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13 Reasons Why

DiegoNT

First Grade
Messages
9,378
Anyone else watched/read this.

Read the book first. When i read the blurb/concept i was intrigued enough to get the book and read it in a day. Am currently half way through the netflix series now.

Don't think I've ever felt so mixed/divided about a piece of 'entertainment' in my life
 

Walt Flanigan

Referee
Messages
20,727
Finished the series the other day and found it pretty compelling. Although I felt that Clay's tape was a bit of a let down considering the build-up and Tony saying "yes" when Clay asked if he was the reason Hannah killed herself. If that was the impact that his tape was supposed to have then it didn't come across for me.

All in all though, I think it explored the subject suicide quite well. The act itself was difficult to watch.
 

DiegoNT

First Grade
Messages
9,378
I'm only at the 7th episode, even though the show and book have huge differences i'd assume clays tape is similar to the book. Was a let down.

Despite it showing people how seemingly little things can have a huge effect which is great i feel that it makes suicide seem poetic. Like no one will listen to you in life but they will listen to you in death. That you are somehow getting revenge on all the people who have wronged you. I guess it's such a difficult subject matter that there will never be a right way to portray it
 

Walt Flanigan

Referee
Messages
20,727
Despite it showing people how seemingly little things can have a huge effect which is great i feel that it makes suicide seem poetic.

There's definitely a bit of that and if there's people watching who are in a similar situation and can relate to Hannah, then that could be concerning. I think it was offset a bit though by showing the act and the reaction of the parents.
 

PJ

First Grade
Messages
5,624
About 2/3rd of the way through.

Quite good but could have been excellent with better pacing.
 

DiegoNT

First Grade
Messages
9,378
There's definitely a bit of that and if there's people watching who are in a similar situation and can relate to Hannah, then that could be concerning. I think it was offset a bit though by showing the act and the reaction of the parents.
My big worry is that some of my younger relative's, who are that age and a couple who have done self harm may watch and take something else away from the show
 

DiegoNT

First Grade
Messages
9,378
About 2/3rd of the way through.

Quite good but could have been excellent with better pacing.
In the book clay listens to all the tapes in 1 night. There's not as much back story to the other 12 people on the tapes and we only see them how hannah and clay saw them.
The way the show does it has it's adventages, deeper back stories are better, but it's messed up the pacing
 
Messages
4,370
It's an interesting premise and really compelling but I can't help but think it sort of glorifies suicide in a way. I'm not sure it's the type of thing someone with depression and suicidal tendencies should watch, but I don't know a whole lot anyway.

Also a lot of the dialogue and acting can be really cringey. And suffers from older people trying to replicate teenagers.

And Hannah is a real douche, I mean half the shit on her tapes of stupid. Obviously some of them are real big issues (especially one of them), but a lot of it's just regular high school bullshit.
 

Walt Flanigan

Referee
Messages
20,727
And Hannah is a real douche, I mean half the shit on her tapes of stupid. Obviously some of them are real big issues (especially one of them), but a lot of it's just regular high school bullshit.

Yeah the guilt of someone's death is a heavy burden to lay on a person and she's gone and laid that on people like Zach and Marcus who were dicks but you wouldn't consider their actions to be life altering. What she did with Clay is pretty messed up.
 
Messages
14,479
One of the criticisms i read (i havent seen it) is it doesnt really depict kids asking parents for help.

A whole heap of mates binged on it cause their kids wanted to watch it. They're all polarized.
 

Paullyboy

Coach
Messages
10,473
I started watching it with curiosity, but it's just so bloody slow. I got to about episode 5 and stopped half way through because I knew there'd be no way I'd make it to 13 (I'm assuming there are 13 episodes).

I also hate the female character that killed herself for the fact that she's a sook.
 

Game_Breaker

Coach
Messages
13,476
Yeah the guilt of someone's death is a heavy burden to lay on a person and she's gone and laid that on people like Zach and Marcus who were dicks but you wouldn't consider their actions to be life altering. What she did with Clay is pretty messed up.


Telling someone you're one of the reasons why I killed myself is a big deal. It seems that Bryce was the main reason, before the 2 rapes Hannah would've been able to get through her troubles.

