13th Documentary Analysis (Free Essay Sample)

This documentary hooked me right from the start with a shocking statistic. According to statistics given in a speech by former President Barack Obama, although the United States of America has only 5% of the world's population, it is also home to 25% of the world's prisoners. The basis of the film is this statement, following information based on sources explaining this alarming rate of incarceration and its history. The documentary begins by explaining that it's funny how America has the most people incarcerated in a supposedly free country. It details the prison system and the important role racial inequality plays in the equation. The film's director, Ava DuVernay, aims to provide an analysis of the history of racial inequality in the United States, while also focusing on how the country's prisons are overcrowded with African-Americans, and convince the public of structures or prejudices against minorities by a variety of rhetorical strategies. The documentary offers numerous interviews with academics, activists and authorities working on the same issue, as well as other commentators. The documentary takes (more or less) an hour and forty minutes to go through one hundred and fifty years of history to the present moment of racial violence and protests. The director's aim is to educate people about the struggles of minorities in the United States that have been realized through the effective words, images, and statistics displayed in the documentary. Regardless of which side one is on, it is worth noting that the documentary “13th” conveys an effective message, which will be analyzed in this essay. 

Ava Duvernay has created this chronological timeline of important events that lead to the present day. The director wanted to reach out to everyone and effectively show multiple arguments and different film themes. One of them focuses on how African Americans are portrayed as criminals. Dating back to D.W. Griffith's 1915 Birth of a Nation, black people were consistently portrayed as a criminal in a lot of the American media. Through this lens, the general public unknowingly came to believe that black human beings are more likely to be rapists, drug addicts, murderers, or thieves because of their skin color. The second theme I can point out focuses on mass imprisonment as an alternative to slavery. Despite being mentioned in the Thirteenth Amendment, countless companies have unpaid prisoners in prison as part of their sentence. Since the abolition of slavery, politicians have fed the media and implemented policies that disproportionately place African Americans behind bars that can be used as free workers. Another big theme is how corporate interests shape the prison population. The American Legislative Exchange Council has introduced a federal policy that will arguably bring more African Americans and immigrants behind bars for the success of private prisons, surveillance, and prison labor. Finally, the dehumanization of African Americans is another major theme of the entire documentary, the importance of black life and how the United States consciously or unknowingly dehumanized the black population. The next part of the essay describes the rhetorical devices used in the movie.

The director uses rhetorical methods to persuade the target market with credible sources such as the speeches of historical figures and to persuade the public to be aware of the struggles the minorities are experiencing. Presidential speeches have been proven during the movie as a believable and honest source that appeals. Influential historical figures such as Martin Luther King, Fred Hampton, and Angela Davis said: "That’s why when any person asks me about violence, I simply discover it outstanding because what the capacity is, that the individual who’s asking that query has simply no thinking what black people have long gone through, what black people have experienced in the United States for the reason that the time the first black character was kidnapped from the shores of Africa.”These people are recognizable to the public eye, and it is useful to be recognized by those who are talking about their struggle as a minority. The director provided a reliable source of information to be an expert in the situation, such as attorneys and their opinions on issues. When ALEC was introduced, the director confirmed that in the past it was a company that influenced representatives to ensure that the target market knew that her sources were reliable. Alongside the documentary these help the credibility of the movie by using good information but also credible sources.

The Thirteenth Amendment was the main focus of the documentary and was used as the form of a logo. The fact that it is written in the Charter used to govern all men or women in the United States makes it an honest source of information. Injustice is engraved in the US Charter, and it's even more disturbing because discrimination against minorities is an experienced felony which helps the director and her views. The United States "holds 6 percent of the world’s populace, it homes ¼ of the populace in prison." While only "1 in 17 white guys probably go to jail, one in 3 black men is in all likelihood to give up in jail." This fuels the argument that the director is trying to carry out the logo process thoroughly. Throughout the documentary, Ava Duvernay incorporates features such as imprisonment statistics, laws, and recollections of the affected people to help achieve the goal of effectively teaching targeted audiences.

This documentary uses images and compelling facts effectively to show the emotional issues to the audience. Images of imprisoned slaves and African Americans can affect the audience in a sentimental way, as they face reality and it is difficult to see this happening in the real world. The stipulations in which inmates are saved in hail for minor offenses or the lynching images creates a sense of anger that appeals to the goal of the documentary. Which is to educate the general public on racial troubles which negatively influence people of colour, instigating terrible feelings. At some point in the documentary, a rally for Donald Trump was shown that was linked to past racist activities. This shows that it is still done on a regular basis today, and that the United States needs to make changes to the system.

People of colour suffrage and injustice have been proven all throughout this documentary. The director addresses many of the issues that generally arise in countries that discriminate against African Americans, and the director shows that the system is designed for black people to fail. Ava DuVernay talked about the civil rights movement that African Americans started because of the regular suffering they experienced in the government. Prison costs were a major factor to the influence of the film and, based on the records presented, it highlighted suffrage and injustice to African Americans. Police atrocities and lynching were thought-provoking exhibits and contributed to the effective purpose of the film. The film educates by showing some approaches that African Americans are set up to fail and the suppression of minorities in the United States. 

As the analysis of this essay shows, the film is very effective in many ways, but the opposing factor of view is no longer properly represented at all. Throughout the documentary, it often focuses on their point of view and  beliefs. The few representatives on the other side have little understanding of the issue and have little knowledge of the issues raised, which indicates that they are not very skilled in their point of view. There weren't enough people in the documentary to argue against it, they only examined two people who opposed what the documentary used to prove. Since there is no illustration of the opposite view it sort of declined the effect of the film, it ended up being extremely biased towards just one side of the argument. This did not take power away from the documentary and its discussions, the director could have improved the quality of the documentary by expressing both aspects of the spectrum equally.

In reflection, the documentary "13th" uses rhetorical techniques to influence people's perspectives on the unfair challenge to minorities in the United States. Ava DuVernay sent a message to the audience using persuasive and influential rhetorical techniques to make compelling arguments. Ava DuVernay used many facts, influences and emotional elements to convey the message in a way that impressed and touched the audience.