I thought that the Netflix series based on the book 13 Reasons Why did a great job of showing a lot of different problems that are hard to deal with for girls or for parents... and there were some very disturbing scenes that I believe critics have been insulted by...but I thought it was a good series with a lot of good character development and multi-layered characters... which is a word I think I just made up- but that's something refreshing to see in a teen drama.
I've never been through a lot of the stuff that Hannah has been through in the show... but they still made her very relatable. The feeling she has that no one likes her- that is a very real thing that I've thought of often... the paranoia that everyone is looking at her and laughing at her... that is very real. All of her little joys but then in the end no one was listening to her and she couldn't get the help that she needed... that's upsetting and although I haven't really been through anything like that... I'm sure a lot of people can understand that.
The one thing that is a HUGE problem in the world is that people don't listen to women... and they don't listen to women soon enough for anything to matter. The school councilor could have saved Hannah's life... if he had just believed her. Hannah was known for being dramatic and she had a reputation at the school for being promiscuous... so most people thought she was "asking for it." I'm not sure if that was what Mr. Porter did actually think- he was new to the school and didn't know about her reputation necessarily... but the fact that he should have done something other than blaming Hannah for what Bryce did to her is a huge problem that actually happens.
Also... another scary- but real thing that happens to women... Bryce raped 2 girls that we know of... and he gets to win awards for being good at sports... This was an actual news story that happened.
The other thing is that Hannah was a normal teenager... that's just it. She did a lot of stupid things teenagers do... she was mad at people for a lot of stupid reasons why teenagers are mad... that doesn't make her problems any less real than anyone else's.
Hannah's Mom's vulnerability and the hope that was in her voice when she mentioned Hannah was looking into different schools (after she had died) was very sweet and probably something a lot of parents go through. The author of the book did talk to people that had gone through similar things Hannah was going through... their storyline with the lawsuit was not mentioned in the book at all... but I would imagine that there was some realness in the character and that is a very sad story... and Kate Walsh portrays her so powerfully and I thought her character was really great also.
There was also Courtney's tapes... and she was willing to lie and do horrible things that ruined other people's lives just because she was afraid of coming out of the closet. She should have equal rights and to be able to be who she wants to be and love who she wants to love... but she's scared and she has a right to be scared because it is scary. I thought they portrayed Courtney as a very unsympathetic character also. There were a lot of people that I was kind of rooting for... Clay, Jessica, Alex, Zach, Sherri, Tony and the Bakers. No one else really seemed sympathetic to me. And maybe Courtney was more sympathetic to other people and I just have a problem with her telling Hannah "we shouldn't be seen together." and making up a rumor about Hannah that she knew wasn't true. There's probably a reason why she was written less sympathetic.
The writers did a good job of kind of making you go through what the kids listening to the tapes were going through... so that I think really helped me connect to the characters a little bit better... and I think the audience is supposed to feel the same way. That is really powerful and although I complain about some of the writing being predictable and not at all subtle... there is still that subtle feeling that you're in this group... and that's kind of brilliant and I think it will hopefully help people gain more insight into some of the feminist issues presented in it... so I'm totally giving it a win for that..
There's a lot more I could talk about with this... but I'll end it there. Let me know your thoughts, feelings, opinions and things like that in the comment section!
Byeee!
-Shannon
I've never been through a lot of the stuff that Hannah has been through in the show... but they still made her very relatable. The feeling she has that no one likes her- that is a very real thing that I've thought of often... the paranoia that everyone is looking at her and laughing at her... that is very real. All of her little joys but then in the end no one was listening to her and she couldn't get the help that she needed... that's upsetting and although I haven't really been through anything like that... I'm sure a lot of people can understand that.
The one thing that is a HUGE problem in the world is that people don't listen to women... and they don't listen to women soon enough for anything to matter. The school councilor could have saved Hannah's life... if he had just believed her. Hannah was known for being dramatic and she had a reputation at the school for being promiscuous... so most people thought she was "asking for it." I'm not sure if that was what Mr. Porter did actually think- he was new to the school and didn't know about her reputation necessarily... but the fact that he should have done something other than blaming Hannah for what Bryce did to her is a huge problem that actually happens.
Also... another scary- but real thing that happens to women... Bryce raped 2 girls that we know of... and he gets to win awards for being good at sports... This was an actual news story that happened.
The other thing is that Hannah was a normal teenager... that's just it. She did a lot of stupid things teenagers do... she was mad at people for a lot of stupid reasons why teenagers are mad... that doesn't make her problems any less real than anyone else's.
Hannah's Mom's vulnerability and the hope that was in her voice when she mentioned Hannah was looking into different schools (after she had died) was very sweet and probably something a lot of parents go through. The author of the book did talk to people that had gone through similar things Hannah was going through... their storyline with the lawsuit was not mentioned in the book at all... but I would imagine that there was some realness in the character and that is a very sad story... and Kate Walsh portrays her so powerfully and I thought her character was really great also.
There was also Courtney's tapes... and she was willing to lie and do horrible things that ruined other people's lives just because she was afraid of coming out of the closet. She should have equal rights and to be able to be who she wants to be and love who she wants to love... but she's scared and she has a right to be scared because it is scary. I thought they portrayed Courtney as a very unsympathetic character also. There were a lot of people that I was kind of rooting for... Clay, Jessica, Alex, Zach, Sherri, Tony and the Bakers. No one else really seemed sympathetic to me. And maybe Courtney was more sympathetic to other people and I just have a problem with her telling Hannah "we shouldn't be seen together." and making up a rumor about Hannah that she knew wasn't true. There's probably a reason why she was written less sympathetic.
The writers did a good job of kind of making you go through what the kids listening to the tapes were going through... so that I think really helped me connect to the characters a little bit better... and I think the audience is supposed to feel the same way. That is really powerful and although I complain about some of the writing being predictable and not at all subtle... there is still that subtle feeling that you're in this group... and that's kind of brilliant and I think it will hopefully help people gain more insight into some of the feminist issues presented in it... so I'm totally giving it a win for that..
There's a lot more I could talk about with this... but I'll end it there. Let me know your thoughts, feelings, opinions and things like that in the comment section!
Byeee!
-Shannon
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