13 Reasons Why (or why not)

[dUSt]

My daughter watched it and told me it is not a good show to watch for people who may have suicidal thoughts. 

Also, God is completely absent from this show.

[Nihil Obstat]

2 minutes ago, dUSt said:

My daughter watched it and told me it is not a good show to watch for people who may have suicidal thoughts. 

Also, God is completely absent from this show.

Frankly I am hesitant to say that minors should watch it at all. If they do, I think it should be with a parent and with quite a lot of accompanying discussion.

Yes, God is really not in the show at all. It is unfortunate. To some extent it is also an accurate portrayal of current teen culture.

If I remember correctly, not that it matters directly, the author is a liberal Anglican or Episcopalian.

[hotpink]

I'm on the fence.  I agree with the summation that 100% this is not for minors.  NOPE.  For college students in the right context? Mayyyyyybeeeee.    Where I think it's only value lies is for parents of pre-teens, school admins and others who have power over kid's lives.

What I advocate for is access to resources.  While this show lacked God, it also lacked any help for the hurting.  It didn't offer any solutions.  It didn't counterbalance any of her points with the help available.  I would call it a "useful fail"

[Nihil Obstat]

2 hours ago, hotpink said:

.

What I advocate for is access to resources.  While this show lacked God, it also lacked any help for the hurting.  It didn't offer any solutions.  It didn't counterbalance any of her points with the help available.  I would call it a "useful fail"

Well I mean, it was not an extended PSA about suicide. The actors are not suddenly going to stop and say "if you need help, call this suicide hotline." I think it is the nature of a dramatic piece like this, if you want to find that message you have to be able to interpret. But I think it was there, if you do put in that effort to see it.

Basically I think the nature of the medium lent itself to interpretation, not something more in your face.

[hotpink]

1 hour ago, Nihil Obstat said:

Well I mean, it was not an extended PSA about suicide. The actors are not suddenly going to stop and say "if you need help, call this suicide hotline." I think it is the nature of a dramatic piece like this, if you want to find that message you have to be able to interpret. But I think it was there, if you do put in that effort to see it.

Basically I think the nature of the medium lent itself to interpretation, not something more in your face.

There's ways to do this today that are unobtrusive.  Pop-up ad type devices, links and numbers displayed like product placements, integrated ads with help information.

It was created to bring awareness, and it failed at that.  It did end up being a drama, but drama without meaning is just candy.

[Nihil Obstat]

I would have to disagree. I think pop up ads and such would have been pandering and kind of trite. A show like this is effective because it engages on a different level. There is a time and place for what you describe, but this show was, I think, attempting something much more multi faceted.

Incidentally, have you been to the show's official website?

[PhuturePriest]

On a related note, for those who have watched it: why do you think so many Catholic outlets have condemned the show and adamantly recommend against watching it? Aside from several scenes which are mildly sexually explicit, I see nothing in the show which should inhibit mature Catholics from watching it.

[PhuturePriest]

Now that I've thought about it, I think it may come from two places. First, in recognition of the legitimate need we have to stress and highlight our own identity as opposed to making us "relevant", some perhaps go overboard and attack anything that isn't explicitly Catholic in order to underscore this. Second, the overreaction from good people who lash out at everything remotely secular in response to an increasingly secular and anti-Catholic world.

[Nihil Obstat]

3 hours ago, PhuturePriest said:

On a related note, for those who have watched it: why do you think so many Catholic outlets have condemned the show and adamantly recommend against watching it? Aside from several scenes which are mildly sexually explicit, I see nothing in the show which should inhibit mature Catholics from watching it.

Well in fairness, some of those scenes were a bit more than mildly explicit.

[Shiningstar]

This show moved me to tears. While I totally understand the outcry against some of the scenes, especially the suicide scene, I believe it is all valuable. Rather than sugar coating it, it brings to reality to raw pain and torture people go through on a daily basis. 

[franciscanheart]

On 5/19/2017 at 7:50 PM, Nihil Obstat said:

I would have to disagree. I think pop up ads and such would have been pandering and kind of trite. A show like this is effective because it engages on a different level. There is a time and place for what you describe, but this show was, I think, attempting something much more multi faceted.

Incidentally, have you been to the show's official website?

Do you mean this one? https://www.netflix.com/title/80117470

[Nihil Obstat]

No, this one: 13reasonswhy.info

[franciscanheart]

I see that the landing page claims to be associated with the show. However, if you google "13 Reasons Why" or "13 Reasons Why official site", you'll not see it appear anyplace on the first page of results. The result labeled as the official site actually takes you to the link I provided above (https://www.netflix.com/title/80117470). I see it as a click-away link on the Twitter page associated with the show, but cannot find the same site you mention anywhere on the Facebook page (at least in a quick look around).

The domain registry information for the url you provided (which would have been better shared, I think, in your post asking if the person had visited) is as follows:

Registrant Name: Matt Sample
Registrant Organization: A Team Design
Registrant Street: 2660 West Olive Ave
Registrant City: Burbank
Registrant State/Province: California
Registrant Postal Code: 91505
Registrant Country: US
Registrant Phone: +1.3234679600

Matt is probably one of the account people for the show at their design firm. That's fine, but they haven't exactly made the information on that landing page available anyplace else. Don't you think it's important to at least attach the info to the end of episodes, on the official official website, on the Facebook page, etc? Why does it seem like an unimportant afterthought?

It's difficult to say what order people would rank the domain extension of that website. For me, that has a very low value. Especially since they've not made it a more prominent integration.

Another complaint: at the bottom of the site you list (ending in .info), there is an image that says "Netflix 13 Reasons Why" with an arrow. It's clickable. But does it take you to the Netflix "official site"? No. It takes you to a tumblr account with dark images from the show.

All around, I think this was handled poorly, and I haven't even been witness to the show. I've heeded warnings from those around me and avoided it. I sincerely hope no one is further endangered because of their carelessness.

[Nihil Obstat]

If you watch the quasi-episode which features some of the actors, production staff, psychologists, etc., they do promote that web page.

I mean, if you want to find reasons to dislike the show and what they tried to do, then you will find them. Personally, I think they tried to do, and succeeded in doing, something important.

[hotpink]

3 hours ago, Nihil Obstat said:

If you watch the quasi-episode which features some of the actors, production staff, psychologists, etc., they do promote that web page.

I mean, if you want to find reasons to dislike the show and what they tried to do, then you will find them. Personally, I think they tried to do, and succeeded in doing, something important.

Yeah, they managed to attract their 13-24 year old audience at any costs.  I mean, Gieco has been making odd and interesting commercials for 20 years now so someone could of figured out something better.

To me, what they did was ensure the show, as much as possible, wouldn't outright cause anyone's death.  Then they threw up their hands and called it a story.