Analysis Of The Movie 13th

This paper provides an analysis of Ava DuVernay’s 2016 film, 13th. To begin, it provides a high-level overview of the film plot. Next, this exploration introduces the key characters and contributors of the film. Lastly, it provides a synthesis of the film’s story through making direct connections to the course concepts of conscious rap and Black radicalism in music, controlling images, and oppositional difference. In general, 13th is a thought-provoking documentary providing an in-depth look at the United States prison system and its relation to the exploitation of the criminal clause loophole in the 13th Amendment. Accordingly, this film exposes how the 13th Amendment provides legal cover for our court and prison systems to effectively

relegate criminals as second class citizens. Moreover, the film incorporates thoughtful interviews with scholars, activists, and politicians who present intelligent insight on the exploitation of criminal punishment, through explaining the historical context surrounding the intentions and impact of mass incarceration throughout American society. To be sure, 13th clearly demonstrates how this amendment is deliberately being applied to create a disproportionate adverse impact on people and communities of color, while simultaneously increasing profits for corporations who benefit from the symptoms of mass incarceration. Furthermore, the film does an exquisite job of integrating interviews, info graphs, music, and archival footage – all of which illustrate how the 13th Amendment loophole solidifies positions of millions of disadvantaged citizens throughout generations, with no end in sight.

Key Characters of the Film
First, the film includes a phenomenal cast of scholars, activists, and politicians who discuss the intersectionality of race, class and gender, as they relate to the historical context of the 13th Amendment, and how these aspects correlate to the current U.S. prison population. Several of the cast members intelligently articulate complex comparative data and statistics to support their claims of mass incarceration as a detrimental societal issue in the United States. For example, civil rights lawyer and activist, Michelle Alexander, is prominently featured in interviews throughout the film. Notably, Alexander (2010) is the author of the compelling and insightful book about mass incarceration, The New Jim Crow. Given her depth and breadth of knowledge on this topic, Alexander’s contributions to this film are immeasurable. In addition to Alexander, Professor Jelani Cobb, as well as the social justice and civil rights attorney, Bryan Stevenson, share their poignant perspectives about how the application of 13th Amendment greatly contributes to segregation. Another honorable scholar, political activist, and cultural icon featured in the film, as well as our course content, is Angela Davis. Other notable members of the cast are educators John Hagan, Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Henry Louis Gates, III, Van Jones, and Kevin Gannon; former incarcerated activists Cory Greene, Shaka Senghor, James Kilgore, and Glenn E. Martin; and politicians Cory Booker, Newt Gingrich, and Charles Rangel.
Film and Course Concept Synthesis
There are several course concepts where connections to the film’s content can be made.

However, there are three specific concepts which are critical to unpacking the criminalization loophole, which is the foundation of the film. First and foremost, the cinematic iconography of the music featured in 13th directly relates to the Gender and Hip Hop course through its use of conscious rap throughout the film (Ward, 2017, Chapter 3, “Black Radicalism in Rap Music”, para. 7). For example, the lyrics of conscious rap songs are featured during the segment breaks where the prison population statistics are displayed, accompanied by using words from the lyrics as the subheading of the topic about to be discussed. This use of cinematic dramatization is intentional, and serves as a segue into the next discussion. Specifically, the artists/songs featured include Common’s “Letter to the Free” (CITE), Public Enemy’s “Don’t Believe the Hype” (27:14), Killer Mike’s “Reagan” (19:05), and Dead Prez’s “Behind Enemy Lines”

(CITE).
Second, and perhaps one of the most significant contributing factor of the phenomenon of unfounded criminal indictments of people of color, is the use of controlling images in the media (Ward, 2017, Chapter 4, “Controlling Images”, para. 1). In particular, controlling images are thoroughly discussed by media activist, Malkia Cyril, who articulately explains how crimes committed by people of color are purposely overrepresented in the media, which in turn instills fear of African Americans in the general population, including fear of African Americans among themselves. Cyril elaborates on the use of the term “super-predator”, coupled with images of young Black men being arrested (28:07). Michelle Alexander furthers the discussion by explaining how using these controlling images to portray African Americans as “animals and beasts that needed to be controlled” exacerbates illegitimate fear mongering and calls for imprisonment (29:13). Consequently, the results from the use of controlling images through the overrepresentation of African Americans as criminals in the media creates public pressure and vilification of people who get falsely accused of crimes, such as the case of the Central Park Five. In fact, our current president once took out a full page ad calling for the death penalty for the five young men who were arrested in this case, before they had even gone to trial (29:52). Eventually, the charges against these men were dropped, and they were released when DNA testing proved their innocence – yet, not before they had already spent many years in prison for a crime they did not commit (30:03). Cyril posits that using controlling images, “so you have then educated the public, deliberately, over years, over decades, that Black men in particular, and Black people in general, are criminals” (30:44).
The third paramount concept connection is the theory of oppositional difference.

Indeed, the criminalization loophole in the 13th Amendment is explicitly used as the vehicle for a system of domination whereby people of color “are objectified as 'the Other' and are viewed as objects to be manipulated and controlled” (Ward, 2017, Chapter 4, “Controlling Images”, para. 2). As it relates to the film, it explains how oppositional difference creates a dynamic where those in power abuse the 13th Amendment to justify mass incarceration of African Americans, which in turn, is weaponized and used to stoke fear in the general public. To be sure, the political consequences of the 1988 United States presidential election can be directly linked to oppositional difference. To enumerate, the Bush campaign used images of a convicted felon named Willie Horton to claim that then democratic candidate, Michael Dukakis, supported the weekend releases of dangerous criminals. Moreover, the formerly incarcerated activist and author, James Kilgore states, “Bush won the election by creating fear around Black men as criminal, without saying that’s what he was doing” (32:16). Therefore, this electoral victory further proliferates the sentiment that people of color are criminals who must remain locked up and

controlled.
In summation, this analysis provides an exploration of the film, 13th. First, it discusses the overview of the film plot. Next, it introduces the key characters and contributors of the film, which includes notable civil rights scholars, activists and politicians. Lastly, it makes direct connections to the Justice Studies 394 Gender and Hip Hop course concepts of conscious rap and Black radicalism in music, the use of controlling images in the media, and how oppositional difference continues to be weaponized using the loophole in the 13th Amendment.