The 13th is a 2016 documentary film directed by Ava DuVernay that explores the role of race and the criminal justice system in the United States. The film takes its title from the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.
The film begins by discussing the impact of the 13th Amendment on the lives of African Americans, who were often targeted and arrested for minor offenses in order to be exploited for labor in the prison system. This system, known as "mass incarceration," disproportionately affects black people and has contributed to the United States having the highest incarceration rate in the world.
The film also delves into the history of racism in the United States, including the Jim Crow laws and the war on drugs, and how these policies have disproportionately affected people of color. It also examines the role of media and politicians in perpetuating negative stereotypes of black people and criminalizing their behavior.
Throughout the film, experts and activists provide insight and analysis on the topic, and the film features interviews with former inmates who share their experiences of being caught up in the criminal justice system.
One particularly powerful aspect of the film is its examination of the privatization of prisons, which has created a profit motive for keeping prisons filled. This has led to the proliferation of policies such as mandatory minimum sentences and the "three strikes" law, which have contributed to the high rates of incarceration in the United States.
Overall, The 13th is a powerful and thought-provoking film that shines a light on the systemic racism that exists within the criminal justice system and its devastating impact on the lives of black people in the United States. It serves as a call to action for reform and justice, and encourages viewers to consider their own role in creating a more just and equitable society.
Summary of 13th childhealthpolicy.vumc.org
Additionally, under direct discrimination, the severity of the sentence for a crime is based on race, ethnicity, or gender. The writer of the film is therefore of the idea that the film is correctly and satisfactorily written and presented. In the documentary, we can see how African Americans are sentenced for many years since they are too poor to pay their fines or sometimes most of these people plead guilty to get out of jail fast. She includes ethnocentrism and expresses with authoritative opinions of how it is still conspicuous today. Such correctional institutions are run with the aim of profiteering, and thus the involved parties formed the controversial American Legislative Exchange Council ALEC. The reason is that people of color are the individuals who are overrepresented in prison compared to whites. The film 13th argues that the mass incarceration of black people is a form of slavery.
Rhetorical Analysis Of 13th Documentary: [Essay Example], 1265 words GradesFixer
The American Bail Coalition, though? These interviews form the backbone of the presentation. Depicting them as rapists and showing the romanticized views of the Ku Klux Klan leading to a reintroduction of the KKK into society. As a result of the public outrage, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed. It then covers the Jim Crow era, when black people were subjected to segregation and discrimination. Within these clips we see black men being beaten groups of white men and police officers during segregation.
The Black Codes prohibited African Americans from doing things like owning property, voting, and obtaining an education. Additionally, in the documentary, blacks are likely to be incarcerated because they are segregated. Freed slaves were highly likely to commit minor offenses, and they did not have the means to pay for the fines. Not that all the opinions of the movies are irrelevant but that the fact that they are too many makes some of the ideas harder to interpret. On one hand, the regulations of the prison system may seek deterrence, incapacitation, or retribution to avoid appearing too soft on inmates. The goal of the war on drugs was to reduce drug use in the United States.
Although the amendment freed over 4 million slaves, it created loopholes. Dorothea Dix: The Role Of Prison Reform In America 312 Words 2 Pages Prison reform has been an ongoing topic in the history of America, and has gone through many changes in America's past. For instance, people convicted of minor offenses without the capacity to pay the associated fines would be imprisoned and work as slaves. This eventually leads to scholars concluding that there is a relationship between mass incarceration and the legacy of slavery. This means that the 13th amendment allowed criminals to be treated as slaves and for the clause in the Amendment to be used as a tool for enslaving anybody that has been declared a criminal.
Another positive thought is that they take in consideration social class on this social problem. The fact that black people are to make up nearly half of the prison population alone, really conveys the rate at which they are being arrested. Retrieved February 16, 2017. This means that poor black communities are less likely to have adequate policing, which can lead to increased crime rates. Numerous conversations with African Americans who have been impacted by mass imprisonment are. Here DuVernay returns to the 13th Amendment and makes the case that the system cannot be dealt with by making small changes.
Ava DuVernay’s 13th Is a Shocking, Necessary Look at the Link Between Slavery and Mass Incarceration
These days, for- profit corporations are in charge of running prisons, and they have an incentive to do so. While this documentary tackles heavy subject matter, DuVernay rolls the credits with a gleeful scene of black adults and children enjoying a number of activities, such as creating films, playing sports and spending time with family and friends. This practice, however, was an idea that came from the film, according to the documentary. Unless, of course, they were criminals. In the documentary, we can see how African Americans are sentenced for many years since they are too poor to pay their fines or sometimes most of these people plead guilty to get out of jail fast.
This trend has continued into the present day. Given that the victims of this conniving strategy were unemployed, they could not pay the associated fines, and thus they became legal slaves under the new law. Ava DuVernay shows us various instances that contributed to the Black Lives Matter movement. The 13th documentary is however not focused on the declaration of freedom of all Americans by the constitution but on the loopholes in the resolution and the exceptions that have made some members of the same nation that is declared as a free state for slaves in a different way. Most of the interviewees in the film are African Americans, either working in correctional facilities or former detainees in such facilities. Bush, in part over a racially coded campaign attack ad that asserted Dukakis was dangerously soft on crime. The documentary touches on chattel slavery; D.
13th Documentary Film: Reflection: [Essay Example], 706 words GradesFixer
Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow Analysis 323 Words 2 Pages The author found that more people of color, especially black males are under the control our criminal justice system than were enslaved in 1850. According to Khalil Muhammad, four million people who were formerly enslaved and a vital component of the southern economy are no longer slaves. Ava DuVernay And Her Documentary, 13th: Picture Of Slavery And Racism 2. Racial inequality extends beyond socioeconomic measures: it shapes social interactions. Political opportunism is not the same as reform, DuVernay offers. Black people are also more likely to be charged with drug crimes than white people, even though they are not more likely to sell or use drugs. Therefore, drug offenders are imprisoned without receiving proper healthcare help to address the problem.
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Black men and women being harassed at political rallies of today. The interviewees later acknowledge that media and technology have provided a new development for racism: witnesses can record and share it. In the colonial days, American prisons were utilized to brutally punish individuals, creating a gruesome experience for the prisoners in an attempt to make them rectify their behavior and fear a return to prison encyclopedia. Both Martin Luther King Jr. The 13th Documentary details the contents of the amendment. She portrays the effects of demonetization on the black community, which only served futile political needs.
Documentary review and summary: “13th” by Ava DuVernay
According to Forman Jr. Duvernay grabs the point of view of people from different expert fields to provide multiple perspectives for the audience. Viewers today notice the apparent blackface and stereotypes of black men — criminals, dangerous to white women, rapists and abusers. The documentary 13th, written and directed by Ava DuVernay, is a modern take on the slavery system of the United States of America. America had been the hub of slavery in history. According to the class notes, blacks are more likely to receive harsher sentences as compared to whites for drug offenses, which is a form of subtle discrimination. This act was passed during the Reagan administration, which was known for its tough on crime policies.
