'13 Reasons Why' becomes subject of controversy among schools and parents

The filmmakers behind the new Netflix series 13 Reasons Why got their wish: the show has attracted a lot of attention, but it's probably not all the kind of attention they were anticipating.

School districts and parents everywhere are condemning the series, about a traumatized high school student who commits suicide and leaves behind tapes to 13 different people detailing her reasons for taking her own life, for "glorifying" teen suicide.

One instance comes from John O'Connell, director of student support for Pittsburgh Public Schools. In a report by The Morning Call, O'Connell brought the show to the attention of district counselors and social workers in an email last week.

"It is clear with near certainty that many of your students will be talking about this series in school," O'Connell wrote. "Being armed with appropriate and positive messages will help students struggling with their own emotional response to this series to put the dramatized content into realistic perspective and afford you with new opportunities for engaging these youth and providing necessary support and resources."

O'Connell then provided instructions from the Pennsylvania Youth Suicide Prevention Initiative.

Jeremy Prince, whose daughter, Phoebe, took her own life in January 2010 when she was 15 years old, attacked the show for "planting a seed" in the minds of teenagers.

"What is being publicized can be misinterpreted by the vulnerable as a solution, not as a problem," Prince said.

Also working from the behavioral aspect is Brian White, Chartiers Valley School District Superintendent, who emailed the parents of students in an effort to raise awareness of the show. In the email, he provided information from the National Association of School Psychologists, an organization that strongly advised any child with even the slightest notion of suicide in their minds not watch the show.

"We do not recommend that vulnerable youth, especially those who have any degree of suicidal ideation, watch this series," the organization wrote on its website. "Its powerful storytelling may lead impressionable viewers to romanticize the choices made by the characters and/or develop revenge fantasies."

However, people like Annie Scott, program director at CANDLE in Rockland County, disagrees with the negative allegations surrounding the series and instead believes it to be a perfect springboard to get parents discussing this tender topic with their own children.

"Talking about suicide does not put the idea in someone's head," Scott said. "It takes away the stigma and allows for an honest conversation."

No matter what the feedback, be it negative or positive, the show has garnered exactly what it set out to accomplish: raising awareness. And while the show may promote a "negative" message with some people, they cannot deny that it's sparked an important discussion which hasn't been discussed this much before, but is long overdue.