13th (2016) - Review

Every now and then, a documentary film comes along and introduces ideas so though provoking that it shakes audiences to their core. Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Bowling for Columbine" did that. Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" did that. "13th" is one of those documentary's.

Director Ava DuVernay's crafts a magnificent essay, proposing that while the United States 13th amendment may prohibit slavery in terms of owning another human, it legalizes slavery in a new, subtle way: the criminalization of black men in America.

Boasting an impressive cast of both Liberal and Conservative interviews including former Republican speaker Newt Gingrich and CNN analyst Van Jones, the film walks us through America's punitive policies from the early 1900's, while examining the effects those policies had on black communities. The coincidences are inarguable, with some policies from the Nixon era being openly admitted as targeting African-American's. DuVernay's use of video and audio clips from politicians and the media helps illustrate the narrative, and keeps the documentary moving at a fast pace which helps engage viewers.

Running throughout the film is a tally of the US prison population, which further helps to exemplify DuVernay's thesis about the targeting of African-American's. With each new policy change comes a rise in the incarcerated. The use of music in the film is particularly effective as well. The 1950's section of the documentary features chain gang songs, and as we move toward the modern day we get blues songs about being locked up, all the way to current hip hop songs on the black experience.

The one big complaint I have is that the film slows down at the 1 hour mark, and really does not pick back up until the closing sequences. While the clips of police killing unarmed black men is particularly affecting and worth showing in its own right, it distracts from the narrative of prisons being used as a new form of slavery, and I think that the film could have benefitted from having the time spent on that section cut out, simply to create a more succinct, clear piece.

"13th" is currently on Netflix. If you have even a cursory interest in American penal policy, I highly recommend checking this documentary out. Several criminology classes I have taken have shown this film, and for good reason. On a humanistic level, this documentary is a tour de force of emotion on a highly topical issue in today's world. I most definitely suggest you see this at FULL PRICE.