Taking into account the negative feedback ’13 Reasons Why’ season 1 finale received two years ago for depicting a suicide scene, Netflix, streaming platform for the series has edited out the said controversial scene.
The deleted part features Katherine Langford, who plays the fictional character Hannah, commit suicide in a bathtub. After its airing years back, several organizations including the National Association of School Psychologists raised conversations on the scene on the basis that it could romanticize suicide for vulnerable teens.
Preparing to launch season 3, Netflix has released an official statement stating that it has erased all graphics relating to the suicide moment of Hannah. The statement read, “We’ve heard from many young people that ’13 Reasons Why’ encouraged them to raise conversations about difficult issues like depression and suicide and get help often for the first time. As we prepare to launch season three later this summer, we’ve been mindful about the ongoing debate around the show. On the advice of medical experts, including Dr. Christine Moutier, chief medical officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention we’ve decided with creator Brian Yorkey and the producers to edit the scene in which Hannah takes her own life from season one.”
The edited version now available on Netflix, shows Hannah looking at herself in the mirror full of emotions. It then cuts straight to her parents finding her body in the bathtub and reacting to her death. The original version of the 3 minutes suicide scene pictured Hannah cutting her wrist with a razor blade as she is seated in the bathtub, before the appearance of her parents, which the new version only shows.
Centered around the suicide of fictional teen Hannah Baker, show runners have created a website handle ’13reasonswhy.info’ flooded with resources about suicide prevention. It contains videos of cast members discussing topics such as bullying, consent, depression and how to talk with a teen about the series.
Several suicide prevention advocates and organizations including American Association of Suicidology, American Foundation For Suicide Prevention, Dr. Helen Hsu from Stanford, Mental Health America and others, have responded positively in a joint penned statement to The Hollywood Reporter, saying, “We support the decision to edit the scene in which Hannah takes her own life from ’13 Reasons Why’. There has been much debate about the series in the medical community. But this positive change will ensure that ’13 Reasons Why’ continues to encourage open conversation about mental health and suicide prevention, while also mitigating the risk for the most vulnerable teenage viewers.”
