TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2020//
TI  - 13 Reasons Why as a vehicle for public understandings of suicide
JO  - Critical studies in media communication
A1  - Krebs, E.
SP  - 188
EP  - 200
VL  - 37
IS  - 2
N2  - The release of the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why (13RW) was met with vehement backlash from individual viewers, medical institutions, and scholars around the globe. Many claimed that the show's gruesome portrayal of suicide would cause viewers dangerous psychological distress--particularly because the show was aimed at teen audiences. While these concerns about a potential contagion effect are valid for some viewers, a broader view of 13RW reveals a pedagogical text that can impact, but not determine, the actions of its viewers. As such, I frame 13RW as a form of scientific pedagogy that engages audiences in productive ways, specifically through its emphasis on scientific and narrative uncertainty. The show provides medically accurate information about suicide's risk factors based on current research while also engaging with the uncertain, incompleteness of that information. I argue that this format effectively democratizes knowledge about suicide prevention and allows audiences to learn about suicide in a constructive manner that shows lay people have the power to engage in both prevention and building knowledge about the subject. © 2019, © 2019 National Communication Association.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0739-3180
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15295036.2019.1704038
ID  - ref1
ER  -