'Bullying' has become a major topic in schools these days and I definitely agree that the show is focusing on that topic. I think that we are seeing how the conversation around bullying is complicated. It's not as simple as "Student X bullied Student Y. Student Y feels bad." If it was that simple, the show wouldn't have been nearly as popular. If it would have devolved into one of the typical MTV teen movies with clear antagonists being mean to a social outcast.

If I was forced to give a hard yes/no answer to the question "Did bullying cause Hannah to kill herself?" (without a chance to consider the true complexity) I would say no. Bryce is the only clear antagonist. His rapes were straight up crimes, I wouldn't put them in the category of 'bullying' as it is currently construed in modern terminology.



This, to me, is the more perfect description of what the show focuses on. The actions that we may or may not consider bullying (again, the conversation is complicated) are affecting teenagers greatly. That's what the show is really digging into. When Hannah threw Clay out of the bedroom, she was arguably the perpetrator of that crime but it still made her feel gut-wrenchingly awful about herself.

This post was edited by Kayeto on Jul 28 2017 11:28am

agree with everything you said.

Thank you for understanding the messages of the show.


I posted this a while ago:



Obviously the last two are the tipping points. As she was narrating during her rape scene, she had given up that point, there was no fight left in her.




Now the challenging part is, after teens (or even adults) watch this, will they change the way they treat people?

This post was edited by stupidkid282 on Jul 28 2017 11:41am

People have too much time...

No, you don't "go deeper" you decided that the show was about x thing for some insane reason and refuse to see reason even in the face of the showrunners own words. In fact I would say if you think the show is about bullying then you probably only watched one or two episodes. So much of the show isn't bullying, yet it still lead to her suicide.

As I said, every aspect of 'bullyinv' was completely skimmed over and stupidly unrealistic because it wasn't the focus.

As the show runner said, it is anti-suicide and trying to show that ALL actions have consequences (including but not limited to bullying).

I'll say it again, thinking that the show is only about bullying is very very very simple surface level crap and a sign you didn't even watch the show, or you did watch it but you are too stupid to understand the very basic and blatantly obvious message.

Well I gotta say, I disagree with the showrunner.

The suicide and the tapes was a plot device that allowed the show to have a coherent structure. Without it, it would have been merely a series of vignettes showing what a girl had to deal with in school. But the bulk of the screentime was devoted to the experiences of the kids before and after the suicide.

To me, saying that 13RW is about suicide would like saying that LOTR is about destroying the One Ring. Obviously that's the overarching plot that Frodo's journey takes place in, but the story isn't really about that. It's really about what Frodo learns about the world and all the people in it after venturing out of the comfort of the shire for the first time.

Bullying was a very small part of the show.

I mean look at his own quote, I'll bold everything that isn't bullying.



The fact that his own list proves my point and he still refuses to agree with me is absurd.

*I bolded the list thing because the list didn't matter(even Hannah didn't give a fuck about it), what matters is her best friend broke up with her over it

You have an opinion that is different than mine.


My list is about everything "negative" leading up to her death. If you look back in the earlier posts, you'll notice that.

being sexually harassed it a form of bullying......Not to mention that this show isn't just about Hannah. This show is also about all the other characters and bullying HEAVILY exists elsewhere.
Like i said countless times.....the show is about harassment and bullying.......suicide is the result. It's not that hard to understand. the "show runner" says its about suicide because that's the more sensitive topic. People don't commit suicide unless "something" is wrong. We as a society don't give two shits about suicide, we care about what causes suicide and how we can help prevent it. We are agreeing with each other, but you don't seem to get it.

I've watched this show twice through already, and provided the most feedback in this thread. It's moronic of you to think that I haven't watched it. Also, I NEVER said this show is ONLY about bullying.....

This show isn't about how to prevent suicide either, instead they showed cause and effect.

If the show was more about preventing suicide, I don't think it would have been as "dark," it would have focused on treatments and various outlets of getting help.

Again....this whole "blah is right, everyone else is wrong" attitude you have is just ridiculous. Get off my back.

This post was edited by stupidkid282 on Jul 28 2017 03:18pm

I agree with you most/all of the things that Hannah experienced would not be considered bullying to me. But when someone says the word 'Bullying' in 2017, what are they referring to? "Bullying" is a loaded and complex word nowadays. That broad topic is what the show spends most of its time on.

The show is about the disconnect between the reality of how Hannah was treated (she was not bullied) vs the feeling she had about her treatment (she felt the whole world was against her and killing herself was the only choice).

Out of curiosity blah, what do you think the definition of bullying is?

In our previous discussion in this tbread you went from straight "bullying" to "bullying and harassment" after I said some words and you have stuck with it. It is more accurate but still not completely.

The reason you have to differentiate them is because they are different. In your view of the world we should apparently call all rapists and sexual predators bullies? No fuck that shit. Rape is not bullying it is RAPE. Sexual harassment is not bullying it is SEXUAL HARASSMENT. A rapist isn't a bully they are a RAPIST.

The ONLY bullying that happened in this show towards Hannah was:
1) the picture being sent out and the backlash of that event
2) the asian girl backstabbing Hannah to save face

That is it. The show IS NOT about bullying. It is about how actions have consequences and how ugly/bad suicide is. And arguably how perception of suicidal people differs from reality (but this is a very poorly done subject in the show imo).

All of the major events in the tapes were no where near being bullying.
Clay leaving her instead of white knighting and telling her he loves her. Allowing her to push him away instead of being a man.
The guidance counselor constantly failing her.
Losing the money and letting her parents down (with her suicide they can now have her college fund).
The RAPIST (not bully) RAPING (not bullying) her.
Her best friend breaking up with her.
The thief stealing from her (with how petty it is this could be considered bullying, and I do consider it so)
The asshole womanizer saying he thought she was easy is insulting, and a blow to a young girls self-esteem for sure, but it is not bullying.
The asian girl starting rumors (bullying)
The asian girl no longer being her friend (not bullying)
The camera dude stalking her and taking pictures (creepy but not bullying, I am pretty sure it is even legal if he doesn't get nude photos).

All these actions have consequences that the people will have to live with, but very very few of them are bullying.

As the show runner said the show is about how actions have consequences and suicide. Dumbing it down to just being about bullying is not only wrong and short-sighted but it is also insulting to the show.

(The other bullying in the show is towards the camera kid. He is definitely bullied by basically everyone. But we aren't talking about him we are talking about Hannah.)