Does the portrayal of mental illness and violence in the Netflix show ‘Thirteen Reasons Why’ affect young people’s own perception of mental health?
The popular Netflix show ‘Thirteen Reasons Why’ has been considered the quintessential teen fictional drama through the streaming service; it is heavily based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Jay Asher. However, since its debut the show has been widely criticised for its depiction of mental health and has caused mass controversy due to the after effect of its target audience viewing the programme. Thus, displaying the power of media within youth. This essay will explore how the perspective of the protagonists, their battle with the difficulties of mental health can have a new impact on the consumer through the programme’s themes/ideology. Furthermore, this essay will also discuss the moral obligations of a producer when tackling content with sensitive themes for a mass audience. Finally, the essay will also counter these points and bring up how this programme increased more research into mental health within teenagers and is addressing real issues to society.
There are different perspectives on the topic of mental illness and violence within Thirteen Reasons Why based on independent studies, but overall they coalesce around the same orthodoxy which is how the programme’s methods into presenting mental illness may be harmful. Crant (2018) discusses how whether positive media portrayals of schizophrenia can affect people’s attitudes toward individuals with schizophrenia and how schizophrenia is portrayed in film and television. The study proved how when viewers watched negative videos of people with schizophrenia, their attitudes towards people with the condition was that of fear and misunderstanding. This can be compared to Scalvini’s (2020) study which explores the way “practitioners and researchers immediately expressed public apprehension about the show for its bias and presentation of suicide and for allegedly increasing suicide risk among vulnerable teenagers”, causing mass controversy. Furthermore, this links to Walker and Burns’ (2018) theory of the Werther Effect which highlights that on-screen suicide may start a spike of cases after viewing graphic content. Whilst McKenzie et al (2020) explore similar opinions, they also show through their research and experiment how some young people recognise that fiction is not to be emulated.
An example where the topic of suicide is over exposed is the scene where Hannah takes her life in the climax of the series finale which establishes how producers can overlook ethics and portray a distressing moment visually on screen for a young target demographic. This scene is in line with the Werther Effect where the depiction of a suicide in any form of media tends to be followed by a spike in actual suicides during some time after the showing. This is evident by published statistics by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention where scientists found a 13.3% increase in teenagers’ deaths from suicide shortly after the show aired in April 2017. Based on these statistics, young people could be interpreted as impressionable and mimic the protagonist in the programme. This scene presents how producers might use graphic imagery to invoke reactions and to instil strong emotions onto the audience. However, this scene in particular was depicted in a way where most teens could be inclined to mimic it or to also commit suicide in any other fashion. The suicide also seemed to amplify the external issues that affected Hannah while undermining pre-existing mental issues, thus simplifying the complexity of mental illness. This can be linked to how young people’s perception of mental health through the consumption of the programme could be extremely harmful and can question the integrity of the media industry when trying to gain attention towards a product.
Another case where the portrayal of mental illness may be portrayed in a harmful way is through the other protagonist Clay who suffers from schizophrenia which many critics have said is poorly handled and is romanticized in favour of presenting how much Clay misses Hannah post-death but gets no help in the process, putting himself and others at risk with extreme hallucinations along with violent acts (such as wielding a weapon and threatening others). This presents how producers purposely add in drama tropes by glorifying the illness in a negative light instead of representing it truthfully. Crant (2018) carried out a study where “participants who first watched a film clip showing a positive and accurate portrayal of a person with schizophrenia viewed a person with schizophrenia as significantly less dangerous when compared to those who had watched a control video”. This is evident of how the audience for this programme may view and interpret the symptoms of schizophrenia incorrectly due to Clay’s extreme actions and be highly misinformed. Thus, affecting young people’s attitude towards symptoms of poor mental health around them. On the other hand, it could be argued that these results regarding behavioural attitudes after watching one short video clip may not be sufficiently powerful enough to alter behaviour intentions. Therefore, linking to the theory of media escapism where the audience is aware that the content is entirely fictional and do not emulate what they watch. Crant (2018) further adds that “television producers should appreciate the power they have in shaping young people’s attitudes and should be careful with how they portray those with schizophrenia and perhaps also those with other mental illnesses”, therefore relating back to how important presentation of these themes must be validated before being presented to young people.
