Bullying and sexual violence:

As almost every episode of 13 Reasons Why deals with the topic of bullying or sexual violence, we want to investigate whether the representation of these topics is realistic. Hannah is bullied for the first time in season 1 episode 1. Justin, who she went on a date with, sends around a picture of her sliding a slide. In the picture her skirt is blown up, and her underwear, as well as certain body parts, are exposed. While in class, everyone around Hannah starts looking at her and makes jokes about the picture. In season 1 episode 3, Hannah’s and other girls’ body parts are rated on a list which is handed around in class. This list then leads to bullying in form of whispering behind Hannah’s back, other girls exchanging glances when Hannah is around and the boys making jokes or start laughing when she walks along the school hall. Hannah is even sexually harassed by one of her schoolmates. Another scene of bullying and sexual violence is shown in season 2 episode 13. In this scene Tyler, a boy who has been bullied a lot in school, is raped by three of his classmates. As already mentioned, these are only three scenes, but there are many more that depict bullying, violence and sexual violence in school.

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A lot of research has been done on the topic of bullying in general. The National Center for Education Statistics published the data collected by the National Crime Victimization survey which found out that about 20 % of students between 12 and 18 years old reported being bullied in the last school year. Generally, girls are more often bullied than boys. 13 % of the surveyed students reported that they were insulted, made fun of or laughed at and 5 % said they were even violently attacked by pushing, shoving or spitting on them. Regarding sexual assault the Youth Risk Behavior Survey from 2017 found out that 7.4% of high school students had ever been forced to have sex. Of these 3.5% were male and 11.3% were female. The effect bullying has on students was also investigated and it was found out that bullying has a negative effect on 27 % of the students, as it influences their school work, their relationships to friends and family as well as their physical health. The report ‘Bullying surveillance among youths’ from 2014 reports that many bullying victims have problems with a feeling of low self-esteem, isolation as well as psychosomatic and mental health issues such as depression, suicidal thoughts and anxiety. In 13 Reasons Why it is emphasized that bullying is one of the main reasons for Hannah Baker’s suicide. However, the brochure “The relationship between bullying and suicide” published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention underlines that  the relationship between bullying and suicide is rather complex and therefore often oversimplified in many media reports. As mentioned above, persistent bullying can worsen negative feelings of anxiety and self-hate, but it is also empirically proven that most bullying victims do not show suicidal behavior. According to the Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance report from 2017, 7.4 % of all students nationwide had attempted to commit suicide one or more times in the 12 months before the survey.

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 These statistics and our interview show that bullying, violence, sexual assault and suicides among youths are probably more common than one might think, but it seems like the series 13 Reasons Why exaggerates the topics, as it is relatively unrealistic to have some many of these incidences at the same time at one school.  

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Sports teams:

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Varsity jackets:

Another aspect of 13 Reasons Why which surprised us were the sport teams, which play an important role in the series. In season 1 episode 13 the basketball players all wear woolen jackets with leather arms (varsity jackets) and letters at the front.  We asked ourselves why they are worn, what importance they have for American high school students and whether it is realistic for sport team members to wear these.

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According to the website menwit.com these jackets are usually made of two colours, mostly official high school or college colours. At the front there are one or two letters which are the initials of the school or college and the student’s name and the name or symbol of the activity are also written on the jacket. Not much academic research has been done on varsity jackets, also called Letterman jackets. However, the text written by Karen Harris on the website History Daily provides an interesting overview about the history of varsity jackets and their usage today. The first Letterman jackets were invented by coaches of Harvard’s Baseball team in 1865, since they wanted to reward their best players and acknowledge their hard work and athletic skills. This reward system raised the other players’ motivation, as everyone wanted to wear a Letterman jacket. In the 1950’s the Letterman jackets became a fashion trend for both boys and girls. Since 1972 girls were allowed to have varsity jackets of their own, after Congress passed a law which prohibited discrimination against female athletes and sports. Today, Letterman jackets are still very popular and often worn in high school and college. However, varsity jackets are no longer reserved for athletic achievements, but they can be earned in any subject a student shows excellence in, as for instance in choir, arts, robotics, and many more. During our interview we found out that students also have to participate a whole season in order to gain one of those popular jackets.

