Photo: Netflix via YouTube
Whereas most teen dramas tackle love triangles, booze-riddled road trips and two-bit popularity contests, Netflix?s 13 Reasons Why explores mostly unchartered territory for a mainstream series. It depicts the events and individuals that contributed to a teen?s suicide?and typically hush-hush topics, like self-harm, rape and the story?s central theme, suicide, are discussed (and even shown) openly.
?13 Reasons Why captures the perils of teen relationships very well, especially the dark and stark effects of social media, rumour-mongering and bullying?the fast pace of ?friend today, enemy tomorrow,?? says Toronto psychiatrist Dr. Marshall Korenblum, who has been practising child psychiatry for more than 25 years, and specializes in child and adolescent depression and suicide. ?It?s also very good at touching on the importance and role of ?bystanders??if you know [someone is struggling, and don?t say anything], you?re not completely innocent,? he says. ?My biggest concerns are that almost all the adults in 13 Reasons Why are portrayed as stupid, inept and incompetent. While that may be the way many teenagers perceive adults, in fact, they?re not all that way, and when a teen is in trouble, they should seek out a trusted adult for help.? While, in theory, the show sounds like a step towards eliminating stigma and sparking open dialogue, mental health advocates like Korenblum point out that the show?s glossy portrayal of suicide at times trivializes it....