Blog Project #2: Topic #2

Topic #2: Television Show

Describe:
·      The television show that I picked to do this project on is “13 Reasons Why” by Jay Asher. I started watching 13 Reason Why when it first came out on Netflix around early January. It was a Netflix original, so you can only watch it on Netflix.
·      The genre for 13 Reaons Why is young adult fiction. Where it is telling reality that young adults go through, using the platform of a show or book.
·      The episode I am picking is the 13th episode, which is the 13th person on the tape. This episode was probably one of the most moving and heartbreaking episodes for anyone who has seen it. The episode has Clay Jensen, who is played by Dylan Minnette, telling the councilor, Mr. Porter, what he has listened to on the tapes that Hannah Baker released before she committed suicide. He walked him through each step that Mr. Porter did to effect the decision of Hannah Baker taking her life. He goes on to tell/show the most moving scene in TV show history. He explains how Hannah killed herself in the bathtub and it shows it all. It has a scene where her mom walks in and sees her daughter laying in a bath tub full of blood. Everyone who has watched this has been moved by this scene. The plot of this episode was too show the world and teenagers who are struggling, what it takes to get help from suicide instead of taking your own life. Showing the reaction of her parents and how it effects tons of people.
Something that a lot of people might not know is that Selena Gomez is one of the producers of the show. Rolling Stones wrote an article on how the show is effecting kids in school after it has been released. “According to The Washington Post, one superintendent in Palm Beach, Florida, sent a letter home with students saying that school personnel had seen a rise in at-risk behavior, including self mutilation and threats of suicide, and that several students had admitted that their behavior was linked to the popular Netflix series.” These of some of the concerns that people are putting out there but personally I think that it has opened the eyes for adults to actually start seeing the signs of early suicide rather than the kids changing. A lot of critiques don’t like the way that the show built up to her suicide in the end. Hannah lost friendships, had a boy never love her, got date raped, and lost money for her parents. All of these laying down on her later lead to her death. Critiques think that they went over board with it.
·      I watched the show on Netflix, so there were no commercials or Ads.
Analyze:
·      The attitude and style for the set was intense and casual. It was shown as high school students going through stuff you go through in high school. The kids that dress different, the bullies that run the hallways, the nerds that dress different. The characters talked and dressed like regular high school students, which made it even more relatable for the audience. The show is filmed and edited in a way that our generation can understand it. Its quick, to the point, with a lot of cliff hangers in it. Keeps the kid’s short attention span, interested and on their toes.
·      The show is not similar to really any other TV show I have ever watched. A lot of the other TV shows you see today are either comedies, gossip, or fantasy’s. This show is a drama that tries to send a serious message to the audience about suicide. Never seen a show send that intense of a message.
·      What makes it different is that there is a point behind it. If you go to the top 5 shows right now, that every one has watched, you would see “Game of Thrones”, which is about knights and the dark ages. You would see “Breaking Bad”, which is about selling crystal meth. You would also see “Greys Anatomy”, which is about being a fake doctor. All of these top shows don’t really do justice for the audience other than to kill time. 13 Reasons Why gives a purpose to the audience to watch out for suicide and see the signs of someone struggling, but can’t seem to find help. Its trying to help a problem that the people can’t seem to figure how to fix.
Interpret:
·      There are a few stereotypes in this show that are very well known stereotypes. It was probably the one thing I did not like about the show, but it was needed to make the show what it is. The biggest stereotype is the main bully of the school Bryce. He is the captain of the basketball, baseball, and football team. He is extremely rich and thinks everyone thinks of him as a god around the area. He walks around the halls with his chest held high and that bully attitude when he sees people. The stereotype is that the main captain in sports is the biggest DBag in the whole school. Later in the show Bryce rapes two young woman, one of the being Hannah Baker, and acts like nothing even happened. Another stereotype they used was Jessica, who is the captain of the cheer team and has the image of being the main slut of the show. They used the stereotype that every cheerleader is a slut and I didn’t like that. Jessica was Hannah’s first friend and ends up changing when she starts seeing one of the basketball players and becomes a drunk screw up.
·      The show is intended for the audience of boys and girls ranging from ages 12-25. It is about suicide and high school, so the audience is for people who are going into high school, are in high school, or out of high school. It is trying to show kids what they will see in high school and what they can do to get help. It is showing what it is like in high school and what those kids can do to get help, and it is showing how the older people can help the kids in high school. There are no commercials for Netflix, but it was very smart to use Netflix because a lot of high school kids tend to binge watch Netflix shows when they are bored. It was a great platform to use.