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Sports seasons:

While watching the series we noticed that the students participate in different sports teams. In season 3 episode 2, some of the students, who played Baseball before are now playing Football. So, we wondered if it is realistic and possible for students to participate in different sports teams. The blog entry by Dora Seigel on the website prepscholar.com provides a good overview regarding high school sports and the sports seasons. We also looked at the California interscholastic federation website, which is the governing body for high school sports in California, where the series is supposed to be set. The research showed that there are different sports seasons such as fall sports, which take place from August to November continuing with winter sports from November to February and spring sports from February to May. During summer there are usually no sports offered since they have long summer holidays, but this can depend on the state and the high school, as our interview partner mentioned sports in summer. During each season other sports activities are offered. Which sport is offered strongly depends on the high school and the state as some states just do not have the required  premises, as for instance snow for winter sports or the sea for water sports. However, there are some sports which are always offered in one specific seasons. For instance football is always offered in fall, Basketball in winter and Baseball in spring. These are also the sports that are shown in the series.

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The research and the interview have shown that the representation of high school sports teams, varsity jackets and sports seasons seem to be accurately portrayed in the series.

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School counseling in the United States:

The series also shows the significance of “school counselors”: therapists who are supposed to help students with difficulties of any kind, no matter if it is related to bullying, abuse, or personal issues they would like to discuss. German schools typically do not have school counselors; however, it seems to be common in the US. But what exactly is behind the counseling in US high schools? 

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First of all, it is interesting to describe and analyze two specific parts in the series. The first one takes place in season 1 episode 13, so the last episode of the first season. It shows how Clay is waiting in front of the counselor’s office. He asks if they can talk and Mr. Porter, the counselor, agrees. Then there is a back and forth between the conversation Clay has with the counselor and a throwback to a conversation between Mr. Porter and Hannah the day she died. He asks about their feelings and asks a lot of questions in general, very much like a therapist. He offers tissues, and more importantly: space and time to talk freely. The room they are in is an office and the counselor has his own phone and can schedule appointments. He also says that he is not allowed to tell anyone what happens in the room, except for a serious enough issue, such as criminal actions or self-threatening behavior, because if medical treatment is required, he needs to tell the parents or the police. The second part is in season 2 episode 9 and it focuses on a court session in order to figure out who is to blame for Hannah’s death. Mr. Porter then says that he has to keep a schedule book to see who visits him and that there is a handbook for counselors and their protocols. He has to follow that protocol and basically ask the students who visit him lots of questions and offer them help. These two scenes make the role of counselors in the US look very important. The fact that they have their own office and you can schedule appointments or just drop by shows that apparently these counselors are used a lot and students actually take advantage of them. They have a clear schedule on how they have to act when a student asks for help and they are the go-to person when having issues of any sort. In general, one can say that throughout the entire series, Mr. Porter functions as a support figure for all the students and several conversations with him and students are shown, in which he tries to give them advice and help them out in different situations. After assessing these facts, one might wonder if the way school counselors are portrayed in 13 Reasons Why is actually accurate and if they really have such a big importance in the student’s life.  

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School counselors, in fact, are as important as they seem to be in the show: According to the website schoolcounselor.org, high school is the final transition into adulthood and the world of work, so there is a lot of confusion going on in a student’s mind and they are trying to figure out who they are and what they want to do. High school counselors therefore exist in order to offer guidance and they are educators who are trained in child and adolescent development, so they can understand the students better and offer appropriate help. They function as a support system for the students (www.schoolcounselor.org). They exist in order to make learning a positive experience for every student and facilitate communication among teachers, parents, and students (education.stateuniversity.com). Formal guidance programs that used specific textbooks started in the 20th century already, and the ASCA (American School Counselor Association) developed a national standard for school counseling programs, which define the responsibilities and how important they are for the overall educational development (education.stateuniversity.com). Furthermore, the responsibilities are different for each school level, which means there are differences between elementary school, middle school, and high school. According to the article, the counselors can help with different topics, such as teen pregnancy, thoughts about dropping out, substance abuse, school violence or child abuse. The counselors function as a support system and this goes along well with what Mr. Porter says in season 2 episode 4: “I just wanna make sure we keep my kids safe.”, which implies that he really cares about the students’ wellbeing by calling them “his” kids and wanting to make sure that they are all safe. He, as a counselor, cares about them and wants to support them whenever help is required. 

