Facts About 13 Reasons Why:
13 Reasons Why is a very controversial show which managed to raise a lot of eyebrows when it first came out in 2017. The show managed to shed a lot of light on sensitive issues that disrupt society. This needed to be done as people across the world are suffering and it is about time, we do something about it.
#1: Inspiration behind the story
13 Reasons why is based on the book by Jay Asher of the same name and he was inspired to write the book when a family member tried to commit suicide. Some of the events that happened to Hannah are inspired by real-life events. Jay Asher also interviewed his wife and female colleagues and asked them about the hardships they had to face in their lives.
#2: The Shooting of the show was very difficult
The series involves many difficult issues including depression, suicide, and sexual assault, bullying, shooting, etc. which made the atmosphere very gloomy and heavy. So, to release their stress the makers of the show had therapy dogs visit the sets. They even had a Puppy per hour session to lighten the atmosphere.
#3: Selena Gomez is the producer of the show
In 2012, Selena Gomez was selected for the role of Hannah and it was supposed to be a feature-length movie. But due to multiple delays, Selena had grown too old for the role. So, she decided to join as an Executive Producer instead, along with her mother Mandy Teefey and brought the book to producing company Anonymous Content for a screen adaptation.
#4: The Book only deals in the past
To make the story more dramatic and impactful the makers of the show tweaked the story a bit. While the series contains many character interactions in the present, the book does not. The book mostly deals in the past and the sole reason Clay Jensen had the scar on his head was so you could know whether you were seeing the past or the present.
#5: The names of the characters are symbolic
The show is very symbolic and there are some things in the show which some of you might have missed. In the story, their names are symbolic as “Clay” will continue to be reshaped in many ways. By telling her story Hannah Baker, “bakes” Clay into the person he becomes. Clay’s last name is Jensen, and Jensen is a brand of a cassette player and as we all know the show revolves around listening to cassette players.
#6: They went for a darker ending
In the original drafts of the book, the creator, Jay Asher thought about Hannah surviving the suicide but he decided to change his mind at the end as a darker ending had more of an impact, and would also help raise awareness for Suicide.
#7: They made Hannah’s death Bloody
In the Book, Hannah commits suicide by overdosing on pills. The screenplay writers thought that killing her off like this would not leave much of an impact so they decided to make her death violent. In the show she got into a tub, fully clothed and then slit her wrists, ultimately bleeding to her death. The crew wanted to send a clear and strong message about Suicide prevention.
#8: LGBTQ inclusion
The makers made a lot of changes to the original story, and they took a lot of liberties. They made the character of Tony, played by Christian Navarro, and Courtney’s (Michele Selene Ang) parents, gay, to associate with the LGBTQ community and it was not at all surprising as this is now slowly becoming Netflix’s trademark.
#9: Tweaking the Colour palette
Not many of you must have noticed this detail. The show makers intentionally tweaked the colour palette of the show. The scenes that take place before Hannah’s suicide tend to have a warm colour palette and the scenes that occur after her suicide are cooler in tone.
#10: The show got into a lot of Controversies
Many people around the world berated the show as they said that the show was promoting suicide, rather than sending a message about preventing suicide. They claimed that the show was glamorizing suicide. Apart from this, Timothy Granaderos, the actor who played Monty received death threats after his character committed a horrendous sexual assault on Tyler Down.