Lastly, the side character of Alex is meant to personify depression and isolation, resulting in him carrying out disturbing acts onto others (such as violent fights, involvement in crime and murder) after he attempted suicide earlier in the series due to his poor mental health. We interpret that due to Alex as a character being happy and experiencing no mental health issues before he became isolated and bullied, leading to his depression. We can link this to a study where McKenzie and Others (2020) carried out interviews with the demographic of the show, the results where a “few participants suggested that the message is to be vigilant of the impact your actions may have on others could generate fear by promoting the notion that external forces and people are responsible for suicide”; presenting that you could un- knowingly contribute to someone else’s suicide.Therefore, it can alter consumer’s understanding of how the journey down the struggles with mental health may not be ‘black and white’. Thus, relating to how this programme could trigger responses within young people and their thoughts about their actions, but not realising that it can be more complex than what Thirteen Reasons Why portrays it across. Overall, we must consider what results media producers expect from their product. Scavlini (2020) states that “even though the intention of the producer is morally good, one should consider the ethical decisions to be made when portraying this kind of story”. However, this could be challenged by McKenzie et al (2020) who interviewed teenagers after viewing the series and found that they expressed concern that Thirteen Reasons Why was in no way a realistic or accurate representation of teenage suicide and mental illness, giving a variety of explanations and moral beliefs. Some of them believed that the programme was never intended to be a factually correct programme, rather they emphasized it was intended to be an “over-dramatic,” “fictional,” and “exciting” TV show designed to capture a young audience. This can be linked back to the lasting debate over whether violence within on-screen media can really affect the attitudes of young people and questions the real consequences of these choices by the professional content creators within the media industry.
In conclusion, based on the sources and analysis we have uncovered. It can be suggested that the portrayal of mental illness and violence in the Netflix show ‘Thirteen Reasons Why’ affect young people’s own perception of mental health, however with different results depending on various statements and experiments into the target demographic. The representation of mental illness can indeed affect the minds and perception of a young audience, ultimately increasing the risk of misunderstanding, confusion and fear. Teenagers and young adults might relate to the characters portraying these mental illnesses, especially if they suffer from the represented mental illnesses themselves. Hannah’s suicide was portrayed in a dramatic manner purely for visual effect, ignoring many factors that could have realistically related to it; Clay’s schizophrenia is represented as dangerous and fearful, possibly bringing viewers into reacting negatively to people who suffer from the illness, grasping them as possibly harmful. Lastly, for the character Alex, his disturbing actions can be seen as purely derivative of his encounters with bullying and isolation, yet it disregards other possible problems he might have already suffered from, thus overly simplifying the concept of mental illness. However, there is a percentage of viewers who grasp the show as purely fictional, keeping in mind that the show is not fully grounded in reality with its representation. Upon reflection, it can be testified that mental illness must be represented realistically in order for the younger demographic to grow in acceptance and understanding rather than fear and rejection of people who might suffer from mental illness and that ‘Thirteen Reasons Why’ and the power of media have the power to do so.
Reference list: (Harvard style)
- Crant, J., 2018. The Relationship between Media Portrayal of Schizophrenia and Attitudes toward Those with Schizophrenia. Journal of the Indiana Academy of the Social Sciences., [Online]. Vol. 21 Issue 1, p192–198.
- Griggs, M.B. (2019). Another study finds teen suicide rates rose just after 13 Reasons Why debut. [online] The Verge.
- McKenzie, S. K., Jenkin, G., Steers, D., Magill, R., & Collings, S. (2020). Young People’s Perspectives and Understanding of the Suicide Story in 13 Reasons Why: A Qualitative Study. Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention.
- Scalvini, M. (2020). 13 Reasons Why: can a TV show about suicide be ‘dangerous’? What are the moral obligations of a producer? Media, Culture & Society, p.016344372093250.
- Thirteen Reasons Why, Series 1, Episode 13, 2017. [television programme, online]. Netflix, 31st March 2017.
- Thirteen Reasons Why, Series 2, Episode 11, 2018, [television programme, online]. Netflix, May 18th2018.
- Walker, K.K. and Burns, K. (2018). #13ReasonsWhy Health Professionals and Educators are Tweeting: A Systematic Analysis of Uses and Perceptions of Show Content and Learning Outcomes. Health Communication, 34(10), p.1085–1094.
