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Tag: 13 Reasons Why

All the latest breaking news on the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. Browse THEGAYUK’s complete collection of news, articles and commentary on 13 Reasons Why.

  • I nearly tapped out of the latest season of 13 Reasons Why, but I’m glad I didn’t

    I nearly tapped out of the latest season of 13 Reasons Why, but I’m glad I didn’t

    13 REASONS WHY

    If you watch 13 Reasons Why you’ll know it’s a tough watch. I don’t know any other drama, let alone a supposed teen drama, that manages to squeeze in so many hard-hitting subjects but which rarely get so little air-time.

    It’s hard to forget that in a world with “big news” like Donald Trump, Brexit and now, Conservative-majority rule for the UK for the foreseeable future, that’s it’s the smaller stories, the personal stories that really rule our lives and these are the stories that make 13 Reasons Why a hard, gruelling but necessary watch.

    I nearly tapped out of season 3. I just couldn’t follow jumps between timelines (i think there are three maybe four… I’m a little foggy on that) and the introduction of a new character, Ani, was a little jarring. In fact, I watched the first two episodes and switched it off and left it for a few weeks.

    But it lingered there. In the recesses of my mind. I wanted to know.

    The season focuses on rebuilding lives after so much is destroyed in the previous 2 series and it packs a punch, it also contains some of the most emotional, heart-breaking acting I’ve ever seen on screen. Not from the main characters Clay (Dylan Minette) and Ani (Grace Saif), although they both pull in a solid performance, the real powerhouse deliveries come from rape survivors, Jessica (Alisha Boe) and Tyler (Devin Druid). Devin is good, actually beyond good. I think we’re looking at one of his generation’s finest actors.

    13 Reasons Why season three is a slow cook drama, it takes around 4 or 5 episodes to really get going, but when it does, oh man does it hurt.

    Stick with it. Don’t close it down because it’s too difficult to watch or too harrowing to hear. Let’s, as Jessica says, hear these stories.

  • 13 Reasons Why: Behind The Scenes Photos

    Here’s an inside look at how they made 13 Reasons Why

    Behind The scenes at 13 Reasons Why season 1
    Behind The scenes at 13 Reasons Why season 1

    Based on the best-selling books by Jay Asher, 13 Reasons Why follows teenager Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette) as he returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch.

    Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker—his classmate and crush—who tragically committed suicide two weeks earlier. On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Will Clay be one of them? If he listens, he’ll find out how he made the list. Through Hannah and Clay’s dual narratives, 13 Reasons Why weaves an intricate and heart-wrenching story of teenage life that will deeply affect viewers.

     

    The cast of 13 Reasons Why gather on set. (Left to Right) Selena Gomez, Tommy Dorfman, Steven Silver, Michele Ang, and Dylan Minnette

    Newcomer Katherine Langford talks with Director Tom McCarthy who directed two episodes of the first series.

     

    Star Dylan Minnette is directed by Tom McCarty.

     

    Katherine talks character with Tom McCarthy.

     

    Tom McCarthy directs Dylan and Ajiona Alexus in the hallway of the school. The shoot happened in the halls of a real school in northern California until the end of holidays. When a replica was created on a soundstage.

     

    Tom McCarthy talks to Alisha Boe and Brandon Flynn. Brandon came out shortly after the TV series debuted on Netflix.

     

    Director Tom McCarthy talks with Dylan Minnette. Some of the shoots were conducted in the dead of night in order to get as much done as possible. Actors from the show have spoken about having 4 AM shoots.

    The show also used female directors too. Here Director Helen Shaver talks to Dylan Minnette.

    Miles Heizer shoots in the hallways in episode 3. Every scene takes hours to shoot. Directors will want to get action from many different angles including long shots as well as closer more intimate mid and close shots.

    Director Kyle Patrick Alvarez talks with Dylan Minnette and Ajiona Alexus.

    Christian Navarro in episode 5.

    Director Gregg Araki and Steven Silver.

    Katherine Langford, Ross Butler

    Tommy Dorfman, who also came out during the production of 13 Reasons Why, being shot by the crew.

    Shooting out in the open, brings its own pressures and problems, here in Episode 10 Dylan Minnette and Miles Heizer is directed by Carl Franklin. During outdoor shoots, shadows and lighting conditions are constantly changing so a crew must work quickly to get the scene for continuity’s sake.

    The crew of episode 10, directed by Carl Franklin overlook the production.

    Derek Luke in Episode 11.

  • TV star, Brandon Flynn comes out

    13 Reasons Why actor, Brandon Flynn has come out in an emotional Instagram post.

    The actor, who is most notable for his character, Justin Foley in the hit Netflix series, 13 Reason Why just came out in an Instagram post aimed at those who are against same-sex marriage in Australia. The Australian actor, who is 23,  was spurred on to come out following the No vote campaigns currently active in Australia.

    One such message was a “vote no” message which was written in the sky. Although the star didn’t specifically mention whether he identified as gay or bisexual, he did include himself within the LGBT+ community in his passionate message.

    He wrote,

    “Just saw the “vote no” message in the sky, looming over Sydney.

    “Thank you for raising money and hiring on a plane to write your lack of support amongst the clouds. I hope your hate and lack of understanding fades, just like those words will.

    Brandon Flynn talked passionately about the stigma that many in the LGBT+ community faces.

    He continued,

    “Too many of my friends have been kicked out of their homes, kept in the closet, beat up, killed, ridiculed by church and state, institutionalized… and you are scared that if we vote YES, you won’t be able to show your hate for Us. Fu*k that.

