Why a Show “Discouraging” Suicide Caused Suicides

By Amiya Walia

(Blogging for final exam: Instead of doing 2 different articles I've done one long one to do the topic justice)

Owing to consumption patterns of increasingly desensitized consumers, television producers have had to go out on a limb (and many times even get rid of a few limbs) to create provocative content to attract and hold the attention of their disinterested and saturated audiences. As in the case of a drug addiction, viewers crave content that is more dramatic than the previous hit. Shows such as Game of Thrones, Peaky Blinders, and American Horror Story are among the most viewed shows,largely because of their shock value. Their unhesitant depiction of sex, violence, incest (to name a few) seduces viewers. The conditions are almost comparable to those of an arms race where each producer is on a lookout for content to captivate viewers.

13 Reasons Why also falls into the same category of unnerving content. Due to melodramatic plotting,surface level engagement with issues and preoccupation with the creation of eye catching content, it falls short of achieving the positive objectives it claims to be pursuing. The overall negative impact of the show overshadows the minimal positive effects, rendering it entirely counterproductive to its goals.

It is a web series by Netflix that takes us through 13 painful reasons behind Hannah, the protagonist, committing suicide. Each reason is related to the actions of the people around her. She records 13 tapes blaming people,which she forces them to listen to after she kills herself. It seems as though everything that could possibly go wrong happens to Hannah,which makes the show overwhelming, and even unbelievable, to a great extent. Even simply listing out the multitude of things that happen in her life makes them seem unrealistic; cyberbullying (through the circulation of a picture of her in a compromising position), slut shaming, loss of friends over misunderstandings, sexual assault, rape, witnessing the rape of another girl, having a stalker, and indirectly causing the death of another student by car crash.

Netflix and the producers of the show claim that the show’s aim is to increase awareness about the realities faced by teenagers, and begin conversations about the uncomfortable topic of suicide. The show has most certainly generated conversations. The question arises though if it is the right kind of conversation . In Beyond The Reasons, Selena Gomez, the executive producer of the show, explains that the goal of the show was to present the ugly truth of the act of committing suicide and to communicate to viewers that, “ Suicide should never be an option.”

Strangely enough, the show ends up conveying the  opposite message, i.e., for someone going through a tough time in life suicide is the only option. As pointed out by columnist -Williams, “It depicts suicide as a reasonable response to a set of challenges that anyone might face.”

The show’s target audience are teenagers and young adults,who also happen to be the part of our population that has the highest suicide rates,making it the most vulnerable to suicide contagion. This is because of their tendency to be dangerously impulsive in their actions. Dr Timothy Wilens, a psychiatrist explains that the hippocampus and amygdala - the parts of the brain that feel and store impulses mature at a much faster rate than the prefrontal cortex, which regulates those feelings and impulses (Brogan,2014). This is why teenagers might experience emotions such as sadness as uncontrollable and permanent, causing them to make rash decisions.

“One in five adults will experience suicide ideation at some point in their lives,” says Williams. Suicidal thoughts are often accompanied by fantasies about how the people around you will react to your death. In the case of those who feel they have been mistreated, it often involves revenge fantasies where individuals they hold accountable are punished. 13 Reasons Why portrays exactly that. It is a revenge fantasy in which Hannah posthumously punishes all those who she “blames” for her suicide, forcing them to confront each other in a melodramatic manner. This communicates that some kind of “justice” will be served after you die,which you will be able to have some level of control over and further romanticizes the idea of suicide.According to Madelyn Gould an epidemiologist, “Dramatizing the impact of suicide through descriptions and pictures of grieving relatives,teachers,classmates or community or expression of grief may encourage potential victims to see suicide as a way of getting attention or as a retaliation against others.”

A gaping hole in the narrative, explaining the reasons behind Hannah’s suicide is the lack of depiction or even mention of a mental disorder. Social conditions by themselves do not explain suicide. Studies have found that above 90% of suicide victims have underlying mental health problems. Individuals who become suicidal in response to these incidents usually have “ a significant psychiatric illness during the time of their death (Gould,Fisher). Hannah was not shown to have any mental illness during the show and viewers are certain to attribute her suicide to the butterfly effect.This is problematic because impressionable viewers may firstly, come away with the understanding that suicide in some cases is not preventable,which is completely unfounded as most mental health disorders are treatable to a large extent; and secondly, feel that unfortunate social incidents that occur to them may qualify as enough for them to cause harm to themselves.

