13th by Ava DuVernay Film Analysis
Introduction
The criminal justice system is an integral part of the law enforcement agency. However, some countries, such as the United States, have been criticized for promoting racism and discrimination against minority groups through their criminal justice system. This issue has been explored in various films and books to enlighten policymakers and activists on the extent of the issue to encourage them to push for reforms.13th reviews slavery and discrimination as the main problems in the United States criminal justice system by contending that the criminalization of the behaviour of African Americans is the leading cause of their mass incarceration, which extends beyond correcting criminal behaviour to promoting slavery due to the forced labour in the United States prisons based on the assumption that forced labour is part of the punishment for criminal conduct.
Film Analysis
The main political message in the 13th is that the United States administration played a major role in promoting slavery passed from generation to generation. Ava DuVernay states, “We are the products of the history our ancestors chose if we’re White. If we’re Black, we’re the product of the history that our ancestors most likely did not choose” (DuVernay, 2016). This statement indicates that the history of Whites and African Americans in the United States shapes how society perceives them and how they are treated. He acknowledges the steps that the Americans have taken to bring positive change by stating that the first reconstruction of society led to the end of slavery and the second one promoted civil rights, but there is a need for the third one to promote justice and liberty for everyone. His arguments form the basis of the underlying theme, which is racism. He explores the theme by focusing on racist laws contributing to African Americans’ suffering and mass incarceration.
The protagonist in the film is African American, and the antagonist is the American government. The protagonist is represented as helpless and at the mercy of the antagonist. In contrast, the antagonist is represented as selfish and inconsiderate. For example, the American government allows the Corrections Corporation of America to participate in passing laws that directly help them maximize their profits by increasing immigrants’ criminalization and the number of people incarcerated in private prisons. The government also allowed the Prison Industrial Complex to use the free labor offered by imprisoned individuals to increase the manufacturing of goods for private companies and industries. The protagonist’s helplessness is evident in the case of Khalif Browder, a young man imprisoned for three years as he awaits trial after being arrested for stealing a book bag because he cannot afford the $10,000 bail required by the law. His story represents what most incarcerated African Americans and minority groups are undergoing under the American criminal justice system and the extent of the unfair treatment of minorities.
The film depicts the prevalence of slavery in American prisons and how the government remains ignorant about the issue despite being aware of its existence. The government’s ignorance about slavery in American prisons influences society in various ways. According to Acharya et al. (2014), white people residing in southern countries with a high prevalence of slavery are likely to express racial resentment and treat Black people discriminately to oppose affirmative action and identify as Republicans. Watermark (2019) argues that the impact of slavery on people’s attitudes in contemporary societies is not limited to the attitudes on racial and political issues. He states that in the United States and Brazil, people living in regions with a high prevalence of slavery have low trust levels. The government’s ignorance about slavery also affects contemporary societies’ health and socioeconomic outcomes. For example, countries with a high prevalence of slavery have low economic mobility because people are not motivated to work and suffer from various health issues (Beger, 2018). The high prevalence of slavery is also linked to an increase in crime rates. Most crimes are considered to be a response to being enslaved.
Ava DuVernay also portrays the normalization of slavery in the criminal and legal systems by creating a setting where mass incarceration is demanded. For instance, more than 30 prisons in California have been built over the past 30 years because of the demand for more prisons. According to Pereira (2018), the population of prisoners in the prisons in California has rapidly increased within less than two decades despite a decrease in the crime rate. The same case is evident in the United States, with more than seven million prisoners. The increase in the population of prisoners is attributed to the laws criminalizing behaviour and public support for the incarceration of individuals who exhibit those behaviours (Temin, 2017). The public also plays a vital role in determining the punishment for various crimes. For example, there has been a high demand for the death penalty for individuals charged with murder and terrorism to deter and prevent crime. The society also contributes to the increase in the number of prisons by demanding more prisons to respond to the rise in crime rate so that criminals can be removed from the streets.
Racism is discussed in the film 13th by using various techniques. One of the techniques is interviews with various notable scholars, experts, politicians, civil rights leaders, prominent individuals, and activists. Using this technique leads to an engaging film and high complexity. One of the voices that are used in the film to gain insight into the issue of the use of prisoners in the Prison Industrial Complex and mass incarceration, previous reforms that have created a foundation for more repression of black people, and using the media to criticize civil rights advocates is the voice of Angela Davis, an American political activist who influenced civil rights in the United States. The film also uses the voice of Van Jones, the founder of two initiatives focusing on reducing the incarcerated population and crime. Van Jones discusses the policies introduced by Bill Clinton, which negatively impacted the communities of colour, such as the prosecution of Angela Davis, Dr.King, Assata Shakur, and Fred Hampton. Van Jones also discusses the use of government measures to control the communities of colour, especially African Americans.
