American teen drama, “13 Reasons Why” had deleted the three minutes long suicide scene of Hanna Baker.
Netflix said that the decision was taken after medical experts advised the company to delete the suicide scene.
Recently, a statement provided to The Hollywood Reporter stated that “the streaming explained why it removed a scene that depicted the suicide of main character Hannah (played by Katherine Langford) which lasted nearly three minutes, opting instead to have this take place entirely off-camera in the updated edit.”
In the first series of the web series, 13 reasons why, featured a graphic depiction of Hannah Baker taking her own life.
In the new version, just released on the streaming site, the provoking three-minute scene has been deleted. Thus, it goes on directly to a later scene in which her body is discovered.
Lorna Fraser, the charity’s media advisory service said that “While covering difficult topics in drama can help to increase understanding and encourage people to seek help, it’s important this is done in a responsible way.”
As per NPR reports, studies found that suicides among those between age 10 and 17 spiked in the month of April. This could have happened after the premiere of the Netflix web series, 13 Reasons Why in 2017.
The web series, 13 Reasons Why was released in 2017. It was praised for promoting awareness of issues like rape, bullying, and self-harm. However, the scene created a lot of concerns where Hanna Baker committed suicide. Reportedly, too many details were shown before and after her death.
The web series is based on a 2007 novel 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher. The novel is about a high school student who tries to find out why his classmate killed herself. The only clue he has is a box of cassette tapes which she recorded before her death.
The second season of 13 Reasons Why was released in May 2018. The third season has been ordered by Netflix.