Possibly the most worrying part of the show is the graphic depiction of Hannah’s suicide. Sheff, the writer of the show has justified its depiction by stating that they wanted to “dispel the myth of quietly drifting off and make viewers face the reality”. In doing so they have been shockingly irresponsible. So much so that organisations such as the National Association of School Psychologists have issued statements saying that ,” We do not recommend that vulnerable youth,especially those who have any degree of suicide ideation watch this series.” They are concerned and have sufficient reasons to be. In the 19 days after the release of the show there were 900,000-1.5 million more searches related to suicide than would  normally be expected. Frighteningly, queries such as “how to commit suicide” were up by 26 %, “commit suicide” by 18% and “how to kill yourself” by 9% (Martinelli).

Suicide contagion is a well documented and researched phenomena. The Surgeon General’s report on Mental Health in 1999 concluded that, “Evidence has accumulated that supports the observation that suicide can be facilitated in vulnerable teens by exposure to real or fictional accounts of suicide.”A study carried out on the television series Death of a Student which showed someone committing suicide by jumping in front of a train, found a rise in the number of suicides committed by teenagers and young adults up till 70 days after the show. They also saw an increase in suicides committed by the same method (Gould et al. p.1271). Another study found that a televised overdose was followed by a rise in the same kind of self  poisoning in 49 emergency rooms in the weeks following the airing. 20% of the patients claimed that it influenced their decision to take an overdose and 17% claimed that it guided their selection of drug (Hawton et al,P.972).With such irrefutable evidence in place, it is difficult to believe that the makers of the show were unaware of the extreme consequences of portraying the highly sensitive topic of suicide.

The lack of accountability and concern on the part of the makers of the show cost the lives of two fifteen-year-old girls. Priscilla Chui and Bella Herndon,committed suicide within days of watching the show. Both girls had depressive tendencies and their parents claimed that the show triggered their children and pushed them over the edge (Musumeci). The deliberate depiction of suicide, despite clear-cut, pre-existing recommendations for reporting on suicide is outrageous. Recommendations by organizations like the WHO clearly state that explicit descriptions of the method used in a completed or attempted suicide should be avoided. 13 Reasons Why does the complete opposite by virtually providing viewers with a “how- to guide” to commit suicide. Their denial of the existence of suicide contagion is ironic,because soon after Hannah’s suicide, Alex- one of her peers is found to have attempted to kill himself.

There exists a longstanding trend of portraying therapists in fictional shows as having an accumulation of faulty characteristics, ranging from being mildly daft and quirky in Awkward to manipulative and psychopathic in Hannibal. It is understood that for plot lines to continue characters of the show need to keep having problems, for those problems to remain unresolved, therapists need to be unable to solve them. Hence therapists are treated as an additional character in shows and if they were to play their actual roles it would be counterintuitive to the shows plot. 13 Reasons Why also follows suit, with the portrayal of not one but two therapists as unhelpful. The first therapist is depicted with a complete lack of understanding of how relationships form (she tells Hannah and another girl to smile at each other in the hallways so that they can become friends), and is used as a plot device to explain the friendship between Hannah and another character.

The second therapist Mr Porter is demonized in the show and shown to almost be the catalyst for Hannah’s suicide. Hannah approaches him and confides in him about her rape, but refuses to provide him with details or the name of her perpetrator. At this extremely crucial time, Mr Porter tells Hannah that for any action to be taken he would require the complete details of her perpetrator and if she were unwilling to give them the only option would have is to “move on”. Understandably, Hannah is shattered and shocked (as is the audience). This atypical depiction of a therapist's reaction has mental health professionals extremely worried about the impression those who might be considering reaching out for help might develop. Without prior experience with therapy they may form a completely negative and inaccurate impression of its effectiveness. Their concerns are valid as, unfavourable attitudes towards psychotherapy and personal sadness have been positively correlated with heightened exposure to television (Robinson 9).

Although the show generated an impressive amount of discourse on the stigmatized topic of suicide, it did so with numerous and regrettably dangerous subliminal messages that could have been easily avoided given even a small amount of research. Shows like 13 Reasons Why are extremely important because of their potential to impact public perception. Hence it is vital that they are done right. A show cannot claim to be providing a social service and at the same time when faulted for irresponsible content maintain a flimsy defence of being simply “show” at the end of the day, obviously created for nothing more than “entertainment purposes”. The ownership and responsibility of the content broadcasted lies with them at the end of the day. Choosing to shrug off the responsibility of the negative impact and advertise all the credit they receive for its select positives does nothing to change the situation.

Somehow 13 Reasons Why has managed to concoct the most harmful mixture of elements in a show aiming to discourage suicide. It blunderingly romanticizes suicide as a revenge fantasy, all the while catering to the entertainment needs of the most impressionable age group of population. The irresponsibility on the part of the producers is unforgivable. Their ability to feign ignorance about the well documented consequences of the depiction of suicide, in attempts to generate viewership is nauseating. This recipe for disaster is a call for the media to awaken to the reality that their content can result in casualties that are not fictional.

Works Cited

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