The show felt unfinished though, what will happen to Bryce? is the photo stalker kid going to invoke his 2nd amendment rights? What will Hannah's parents do now they have the tapes?
 

DiegoNT

First Grade
Messages
9,378
Just a theory i saw online, but did Alex shoot himself.
There's a scene with tyler taking down a photo of alex triggering a memory of him. There's 2 ways you can look at it. The most obvious is tyler remembering alex being nice and is removing as a target for an upcoming shooting. Or another way to look at it is tyler has shot alex (and made it look like suicide/suicide attempt) and is removing his photo as he is already out of the way
 

Game_Breaker

Coach
Messages
13,476
Just a theory i saw online, but did Alex shoot himself.
There's a scene with tyler taking down a photo of alex triggering a memory of him. There's 2 ways you can look at it. The most obvious is tyler remembering alex being nice and is removing as a target for an upcoming shooting. Or another way to look at it is tyler has shot alex (and made it look like suicide/suicide attempt) and is removing his photo as he is already out of the way

I read that theory as well, I just don't think Tyler is a serial killer and is more of a mass shooter columbine type.

Alex did clean his room before his attempted suicide, that's something Hannah did too and apparently common thing to do before people attempt suicide.
 

Big Pete

Referee
Messages
28,939
The show was really watchable up to a certain point and then it lost it's way. Like Paullyboy, I got up to a certain point and realised the show was dragging on and I was beginning to care less and less about Hannah. By about episode 6, all I was interested was Clay's tape and like others it was such a disappointment. Not only was his episode such an anti-climax, I thought it made a lot of episodes silly in retrospect and made me think less of the characters. Like how could you release these tapes with the intention of guilt trapping all these people, including such a self-conscious guy and feel so self-righteous?

I think if the series had have run for six episodes and they had have taken a Skins like approach where each episode felt different when it was about a different character, it would have been a better show overall. Otherwise it's an OK binge television show with some decent hooks and some talented directors who know how to put a scene together.
 

Game_Breaker

Coach
Messages
13,476
Yeah the guilt of someone's death is a heavy burden to lay on a person and she's gone and laid that on people like Zach and Marcus who were dicks but you wouldn't consider their actions to be life altering. What she did with Clay is pretty messed up.

Zach, Marcus, Sheri, Jessica, Ryan, Alex and Mr. Porter were all minor reasons in the whole scheme of things when you compare it to Bryce. Especially Jessica considering she was also raped, telling a rape victim they're one reason why you committed suicide is just wrong.

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DiegoNT

First Grade
Messages
9,378
Probably the most uncomfortable thing for a lot of people watching is the fact that the shows biggest villian, bryce being a rapist aside, is Hannah herself. Being from a community that suffers from a string of suicides i see the same thing that is shown in the aftermath of Hannah's death in the 1st episode. The whole building of a shrine, the whole 'that person fought a brave struggle', the whole 'we let that person down'. But the thinga hannah does to most of the 11 is pretty shitty. Jess, sheri and zach did very minor things yet they'll have that death hanging over them for the rest of their years. The exposing Jesse's rape to everyone is a horrible thing, rape victims need to go though their own process. Outing courtney was a prick act, pretty much everyone apart from bryce didn't deserve that put on them. Especially tony and clay who'll always wonder that if they acted quicker they may have saved her.

But the worse is what she done to her parents was the worse. Obviously they were having marital problems plus problems with their business. To do that to them when all they shown you was love is shitty. It was wonderful acting by the lady playing the mother, I've sadly seen that way to much in real life in the faces of mothers of ppl who have commited suicide, and she nailed it.
The show seems to have people talking. For years Its seemed that no one is able to make any criticism of people who have commited suicide. But maybe if people can see that even the Hannahs of the world can be villains to then maybe their can be honest conversations about suicide
 

Parra

Referee
Messages
24,894
I haven't seen this - I have picked up on some of the controversy.

Tapes or no tapes it sounds as if the point of the series is that people will feel responsible. The act of committing suicide will cause these reflections in all who knew the person. The creation of tapes is an effective way of telling this story - people would have these thoughts (these tapes) in their head anyway. And reflect on them and it will affect these people. Some for life.

Is this wide of the mark?
 
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