-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
A 23-Year-Old Allegedly Copied The 13 Reasons Why Suicide And Left Behind Tapes
- Thread starter Black Republican
- Start date
timetokill
Banned
Curious situation for Netflix.
Do we say that, hey, they have the thing marked TV-MA so parents need to parent better?
Obviously this person was of age anyway so I'm not sure what you could really do besides say you can't show suicide in media, and that's not a road I want to go down
And obviously, RIP to this person, I hope somebody reads this story and gets help
Do we say that, hey, they have the thing marked TV-MA so parents need to parent better?
Obviously this person was of age anyway so I'm not sure what you could really do besides say you can't show suicide in media, and that's not a road I want to go down
And obviously, RIP to this person, I hope somebody reads this story and gets help
Rumblebones
Banned
Only 23 years of age. Absolutely heartbreaking. Barely had a taste of life.
I've feared 13 Reasons Why would have this consequence. I don't believe this will be the last instance of a person that needs help taking their own life in this manner.
I've done a lot of reading on what mental health professionals have to say, and the consensus tends to be that, creative intentions aside, the show is likely to present a dangerous set of ideas to vulnerable minds.
Its, to be generous, clumsy attempt at addressing suicide is unhealthy. In fact, I read one article in which experts expressed concern that she series now only presented suicide as a legitimate way to end pain, but also as an effective means to "getting even."
I've feared 13 Reasons Why would have this consequence. I don't believe this will be the last instance of a person that needs help taking their own life in this manner.
I've done a lot of reading on what mental health professionals have to say, and the consensus tends to be that, creative intentions aside, the show is likely to present a dangerous set of ideas to vulnerable minds.
Its, to be generous, clumsy attempt at addressing suicide is unhealthy. In fact, I read one article in which experts expressed concern that she series now only presented suicide as a legitimate way to end pain, but also as an effective means to "getting even."
Copy cat suicides are a real thing. It's why you might see someone like me post against posting suicide news threads, and also see me sometimes in the Mental Health thread.
You may want to provoke conversation and feel like you've helped, but suicide isn't like other health issues.
You may want to provoke conversation and feel like you've helped, but suicide isn't like other health issues.
Astral Dog
Member
Damn RIP
It would seem obvious that one of the major obstacles in people committing suicide is not wanting to put their friends and family through such a huge loss. I can see how show has instead glorified and effectively mitigated that fact and I am not shocked that people use this to justify the act of killing themselves.
blame space
Banned
Alcotholic
Banned
This is why people were saying the show glamorized suicide. I'm not at all surprised something like this happened, but it's so sad that it did.
Vigilant Walrus
Member
Heartbreak can feel like death itself. 
RIP
RIP
Khaos Kontrol
Banned
RIP. Sad someone so young felt the need to take their life.
With that being said, the show isn't to blame for this young man taking his life. He would have likely have done it anyway.
With that being said, the show isn't to blame for this young man taking his life. He would have likely have done it anyway.
I don't think the show did, but I guess I can see how someone could perceive it that way.
I guess I would like to see warnings before every episode and a contact number for help-lines, just to help drive the point home that this is not an answer.
Yoshimitsu126
Member
Guess I'm not watching this show.
Rip to victim and condolences to family.
Rip to victim and condolences to family.
The show paints with devastating results the effects the suicide has on the community, especially her parents. It has its flaws but I don't really see it as glamorizing the act.
Take it from someone who knows, when you get to that mental space, when you want nothing more than to make the pain stop, you no longer give a shit what it'll do to the people who care about you.
Except it didn't it may have it flaws but it goes out its way not to do that
Only four people suffered a harsh consequence though. Everyone else was just fine in the end.
I think it's kind of redundant to evaluate whether or not the show 'really' glamourised suicide under these circumstances.
I agree that we shouldn't scapegoat the show. With that said, I can't fully get behind this sentiment. I'm not claiming it's wrong, it's impossible to know either way, but it undermines the proximity of the show to this tragic incident. He went out of his way to copy what he saw so to some extent, the show clearly influenced him.
Bornstellar
Member
Pretty much all that needs to be said.
GhostWriter24
Member
Very sad, wish he had gotten help before he'd done it -- but 13 Reasons Why isn't to blame here. Art imitates life, not vice versa.
Japanmanx3
Member
Unfortunate. Was worried that this show would leave an impact like this...
SirRattleBalls
Banned
Sad to hear, but in all honestly we will never know what drove him to commit suicide and to what extent the show influenced his decision. 13 Reasons Why is a great show that brought the discussion of suicide in teens to the for front. Whether or not Suicide prevention organisations were against it does not play much into the fact that it got teenagers and parents having an open discussion. The lad was 23 and depressed it could have happened to anyone, leaving a suicide note is common but he probably saw a better way to express why he choose to commit suicide after watching the show, it does not mean the show made him do it
I'm making Assumptions
Well the guy was 23 and an adult...
I think it is a good show for both teenagers and adults.
I don't think one instance of copying demonstrates the show is dangerous. It seems the vast majority who watched it, were not influenced to commit suicide in the manner depicted on the show. It seems far more likely that this person was planning to commit suicide, regardless, and just copied the idea to leave tapes behind as suicide notes.
