Reality of the Society on the Film

Review of 13th
Name
Institutional Affiliation

Review of 13^th The 13^th documentary is a film by Ava DuVernay that explores the history and issue of racism in the United States with a focus on the country’s prisons. It also shines a light on the country’s justice system that leads to mass incarceration of blacks. It was released in October of 2016 and has won various awards, among them the BAFTA Award for the best documentary. The documentary is named after the 13^th Amendment to the US constitution. Passed by the US Senate in 1864 and the House in 1865, the 13^th amendment sought to abolish slavery as well as involuntary servitude. In this context, the filmmaker depicts through the documentary that slavery has been perpetuated even after the passing of the 13^th amendment through practices such as criminalizing of certain behaviors as well as enabling the police to arrest freedmen and forcing them to work for the state. African Americans have also been suppressed historically through practices such as lynching and the war on drugs, which leans more towards the minority communities. This led to mass incarceration of the colored by the 20^th century. She also demonstrates how corporations benefit financially from such incarcerations. Various prominent figures are featured in the documentary. They include Newt Gingrich, who is a former House speaker, Angela Davis, who is a civil rights activist, Henry Louis Gates, a Harvard professor, Michelle Alexander, Charles Rangel, among others. All the prominent figures featured in the documentary agree that the 13^th amendment left a loophole that has led to the mass incarceration of colored Americans. The documentary features various events that have shaped American history. Slavery cannot be separated from the country’s history. Though various gains have been made historically against ...