    “We’ve been scared sh*tless our whole lives thanks to all the stigmas that surround Us, stigmas that were set in place by the same kind of people who flew that plane over Sydney.

    “We’ve fought, we’ve come out bravely even in our fear, and you wrote a message in the sky because you’re scared. Equality takes courage, it worries me that too many people in this world lack the balls to stand up for what is right.

    Brandon isn’t the first gay cast member from 13 Reasons Why – his co-star Tommy Dorfman also came out as gay.

    You can catch up with 13 Reasons Why on Netflix now.

  • COMMENT | 13 Reasons Why, we need more Saved By The Bell for our mental health

    As I write this I have just realised how long it has been since I have written an article or a proper story. How long it has been since I felt really okay and that I might have suffered a PTSD related setback. Why has this happened I wonder: I felt so good a few weeks ago. Then I realise it started with watching a new Netflix series called 13 Reasons Why.

    Revolving around a young girl’s suicide the series claims to be a show to get people talking about teen suicide, bullying, sexual assault and a  cautionary tale about the signs of suicidal behaviour and how much a person can handle.

    I watched it out of curiosity and in my capacity as a psychologist. Immediately after the first episode, I started feeling a bit odd. You see, I suffered from bullying, mental health issues and sexual abuse, so the series hit an immediate trigger. I should have stopped there and then, but for some reason, the series had taken hold of me, even if I could bear no more than one episode a day.

    Soon I was triggered to the point of thinking over past events and painful memories for several hours a day. I couldn’t really work or concentrate, I was just thinking about myself, my traumas the lost years, the bullying. I began doubting any accomplishments I had made and mentally started dragging myself down. It was as if Hannah was taking me with her in her fall.

    By the end of the series I was relieved it was over, and the documentary with warnings and support did little to alleviate the turmoil I was suffering.

    I am not the only one, one journalist said,

    “I can’t stop thinking about it and I really don’t want to. Because what I saw was more disturbing than any horror film imaginable.”

    It is sad that something starting out as wanting to help teens suffering has got it so wrong and might cause more suffering in the end.

    Having undergone the experience I applaud everyone who warns kids against watching it. I am a grown woman reliving trauma because of a story created for teens. This show had me out of kilter for weeks on end. How must it be to watch this when you are still living it? Dangerous, that is all I can say. It is bizarre that this show was created to warn against suicide when at the same time making it seem as the only option. The fact that it was announced that there is a second season.

    The show shows extreme victim blaming and suicide as a payback, as finally taking control, not as the end result of months of mental pain. Suicide is not about control, not about revenge: it is someone thinking everyone’s life will be better without them. It is usually done as a spur of the moment decision to end the pain, not a planned out ritual.

    Aside from the traumas 13 Reasons Why evoked and the glorifying of suicide and self-harm, the one that galled me the most was the character of Courtney and storyline in the show. As someone who has struggled with their sexuality for a very long time, seeing the lesbian character portrayed the way she was on this show was upsetting by itself. Compared to the male gay characters (one is a sweet good guy, the other has flaws but tries to do right near the end) she has no redeeming features at all. She was not even granted a scene of remorse at the end. Being a lesbian seems to be so bad that she prefers to protect a known rapist rather than face being outed. With such a lack of young lesbian role models on TV and in movies is this really what should be presented? For some reason being a lesbian is seen as problematic for many young women and girls these days and the impact this show has right now can only make this worse. Having Courtney show regret and sharing in her coming out would have lifted at least some of the problematic content displayed in this storyline.

    Mental health officials and many celebrities have now warned against the show and I agree with them. It is triggering and can cause many mental problems.

    Paris Jackson, who tried to take her own life in 2013, has also spoken out, calling the show ‘extremely triggering’ for young people ‘in a dark place’.

    While actress Shannon Purser says: “I would advise against watching 13 Reasons Why if you currently struggle with suicidal thoughts or self-harm/have undergone sexual assault.”

    Meanwhile, the National Association of School Psychologists took a clear stance, insisting the show is dangerous for young people.

    “We do not recommend that vulnerable youth, especially those who have any degree of suicidal ideation, watch this series,” the board said in a statement.

    At the same time, several Canadian schools have sent out warnings about 13 Reasons Why and one is telling students to not talk about it at all while at school.

    I, on the whole, agree with this message. If you are open to it, the show can do strange things to your mental well-being. Teenagers are very susceptible and besides the fact that young people are suffering bullying and abuse on an extremely large and dangerous scale these days, there is also the internet. Online teens can both wallow in dark places where suicide, pain, mental health issues and self-harm are seen as glamorous and also experience more bullying. If this series is added to this never ending tsunami of darkness the suicide can all to easily be copied.

    What teens need, now more than ever, is soothing storytelling. ’90’s TV shows like Blossom and Full House and Saved By The Bell might often be berated as soft and fluffy but series like those are what got me through the darkness in my childhood. When I was at my lowest these series were like a warm embrace, telling me things would be all right even if something went wrong. (In fact, marathoning both Full and Fuller House are what are getting me out of my depression now.) I know all too well how a young mind can be influenced by dark and tragic tales and had a series like 13 Reasons Why existed when I was young things might not have worked out so well for me. I hope that we will soon see an end to all the dark and “realistic” shows teenagers and young adults are fed these days.

    Now more than ever we need “soft and fluffy”, we need to be told that “it will be alright” as our reality is dark enough as it is.

     

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