The second technique is the use of songs that pass a specific message. The film includes various parts of some songs by African American artists and animations highlighting lyrics with a political message to transition between different parts of the film and support the underlying theme. For example, the film uses “Behind Enemy Lines,” a song by Dead Perez, to initiate the conversation about Bill Clinton’s election and presidential election and the 1994 federal crime bill, leading to an expansion of the prison system by offering financial incentives. In the film, Ava DuVernay states that the bill was among the most damaging laws passed about mass incarceration because it placed black communities at a disadvantage and created a foundation for how prisons operate. In the lyrics, Dead Perez states, “Lil’ Kadeija pops is locked…prison ain’t nothing but a private stock…Her father’s a political prisoner…Free Fred, son of a panther that the government shot dead…Most of the youths never escape the jail fate..” The lyrics highlight the challenges that African Americans experience in expressing themselves because they may be arrested to profit the prisons because prisons are a business. The film also plays the song “Chains” by Usher to demonstrate the ineffectiveness of current reforms in improving the criminal justice system. In the film, Usher states, “You act like the change. Tryna put me in chains. Don’t act like you saving us. It’s still the same. Man, don’t act like I made it up. You blaming us…you gave the name to us. We still in chains. We still in chains. You put the shame on us.” The song serves as a transition from the conversation about the challenges in the reintegration of individuals who had been incarcerated into society to the discussion about how politicians in the present times promote the reform of the criminal justice system and how past reforms have increased suppression.
The third technique is adding footage of instances where African Americans are subjected to police brutality and mistreatment. For example, Ava DuVernay includes footage from recent and past events related to the issue of racism in the criminal justice system to evoke the viewer’s response and appeal to their emotions. One footage shows African Americans being mistreated during the civil rights period. The footage shows black students and protesters being yelled at and pushed around, arrested, or brutally attacked by groups of white people or police for peacefully protesting or trying to visit the same beaches and attend the same schools as white individuals. As the footage plays, the background voice of Dr.King provides a background of the issue by stating, “For years now, I have heard the word ‘wait.’ It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This wait has almost always meant never…justice too long delayed is justice denied” ( DuVernay,2016). Another footage shows African American protestors at former president Donald Trump’s rallies being spit on, verbally harassed, and pushed around by the crowd around them, which includes many white people, thus demonstrating the prevalence of racism and discrimination in American society.
Conclusion
Racism has been a significant issue in American society for the past two decades. The issue began during the civil rights era and is passed from one generation to the next, thus making it hard to eliminate it. Racism in the criminal justice system is evident in the mass incarceration of African Americans and using them to offer free labour for major companies in the United States. The film 13th demonstrates that racism and the mass incarceration of black people are caused by the criminalization of behaviour targeting African Americans and focusing on increasing the population in prison because prisons are a profit-making business. Therefore, the only way racism and the mass incarceration of black people can be addressed in the United States is by creating reforms in the criminal justice system that encourage justice and fairness.
References
Acharya, A., Blackwell, M., & Sen, M. (2014). The political legacy of American slavery. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2538616
Berger, T. (2018). Places of persistence: Slavery and the geography of intergenerational mobility in the United States. Demography, 55(4), 1547–1565. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-018-0693-4
DuVernay, A., (2016). 13th. Twentieth Century Fox.Netflix, Kandoo Films, Forward Movement.
Pereira, S. (2018). Mass incarceration: Slavery renamed. Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.31979/themis.2018.0603
Temin, P. (2017). Mass incarceration. The Vanishing Middle Class. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9780262036160.003.0009
Uttermark, M. J. (2019). What determines social capital? Evidence from slavery’s legacy in the United States and Brazil. Social Forces, 98(4), 1773–1800. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/
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Question 
Write a 6-page (plus title and References page) research paper.
2. This is a critical analysis of one of the films from the list. Do NOT include a
summary of the film.
3. Decide on a specific thesis and persuade the reader. You
13th by Ava DuVernay Film Analysis
MUST also write about one/two techniques of the film. (soundtrack/use of light and visual imagery)
4. Introduction includes a specific thesis statement, film title in italics, director,
and release year.
5. The body includes examples from film and evidence. Refer to the viewer or audience.
6. Include quotes from the film as evidence.
. The conclusion includes restated thesis, summary, ending, impact, and reflection.
8. You must include at least 6 researched sources. You must then incorporate these
into the paper and cite the sources correctly in the paper.
9. List the sources correctly using APA format on the References page.
10. Two of the sources must be from the college library database.
11. No first-person “I” point of view.
12. Think about:
a. What is the political message? Any underlying theme?
b. How are the protagonist and antagonist represented?
c. Key terms and ideas from class.
d. What is the influence on society?
e.What technique is being focused on?