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To conclude, it is noticeable that the significance of counselors in the text seem to align with what the sources indicate. In the series, as well as in reality, counselors are supposed to help students to find their way. In the series, the counselor had a huge effect on the student’s decision – in a negative way. That just shows how big of an influence counselors have on the students, usually more positively, though. 

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Gun shootings in US High Schools:

The series does not just focus on bullying and abuse, but also portrays a young man in his decision to shoot his classmates – and why he ended up not doing so. Unfortunately, school shootings happen in the US and people always wonder why and if they can be prevented. The series shows how a lot of anger is built up which leads to an inner escalation – but how accurate is this representation? 

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In season two episode four, Tyler shows his friend real guns and they go out in the forest to practice shooting. He knows how to handle guns and explains his friend how to use them as well. Tyler generally gets bullied quite a lot, but the worst moment is in the last episode of season two when he is sexually assaulted by the school bullies and is left crying and bleeding on the bathroom floor. His mother asked how the first day back in school was and he says everything was fine, as he is covering his scars from the morning. He then notices he is still bleeding and decides to go to the basement where he is hiding a whole box of guns and other equipment. Tyler then decides to go to the school dance and pulls out a gun – he is about to shoot his classmates. The depiction of that scene is very emotional, and it makes the audience realize that there is a lot of anger inside of Tyler that he wants to let out, which leads to that event. According to the series, guns are easily accessible, and they can just go to the forest with a few guns – as high school students – and start shooting at random objects. When the others find out what Tyler is about to do, they try to stop him and calm him down and that is why he eventually decides not to do it. “The next time someone is in desperate need and they are about to make a terrible mistake, what do we do?” (season 2, episode 13, 1:01:49) is a sentence that makes the audience wonder if the situation could have been prevented – maybe by preventing bullying and not letting students become outsiders and give in to their anger.  

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As of September 25, 2019, there were 533 K-12 school shootings in the United States, with 110 school shootings just in 2018 (statistica.com). This shows that this is a major issue the United States struggles with. There are several reasons for school shootings, according to Alfred University in New York. Among the top reasons are revenge, so the desire to take revenge on those who have hurt the shooters. This is related to bullying of course, since other kids making fun of them or bullying them in any way can lead to violent thoughts. This was also the case in 13 Reasons Why, since Tyler got bullied a lot and wanted to take revenge. Another reason according to Alfred University is physical abuse at home, which, in return, can cause violence in school. Another important factor mentioned is easy access to guns. This can be seen in the scene where Tyler and his friend go shooting in the forest – why and how does a teenager have access to guns like that? This seems to be a major problem in the US, mainly caused by the gun laws, but that is a different topic and not the main priority of the problem in the series. According to Katherine Newman and Cybelle Fox, there are five main factors that influence school shootings: social marginality (which means being excluded from the other kids – outsiders), individual predisposing factors (may include genetics or life events), cultural scripts (we all have internal ‘scripts’ for how we act in certain situations), failure of the surveillance system (in terms of security), and availability of guns. Often a serious mental illness is involved in the process. This goes along with how Tyler is represented in the series and why he decides to take a gun to the school dance. The source states that these shootings usually happen in ‘public’, so the school itself or a school-related function. Moreover, the shooters are a current or former student of the school, and there are usually multiple victims or at least multiple targets. Some victims are specifically chosen (for example those who bullied the victim), and others are chosen because of their function (principal, sports teams).  