Westbahnhof
Banned
Die Leiden des jungen Werthers, anyone?
Hopefully not.
But stories like this show can obviously influence unstable people.
Stories about suicide in general, I guess.
It's why our media stopped reporting subway suicides (leading to a massive, massive drop). It's also why Aokigahara is full of corpses.
Hopefully not.
But stories like this show can obviously influence unstable people.
Stories about suicide in general, I guess.
It's why our media stopped reporting subway suicides (leading to a massive, massive drop). It's also why Aokigahara is full of corpses.
Yes, the thing about the copy cats is completely true. That's why in my country, for example, suicides are never reported on the news. You'll never hear about them.
Westbahnhof
Banned
I'm guess this only applies to "normal people" suicides?
I mean, what's if a celebrity dies this way? Would be good to not make it news, but I can't imagine it being possible.
It doesn't need to glorify to have negative influence, though. If suicide news can increase suicides, a show causing you to strongly empathize with a suicidal person will obviously do the same.
Sure, the show isn't to "blame" by itself I guess, but it was probably a factor.
Air Zombie Meat
Member
Haven't watched it but I have to admit that hearing the premise of the show made me feel uneasy.
Velcro Fly
Member
It doesn't matter what it is. People will always try to copy it.
I feel for this person and their family and friends that this person didn't get the help they needed.
I feel for this person and their family and friends that this person didn't get the help they needed.
ThatStupidLion
Member
Wow thats rough, poor guy.
I think TRW does more harm than good. It brings to light suicide as entertainment and does a horrible job tackling depression imo.
I think TRW does more harm than good. It brings to light suicide as entertainment and does a horrible job tackling depression imo.
Hollywood always does though. It can't accurately portray mental health and depression because neither of those is something which is easily spottable externally. The actors have to go over the top to convey depression, when a lot of the times you're not going to know if someone is actually depressed.
It can't do anxiety for shit either.
Dreams-Visions
Member
damn it. not surprising someone decided to copy it.
rest in peace.
rest in peace.
... Didn't know the show was intense like that or...what it was about. Friend was just saying last night she watched this show and it had gotten to her in an intense way. She seemed shaken up bjt I didn't know what the show was about so I thought it was closer to red wedding than like, real shit like this.
I'm probably overreacting but I'm gonna go pick up a shit ton of ice cream and head over to hang out.
I'm probably overreacting but I'm gonna go pick up a shit ton of ice cream and head over to hang out.
entremet
Member
Yep. Thats my take as well.
Amory
Member
Pretty much
It's a show about teen suicide aimed at adults, I can understand teens being confused by it.
It's pretty brutal and when they finally show the suicide itself they don't censor in any way. It doesn't do a good enough job of emphasizing that the girl, although a terrible victim, pulls others into her tragedy and causes possibly more unnecessary death, and if they go through with the second season (which I think is a mistake) will lead to a lot of people dying.
So, yeah, criticism that the show glorifies suicide aren't far off the mark. Whether it made this kid kill himself is less certain as he likely would have killed himself with or without it.
It's pretty brutal and when they finally show the suicide itself they don't censor in any way. It doesn't do a good enough job of emphasizing that the girl, although a terrible victim, pulls others into her tragedy and causes possibly more unnecessary death, and if they go through with the second season (which I think is a mistake) will lead to a lot of people dying.
So, yeah, criticism that the show glorifies suicide aren't far off the mark. Whether it made this kid kill himself is less certain as he likely would have killed himself with or without it.
Icedburden
Member
I hated the show when I saw it, but I saw zero evidence of this. It's by no means great at doing what it set out to do, but in the end I felt it did try to express that we have people around us that do care.
So although the show went through lengths to make sure people don't think that suicide is fine and cool, that was your take away? Okay.
Anyways this sucks to hear
neurosisxeno
Member
That is in no way true.
That this show empowers people in thir desperate thoughts of suicide by giving them not only an exact blueprint but by also telling them "Hey, this way your suicide will make a difference!", thus potentially leading people from considerung suicide to attempting suicide is the whole point. That's not even a discussion, it's a medical fact - there's a reason doctors and therapists are universally panning the show.
Emperor_Uriel
Member
As a therapist: Dude didn't kill himself because of a show. He killed himself because he found himself in a shitty situation and didn't have a support group to fall back on.
We say things like "Oh, it's so tragic" and "I wish he had gotten help instead," but rarely do we say "I'm going to be that help for someone in my life" and "I'm going to do something to try and make my world a less pessimistic, crappy place."
A silly show isn't what's rotten here, but something much more embedded in our society and the all-or-nothing, "no mistakes allowed" way it operates.
We say things like "Oh, it's so tragic" and "I wish he had gotten help instead," but rarely do we say "I'm going to be that help for someone in my life" and "I'm going to do something to try and make my world a less pessimistic, crappy place."
A silly show isn't what's rotten here, but something much more embedded in our society and the all-or-nothing, "no mistakes allowed" way it operates.
Moose Biscuits
It would be extreamly painful...
This is very true. It's easy to say that kind of thing, much more difficult to provide that kind of support. Words are cheap, so cheap as to be almost valueless.
Similar threads
- Locked