Over two years since Netflix premiered a suicide scene in 13 Reasons Why, the streaming platform has decided to remove the three minute scene. Many concerns were previously raised due to the graphic suicide act of Hannah Baker, the protagonist in the story. 

There is much speculation as to why Netflix decided to delete the scene. While senior Lucas Ayala reasons that it may have “triggered viewers who have dealt with suicidal feelings before,” Assistant Principal of Organization Ellen Fee  believes that “Netflix got a lot of pressure from organizations that promote mental health.”

Netflix received not only major support from associations such as the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention but also extensive backlash from viewers. The backlash towards cutting the suicide scene in 13 Reasons Why originated from how it negatively affected viewers. 

Senior Afrida Khalid voiced that she opposes the deletion because “that’s what the whole series is based on and so getting rid of that part takes away the essence of the whole show.” However, advocates of the removal, such as Ms. Fee, believe that the suicide scene was “not appropriate to release to the public.” She explained that suicide is “not something anybody should be looking at and it doesn’t matter what age you are. Suicide is no joke.” 

On the other hand, freshman Matthew Cantor, believes that these shows should make their scenes “as raw as possible so people are exposed to the real world.” Ms. Fee disagreed and suggested that it would be better “to use images that infer something happened but never show the actual [suicide].”

With many students watching 13 Reasons Why, this edit has brought up questions regarding to what extent Townsend Harris would go to promote the mental health of its students. In response, Ms. Fee says that “THHS thinks that mental health is a very serious and important issue so [she thinks] THHS would go to great extremes to make sure our students are safe.”

Featured image by Jorge Gryntysz, courtesy of Pixabay License.