ABSTRACT 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.

中文翻译：

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作为公众理解自杀的工具的 13 个原因

摘要 Netflix 系列 13 个原因（13RW）的发布遭到了全球个人观众、医疗机构和学者的强烈反对。许多人声称该节目对自杀的可怕描绘会给观众带来危险的心理困扰——尤其是因为该节目是针对青少​​年观众的。虽然这些对潜在传染效应的担忧对某些观众来说是合理的，但对 13RW 的更广泛的看法揭示了一种教学文本，它可以影响但不能决定观众的行为。因此，我将 13RW 视为一种科学教学法，以富有成效的方式吸引观众，特别是通过强调科学和叙事的不确定性。该节目提供了基于当前研究的关于自杀风险因素的医学准确信息，同时还涉及不确定的、该信息的不完整性。我认为，这种形式有效地使有关自杀预防的知识民主化，并允许观众以建设性的方式了解自杀，这表明外行人有能力参与预防和建立有关该主题的知识。