.

Today this paper will analyze the series "13 Reasons why" which is created by Brian Yorkey. The series, 13 reasons why is a story that is extracted from the novel by Jay Asher whose main intention for writing the book was trying to fulfill the wish of someone who at one point in life has lost a loved one mainly suicide. It centers on Hannah Barker, a high school teenage character, who decides to take her life after struggling with bullying from her peers. Before slitting her wrist in their home bathtub, she recorded thirteen tapes which provide her family and her friends a very detailed reason as to why she chose to end her life. At the beginning of the show, clay receives a mysterious box containing cassette tapes where Hannah Barker narrates the 13 reason why she committed suicide and the people that played a part in leading her to end of her life. The different tape is meant for each person as she points out everyone who did not stick by her as she moves along her suicidal journey. In the tape, she addresses the girlfriend who slapped her, the boy who listed her in the Best Ass list, the boy who published her poetry without her consent, the boy who let his friend rape his girlfriend in the same room Hannah was hiding in. Hannah's character takes a sudden change from a hopeful teen who wanted to start afresh in her new school to a helpless victim of bullying, sexual assault, and slut shaming. Clay, one of the leading characters, who Hannah confided into whom the eleventh tape, is addressed. He ends up as an exception since Hannah outlined that he had nothing to do with her death. However, Bryce Walker, who sexually assaulted and rape Hannah, receives the twelfth tape. Lastly, the thirteenth tape goes Hannah's school counselor, Mr. Porter, as he failed to figure out her plan when she visited his office for counseling on the same day she committed suicide.

The reason why I chose the series "13 reasons why" is because there has been an increase in teen suicide due to bullying in school and social media, sexual harassment, stereotyping and peer pressure. The paper explains the relationship between social issue and how one problem is as a result of the other. Currently, the primary cause of teen suicide is social media bullying mostly from their peers at school. It is evident from the show of how much people are ignorant of the slights and offenses that they can inflict on others. From the characters in the show, their ignorance does not come mainly from insensitivity but form the inability to communicate with others appropriately. The "13 reasons why" captures the struggles and difficulty most teens have with honest conversations because a fair discussion requires vulnerability which is the main reason why most people avoid having an honest debate.

It is unfortunate when a person feels that it is better to commit suicide than be able to communicate what they feel to another person. Most of us are not aware of how our actions impact the people around us. We should always be keen on how we treat our friends because what we say or how we act may be the catalyst for their decision to commit suicide. As reflected in the show, 13 reasons why we can see how Hannah Barker decided to end her life just because those that she believed were her friends ended up betraying her or even being unavailable when she needed someone to talk.

This paper's primary purpose is helping teenagers to understand that the challenges they are facing or faced in future are real and hard but committing suicide or harming oneself is never the answer. Most of the issues raised in 13 reasons why should be dealt with kindness and compassion. There is need to understand and connect with the person next to you and also raise awareness when there are cases of sexual harassment and bullying from your peers. This article also addresses those in authority such as the police, counselors, and teacher since they should take seriously any report from the student and investigate the matter in depth to avoid the rising cases of teen suicide since they can prevent most of these cases.

We should stress the application of the golden rule that states that what we do to others shall be done to us. Therefore, how we treat our peers should be a clear reflection of how we want others to entertain us. Watching out for our friends is part of our role as a good friend. Reporting such cases will help stop most of the suicide attempts before it is too late.(Asher 49). Addressing the habit of keeping secrets from our parents as children proves fatal hence the need to share opinions with guardians. As teenagers or a person to be specific keeping secrets is a bad habit which may result in severe consequences. The series outlines how most of the characters kept secrets from their parents either due to fear or their parent's negligence in their lives.

Oversight from parents has a severe impact on the lives of their children. According to Hildyard and Wolfe, child neglect is one of the causes of mental illness and problems because the child lacks the emotional, physical and psychological support (690). It is quite evident that Hannah's parents were more focused on running the store therefore not giving her the attention she needed. They were not aware that their daughter encountered humiliation in school, her suicidal thoughts and depression only to realize when it was too late. When her mother heard about her daughter's suicide, she fell into tears and regretted not spending enough time with her daughter or giving her the attention she needed (Asher 50).

Hannah's parents are not the only ones in the dark about their children's lives. There is a scene where Clay's mother asks him about the tapes he was listening to, and he quickly answered lying that - it's a schoolmate's project. Another instance is where Tyler lied to his parents about the broken window not telling them that he was stalking Hannah (Asher 50). It is not surprising that everyone has secrets, but at times it is better sharing them with someone you completely trust or try seeking help when the results can be fatal.

Sexual assault and rape is another social issue that this paper addresses since most of the teenage girls are subjects of either rape or sexual assault. In the series, 13 reasons why we can see how several boys in Hannah's school make attempts to assault and abuse Hannah and some of the other girls. Hannah describes how Bryce assaulted her by smacking her buttocks at the Blue Spot Liquor store (Hildyard, Kathryn, and David 691). Such factors arose after the list of the "Best Ass" drawn by Alex was released. Bryce then makes a move on Hannah, and when she rejects him, he forces himself on her.

Another instance of assault is when Bryce rapes Jessica in the same room Hannah was hiding. That does not stop there; Bryce goes on to make sexual advances on Hannah in the hot tub despite her crying and begging him to stop. It is evident that most teenagers do not report any sexual assault because most perpetrators end up not being punished either because they are famous, wealthy or have lots of influence in the school. Therefore the victims end up being blamed. Throughout the 13 episodes, Hannah takes us through her life on how she is continuously objectified in class, sexually harassed in school, sexually assaulted in school, and raped at a house party in a bathtub.

According to research and survey were done by the Rape, Incest, and Abuse National Network (RAINN) there is a distinct connection between people facing sexual assault and suicide in our society today. The survey indicates that about thirty- three percent of women who encountered rape have suicidal thoughts while thirteen percent of those have attempted to commit suicide (Harris 15). According to Maatz Lisa, who is in charge of government relations and acts as the vice president of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), as a woman or a girl, it is not necessary for us to experience the assault to know the pain that the victims go through. We may know at least someone who has gone through sexual assault or rape. Therefore, we should advocate by all means putting in place measure to curb such instance from happening again. Reporting such cases to the police and seeking medical attention is also important. When having suicidal thoughts, it is essential to seek guidance and counseling so that you can control any suicidal attempt.

If you report this case to an adult and he or she does not seem to pay much attention, tell another person to be persistent until someone pays attention. If you are not a victim and you want to make a difference in your school and society, you should get more involved in creating awareness and preventing sexual violence. Also, form a students' group or work with an existing one. Most of us usually give up just after on attempt. Spreading sexual rumors is also a form of sexual harassment. In 13 reasons why Hannah's friend Courtney spreads rumors about Hannah being gay. Our actions have an impact on the lives of those around us (Grady 18). Therefore, we should be cautious because any form of assault does a toll take on the victims. The effects can be extended or short-term. Jessica begins abusing alcohol after being raped.

Another social issue that may result in suicide is the lack of reliable social connections and always preferring to be isolated from your peers. People have different personalities, some are introverts while others are extroverts, but still, there is a certain level of interactions with your peers that is necessary. Most viewers may readily conclude that Hannah Barker's decision to end her life was rush and blaming her friends for it is harsh. However, when a person undergoes all forms of bullying, the decision to commit is high, since they are seeking the way to stop their suffering quickly, and suicide may seem to be the only option at the moment.

According to a survey done by Yale University, most people who undergo any form of bullying are at a high chance of having suicidal thou...