[yasr_overall_rating]
“13 Reasons Why” follows teenager Clay Jensen, in his quest to uncover the story behind his classmate and crush, Hannah, and her decision to end her life.
I don’t know what it is about high school television dramas, but they never seem real enough to me, even when dealing with serious issues. They are always too glossy and refined. There’s never any grit or grime that seems truer to real life. There’s also never the oppressive force of authority looming heavy in the air. The high school kids on various shows seem to be able to dress as glamorously as they want and can do whatever they want without the eyes of 20 adults searing into their souls. Perhaps, these television high school dramas feed into the melodramatic fantasies of the American Teenager. I know I wish my former high school life had all the drama and glamor of “Riverdale.” But no, instead, I got acne, metal detectors, and teachers who preferred online shopping to teaching. The most drama we had were routine lockdowns for drug sweeps.
With that said, “13 Reasons Why” does give us a little more than unrealistic high school fantasies. It does try to delve into serious issues such as bullying, rape, and suicide. Whether or not these situations strike a chord with reality is another story. I’ll state now that I am conflicted. “13 Reasons Why” is addicting. The acting is great, everything and everyone are easy on the eyes, and it has a pretty killer soundtrack of cover songs. Watching it, you’re sucked into this suburban “Pleasantville”-esque twilight zone, and you just don’t want to leave (even when you catch yourself guffawing at the unreality of it all).
Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford) is dead. Hannah Baker slit her wrist in a bathtub and bled out. But before she committed her final act she recorded thirteen reasons why she decided it was best for her to kill herself and planned a way to distribute the tapes to the people she holds accountable for her decision. Once Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette) receives the tapes it’s game over for everyone else who is on the tapes. Clay was in love with Hannah, but never worked up the courage to show enough interest in her to really let her know. Hannah is ultimately a Juliet who met her fate without the pleasure of fully realizing her Romeo. But Clay, high on his pain and love for Hannah, decides to dole out some vigilante justice to those he believes are responsible for Hannah’s suicide. But the question is, “Is Hannah telling the truth?”
It all starts with an unsolicited picture and a rumor. Your typical high school bullshit and boys lying about how far they went with a girl. And in the age of social media and every teenager having a phone, it means everyone knows your business (whether it’s true or false) in a matter of minutes. And so now Hannah is labeled the school slut. This spirals into her losing newly made friendships, more rumors, and micro-aggressions, to witnessing a rape, to getting raped, and then being let down by basically everyone she encounters until she very graphically slits her wrists and dies and then haunts everyone through cassette tapes.
I loved watching “13 Reasons Why” and was glad that it touched on some serious issues but a lot of it just felt wrong. I kept saying to myself, “This is not how shit goes down.” And in reality, while yes, kids can be total assholes, this show should really be called “13 Reasons Why All the Adults Should Be Held Accountable.” All the adults (parents, teachers, counselors) are vacant and oblivious. Hannah didn’t kill herself because kids are mean. Hannah killed herself because the adults are stupid. But that’s all beside the point. Ultimately, “13 Reasons Why” walks a fine line between bringing attention to serious issues and glamorizing teenage suicide.
Now available on DVD
