13th Movie Analysis

The documentary 13th outlines the stereotypes faced against people of color, especially black folks from the times they were shackled in chains, to current day, where the continuation of the constant dehumanization and lack of conceiving the black person as a human still exists in the land of the free, especially in prisons.

The misinterpretations surrounded by the black race has proved huge in American society. It seems almost as if every doing of the justice system aims to harm this group. The Ava Duvernay documentary whose focal point surrounds the bases of the views construed toward black people and how these thoughts lead to the disproportionate and jarring imprisonment they must face on the outside, presents an eye-opening testimony to the audience, by showing the inhumane nature of America, and the “threatful black man.”

The film mentions many historical people that have been targeted by hate crimes and the ineffectiveness of the 13th amendment. Emmet hill, Angela Davis, Trayvon Martin, Martin Luther King JR, and Malcom X. Moving chronologically, the documentary dates to slavery and when the 13th amendment was passed, to today’s police brutality-stricken country. The highlight of the documentary is the unjust prison system and the lack of care for a black person in these facilities, continuously reflecting on the 13th amendment to signify the lies and secrets behind it, oftentimes emphasizing the ironic nature of it, in the sense that black people were attained and sentenced to crimes that weren’t considered as high-profile crimes for white people. Political speakers and presidents, like Ronald Raegan, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump, were used frequently to insinuate the wide matter of this issue, to significantly indicate that nobody, not even the highest of individuals in America cares about the black person and the potential that lies within.

The film gets its points across with the mass of people interviewed being black people with personal anecdotes and who fight for the injustice they see their people facing every day, and many people in favor of the system that destroys these same people. 13th uses ethos to establish credibility and provide a shock factor for the audience. By stating statistics like, 1 in 17 white men will possibly serve prison time in their life, versus 1 in 3 black men is one instance of this. A big topic discussed in the film was ALEC and their highly questionable and harmful laws. One speaker in the documentary stated ALEC had no business in discussing immigration however, ALEC is well known for supporting Arizona’s Anti-Immigration Law. This law basically enforces stricter and more harmful rules on immigration and the penalties that come along with it, imprisonment.

Ava Duvernay delivered this film in a way to persuade and appeal to the emotions of the audience. The film highlights a very gruesome history of the black man vs the white America. Using stomach wrenching imagery, for example, lynching, enactments of slavery, police taking advantage of black people, and the immense pejorative phrases thrown in black people faces, create a feeling of the marginalization of many black people. Furthermore, she showcases the false imprisonment and terrible circumstances black people have to go through with the police. The Central Park 5, and Angela Davis went through this, having to represent themselves, endure abuse, and shamefully accept false accusations.  

The chronological order of the film helps ignite the rhetorical methods the director tries to deliver, along with trying to intensify the longevity of this reoccurring issue at hand. It gives the audience a sense of the emotional wounds black people, children, and families, have had to face for centuries. The argument the film aims to justify is quite valid in the circumstances of what the film is all about, the 13th amendment. There isn’t a crime minor enough for a black person to not fear their time, treatment, and life behind bars, in a place as restricting as slavery, there is no way out of this prison that black people are innately born with.