·      I would see the United States as a problem. I feel that most other countries don’t have as big of a problem with suicide as America does, or they don’t make as much of an effort to help the problem.
Evaluate:
This show had lots of strengths and a few weaknesses. The biggest strength I saw was that it was very relatable to most viewers. Having the story take place in high school, where everyone has gone through stuff, was a great setting place. Majority of people have experienced some type of suicide in their lives and can relate through that also. Guy Diamond, a young suicide scientist, says in an interview with Philly Voice, “As a preventionist, I’m seeing the show as an opportunity to reach and educate both kids and parents, but I didn’t get a feeling that the filmmakers had that kind of social consciousness about it.” The strengths are the message but one of the big weaknesses is the way the film makers did their job. They bounced around to too many people in the show and didn’t give full details in some. In Episode 6, where the tape is about Clay, it bounces to too many different characters when all people want to hear is Clays tape. Another big strength is it really does hit a great time to get this type of information flowing throughout the world. Suicide is becoming more and more of a thing because of social media and the growth of population. Having it become a real thing to people was a great eye opener. I believe it does reflect real life. People do go through these things in high school and never know where to turn for help. Seeing Hannah go to her parents, the councilor, and have no friends to go to, people go through that.  
·      I really liked the show. I think it could have been filmed a little better but the way it made you feel every episode, and the way they showed everything to detail made me really like the show. It is a gruesome show, and has a lot of messed up parts, but I will forever love the message it gives out. I will have my kids watch it one day to show them that they are not alone when they are down and feel alone. Having each tape be a different person, telling a different story, made me not able to stop watching. It kept me on my toes the whole time till the end.
·      "Watching a suicide or knowing someone who has died by suicide can lead others to completing a suicide themselves," Dr. Conolly explained. She submitted this on CBS news. Another critic posted on Variety named Sonia Sariya, saying; I just finished “13 Reasons Why,” and I am messed up. That was a doozy of an ending. It might be one of the hardest things I’ve seen on television, actually — which is saying a lot, considering I’ve watched “Game of Thrones” and “Hannibal” and “Outlander.” I knew, of course, that Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford) was going to kill herself. But after getting to know her and love her, seeing her do it in that physical, graphic, brutal way was just awful. A lot of people comment how brutal and real the last episode was. Showing a young girl, that you grow to love throughout the show, cut herself is hard for people to take in. That is the message they are trying to get across.
Engage:
·      I watched the whole first season. It was 13 episodes and I watched it all with 3 of my friends. We were in shock in the end and still to this day its one of the most moving shows we have seen. My family has not seen it but I wish they would. I don’t think my mom could take it.
·      I am not a fan on Facebook or Instagram for 13 Reasons why. I haven’t even gone to its page on any social media.
13 Reasons Why made some huge marks all across the country on twitter. Voice magazine says; “13 Reasons Why” is one of Netflix’s most watched series and the most tweeted about of 2017, making the public conversation about adolescent suicide more mainstream than ever before.” Personally I saw it everywhere on twitter. People making fun of it, people saying how insane it was, and people saying how much of an impact it has made on them and their peers.

Conclusion:
·      I learned a lot about the impact that 13 Reasons Why made on the world. From the people around me talking about it to social media around the world talking about it. Its crazy to me that one TV show can make an impact on millions and millions of people like that. Changing up the TV show norm and going to something that is hard for people to watch but has a huge message. The more I read into articles about this show I also saw more and more people talk about the changes they saw in their kids and students. I learned that it made not only the kids more aware but the adults as well. I am excited for season 2 to see what surprises it brings next.

·      What surprised me was how involved Selena Gomez was. Normally actors and actresses stay away from stuff like this but this time she stepped out of her comfort zone and helped make an impact on the world. There are many young kids that look up to her and to see her involved in it will give kids something to look up to. That is what surprised me a lot.

The link for the trailer to "13 Reason Why"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JebwYGn5Z3E 






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