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To conclude, it is to say that school shootings are a severe problem in the US, that can be caused by several different factors, including the school environment, access, and mental illnesses. The series 13 Reasons Why portrays a young man who does not see another option and considers shooting his classmates – school shootings in the US are dangerous and a current problem that needs to be addressed. 

 

Conclusion: 

To come to a conclusion, we think that the series is a pretty good representation of American High Schools and the specific topics discussed. Nevertheless, the series exaggerates particular situations and dramatizes them. We think the reason for that is mainly to raise awareness of topics like bullying or school shootings and show the audience that this is a real issue and needs to be addressed and focused on more nowadays. It is a little unrealistic that all these situations happen at the same school at the same time, but it is something that can definitely happen at any school, at any time, and therefore a great way to make the audience aware of the grievances. All in all, the series 13 Reasons Why can be seen as a good representation of high schools in the United States. 

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List of references:

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“A Detailed Explanation of the Letterman Jacket Design With Diagrams.” Men Wit, 7 Aug. 2009, menwit.com/letterman-jacket-design.

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California Interscholastic Federation, www.cifstate.org/landing/index.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention et al., “The Relationship between Bullying and Suicide: What We Know and What it Means for Schools.” April 2014. www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/bullying-suicide-translation-final-a.pdf.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Youth Risk Behavior Survey.” www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/trendsreport.pdf, p. 40.

 

CHDS. "Number of K-12 School Shootings in The United States from 1970 to September 25, 2019." Statista, Statista Inc., 25 Sep 2019, www.statista.com/statistics/971473/number-k-12-school-shootings-us/ 

 

"Executive Summary | Alfred University".  www.Alfred.edu, 2019, www.alfred.edu/about/news/studies/lethal-school-violence/executive-summary.cfm. 

 

"Guidance And School Counseling - A Brief History Of School Guidance And Counseling In The United States". Education.Stateuniversity.Com, 2019, education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2023/Guidance-Counseling-School.html. 

 

Harris, Karen. “Letter Perfect: The History of Varsity Jackets.” History Daily, 15 July 2019, historydaily.org/letter-perfect-the-history-of-varsity-jackets.

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National Center for Education Statistics, “Indicator 10: Bullying at School and Electronic Bullying”, April 2019. nces.ed.gov/programs/crimeindicators/ind_10.asp.

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National Center for Injury Prevention and Control et al., “Bullying Surveillance Among Youths. Uniform Definitions For Public Health an Recommended Data Elements.” 2014. www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/bullying-definitions-final-a.pdf.

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"Repeat Tragedy: Rampage Shootings In American High School And College Settings, 2002-2008 - Katherine Newman, Cybelle Fox, 2009". SAGE Journals, 2019, journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0002764209332546. 

 

Schoolcounselor.Org, 2019, www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Careers-Roles/WhyHighSchool.pdf. 

 

Seigel, Dora. "Complete List of High School Sports: How to Pick.” Prepscholar, 25 December 2015, blog.prepscholar.com/complete-list-of-high-school-sports. 

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13 Reasons Why episodes:

“Bye.” Thirteen Reasons Why, season 2, episode 13, Netflix, 18 May 2018.

“If you’re breathing, you’re a liar.” Thirteen Reasons Why, season 3, episode 2, Netflix, 23 August 2019.

“Tape 1. Side A.” Thirteen Reasons Why, season 1, episode 1, Netflix, 31 March 2017.

“Tape 2. Side A.” Thirteen Reasons Why, season 1, episode 3, Netflix, 31 March 2017.

“Tape 7. Side A.” Thirteen Reasons Why, season 1, episode 13, Netflix, 31 March 2017.

 “The second Polaroid.” Thirteen Reasons Why. Season 2, episode 4. Netflix, 18. May 2018. 

“The missing page.” Thirteen Reasons Why. Season 2, episode 9. Netflix, 18. May 2018. 

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