13th

Movie, 2016, TV-MA

Premise - A documentary on slavery's modern form - mass incarceration. The 13th amendment abolishes the practice of slavery within the United States except for one condition - for those who have committed a criminal act. For a racist, capitalist system that wishes to continue to profit from free labor, the natural next step is to make out blacks as criminals. In our current system, 30% of all black men will face prison.

Review - You know, in hindsight, I never quite believed in prisons. That may have been startlingly radical to say for the past 24 years of my life but now... nah, I'll say it again. I don't believe in prisons. Though, when I say this has been a longstanding view, my moral problem with prisons was previously not about race because I was not educated about race. I just thought it was wrong to shackle people. You take away their liberties, their freedom, their right to vote, find a job - it's insanely immoral. In some cases, in death row, you take people's lives. Not to mention the amount of violence and death that happens within prisons unintentionally. Prisons are not about reparations, they are about punishment. Because why on earth would it make sense to "reform" someone by sending them to a place full of other people who have committed crimes just to wallow amongst themselves.

The more I have learned over the years about the disproportionality of races within our legal system, the more upsetting the idea of incarceration becomes. It's a tool, a weapon, against those you wish to oppress. If 1 in 3 black men are incarcerated, how many of them can't vote? This is literal voter suppression in which our polls do NOT accurately reflect black voices. If 1 in 3 black men are incarcerated, how many could have been in successful job positions otherwise?

The documentary is incredibly validating. Here it is - in numbers - how insane this is. The stats will hit you over the head with how many more black people are in prison than whites, disproportionately, and just how many more people are in prisons in the US compared to other countries. How many companies have stock in private prisons. It's wild, but affirms my position nonetheless.

The documentary also gives great historical context, notably including Jim Crow, the Nixon era, the Reagan era, and the Clinton era. The spike in mass incarceration doesn't really begin until Nixon/Reagan-ish, post Jim Crow, and really take off with Clinton. The idea was to be "tough on crime", perhaps my least favorite phrase in the English language. We also hear the behind-the-scenes motivations for various policies that each president put into play, and how purposeful they were in knowing the EXACT effects this would have on the black population.

Most disturbing about the historical context, however, is the real-life footage of dead or dying black bodies, either in far-away or recent history. I can't watch it. I closed my eyes every time I saw a tree as I knew it would feature a lynching. I closed my eyes every time I heard the name of a black person I knew had been killed. (95/100)

Quote - "Justice too long delayed is justice denied" - MLK

What to watch for - The numbers, perhaps - seeing how much the prison population spiked in the 1970's and onward. Or, perhaps, the music. I LOVED the rap songs they included, with their powerful lyrical relevance. Rap is such an empowering, socially conscious art form, that often gets neglected in white media's favoritism of sensationalized rap.

If you liked this documentary, I'd recommend Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools for the same old tale, now focused on young black girls.

Directed by Ava DuVernay

Distributed by Netflix