Everyones talking about it. The newest Netflix show to hit the headlines. But Im so confused…
Maybe im supposed to be confused? Because mental health can’t be placed under specific actions or words. It can’t always be specifically categorised…
But we didn’t really get to see Hannahs side of the story, not really. We heard her tapes, we listened as she said what she wanted to say.
But what about the days in which her depression stopped her from wanting to be near another human being? The days she couldn’t even be bothered to wash? Face the world? The days where she begged for help and not because she wanted to get back at someone? We never saw them…
I feel like we missed all that because the story line was too caught up on her revenge plan. Is this a missed opportunity for society to really see what depression and mental illness is really like?
Of course the series is calling at a younger target audience, so maybe it’d be too much to see, maybe the show wouldn’t be seen by such a huge audience if the reality of it all was actually shown? But surely we need to start showing younger people, making them aware of what may hit them at any point of any day? Because god knows, we dont do that enough. I remember sex ed in school, but I dont remember being told that one day you may wake up numb? One day you may not be able to catch your breath, because your anxious, worried about everything. The world is closing in on you. That is called a panic attack to anyone who isn’t aware. But how would you know?
But is it upto producers? Directors? Film makers? Maybe its upto everyone…
As critical as I am of the show, I think its great… It kept you watching, it made you care, it made you think.
That’s important here, this thinking, this discussion that has followed the shows release has allowed us to see that our actions and words do have consequences… That they can lead to the death of another. Its made us atleast question what we say to others, how other people are really feeling. So does it matter that it may not be a true depiction of someone’s battle with depression?
By the end of the show, I was mad at Hannah. I dont know if I was supposed to be feel that. I was mad because she’d done the same thing to everyone else as they did to her, even when she knew how it felt. In my experience when youve been through something so tragic, it makes you more understanding. But then Im only one person.. Everyone feels and experiences things differently.
I was mad that they felt the need for another suicide (attempted). I felt like Hannah was losing her protagonist role by the end of the film. But then again, why should her words go without consequences?
To be honest, im still not sure what to make of any of it, ive been left after binge watching the rest of the series yesterday with so many questions, so many thoughts… But then I guess that’s mental health and sometimes we just dont know how it is truly affecting someone.
Just think before you speak, because you never know what’s going on behind closed doors.
Just another blogger 