Netflix Is Being Pressured To Cancel ’13 Reasons Why’
Streaming giant Netflix has come under fire after 13 Reasons Why’s final episode in the second season depicts a graphic male rape scene that many critics have labeled as harmful. The Parents Television Council in the USA has urged Netflix to remove the show.
The show is based on the 2007 best-selling novel Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, and deals with multiple topics including school shootings, addiction, and sexual assault. In the controversial episode, Tyler is in the bathroom when Monty – a bully – comes in. Monty proceeds to rape Tyler, and the scene implies that this action convinces Tyler to carry out a school shooting.
The Parents Television Council has called for Netflix to cancel the show “because of its potential to harm teens and children” due to the “potentially harmful content” depicted in the show. Tim Winter, the president of Parents Television Council said:
“Netflix has delivered a ticking time bomb to teens and children who watch 13 Reasons Why. The content and thematic elements of the second season are even worse than we expected. We would have liked to have 13 reasons for hope and redemption following the graphic suicide of the lead female teen character, but rather than providing a path forward, the season only provides cause for despondency”
The show’s creator – Brian Yorkey – responded, saying
“We fully understand that that means some of the scenes in the show will be difficult to watch. I think Netflix has helped provide viewers with lots of resources for understanding that this may not be the show for everybody, and also resources for people who do watch it and are troubled and need help. But the fact is that, as intense as that scene is, and as strong as the reactions to it may be, it doesn’t even come close to the pain experienced by the people who actually go through these things.“
13 Reasons Why’s executive producer, Mandy Teefey, also defended the content of the show; “I feel that we gave it as a platform and a tool to be [able for parents and kids to have a] dialogue. The fact that we’re talking about it and that it was so talked about, that was our goal.” When Teefey was asked about the rape scene specifically, she added “I would just suggest that they Google the news. There’s nothing that anybody ever has put or had the desire in our group to make anything gratuitous or shock value.”
