13th: Context Of African-Americans In The United States

13th is a 2016 documentary film that discusses discrimination, mass incarceration, and law enforcement in the context of African-Americans in the United States. Its title emanates from the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution which states that slavery and any form of forced service is prohibited except in the situation of being convicted for a crime. Speakers are those that condemn the criminal justice system, and are pushing for equality among races. 13th touches on multiple contemporary problems which stem from America’s history, and aims to educate audiences on the effects and impacts these have caused to the black community.

The main argument that 13th asserts is that the clause in the 13th Amendment (“except as a punishment

Many of the speakers are frustrated at the fact that systemic racism is still very much alive, yet they remain professional. They discuss issues and problems in detail to give the audience a full understanding of the topic. Because of this and their desire to be direct, glossing-over details and censorship does not occur. The documentary has two main points of discussion: the history of oppression in America, and the prison industrial-complex. During the first half of the film, wherein the speakers discuss the discrimination of African-Americans, the tone used is factual and [smth]. Speakers explore the oppression of racial minorities as a historical fact, but also assert that the same thing is happening now in a different form. Their distress can be seen in lines such as, “The connecting theme is the need to be understood as full, complicated, human beings,” and “There’s really no understanding of American political culture without race at the center of it.” These lines, and many others, put emphasis on the impact of racial discrimination and prejudice. During the second half, wherein the prison industrial-complex is explored at length, the tone shifts from [smth] to indignant. One can sense their anger and disbelief of major corporations (such as ALEC and CCA) and their economic interests influencing the prison industry through their strong language and imagery. Phrases like “Rich off punishment,” smth. Two

13th possesses a diverse array of speakers who hail from different races, genders, backgrounds, and professions. They are educators, authors, historians, congressmen, attorneys, senators, professors, investigators, formerly incarcerated activists, and more. These positions—which are flashed beside them on-screen, along with their name and prominent works—show that they have the authority to educate the audiences about the topic. Furthermore, majority of these speakers are people of color who have a more personal understanding of prejudice as compared to a Caucasian person. This diversity conveys to the audience that racial oppression in the United States is not an isolated case where only one or two communities is affected. The credibility of these speakers builds the foundation of the documentary, and subsequently aids their arguments to be persuasive and