The Issue Of Mass Incarceration In The Us In The “13th” Documentary
Directed by Ava DuVernay, 13th is a documentary that explores the intersection of race, justice and mass incarceration in the US. “13th” refers to the thirteenth amendment of the US, which abolished slavery in 1865, except “punishment of a crime”. The documentary aims to inform its intended audience. There are two intended audiences that the documentary refers to. Primarily, any adults or teenagers in the US, as DuVernay attempts to inform every citizen about mass incarcerations of African-Americans in the past. Secondarily, DuVernay stated that instead of publishing the documentary in cinemas due to cinema segregation in some countries, she published it on Netflix, intending any English-speaking Netflix user to see the documentary. The message delivered in the documentary is how the mass incarceration of African-Americans was an everyday event before the civil rights movement.
The documentary focuses on three main themes. The first one is how African-Americans were portrayed as criminals. Because of the segregation laws in the past, the American public believed that due to their skin color, African-Americans were more likely to be drug addicts, criminals, rapists or murders. Moreover, as they were being arrested at an astoundingly high rate, the public also perceived them as criminals without even knowing why they were being arrested.
Secondly, the dehumanization of African-Americans. As black people were portrayed as criminals, their limited financial resources were also taken by their white compatriots. Furthermore, instead of attempting to rehab those “criminals” to help them to reenter society, the prison system aimed to punish and break them down.
Thirdly, the mass incarceration of blacks. The documentary zeroes on a clause in the Thirteenth Amendment, as despite abolishing slavery, the Thirteenth Amendment stated it could still be used as a penalty for a crime. After the abolishment of slavery, new policies were implemented that supported the fear of black criminals generated by the media. As prisoners could be used as free labor, many black prisoners were used by firms as a part of their sentencing.
From the beginning, DuVenay does a terrific job by using factual evidence from well-known individuals. The documentary starts with a fact presented by Barack Obama, who was the president of the US when this documentary was published, stating that the US is home to 5% of the world’s population, but contains 25% of total prisoners. This establishes the frightened tone from the first seconds, foreshadowing the viewers that the rest of the documentary will dive deep in the history of incarcerations in the US. Furthermore, it informs the audience, even the ones who have no clue about the less-than-miserable ways that how the African-Americans were treated in the 1970s. Moreover, she does not let one person take control of the narration. As well as including clips and pictures of dead and beaten-up bodies, which are horrifying but effective in informing the viewers, DuVenay presents more than 40 interviewees from various jobs such as writers, lawyers, and journalists throughout the documentary. They all have different voices and are from various descents, an excellent choice that impacts the flow of the documentary. This shows that no matter what their descent, age or gender is, everyone should be aware of how much African-Americans have suffered from racial discrimination.
Several times throughout the documentary, the changing camera shots have been key to deliver the message. Close-ups have been effective in underlining certain elements of the documentary from the beginning until the end. Just before the ninth minute, a close-up shows how blacks were treated by radical groups in the country. After being hung on a tree and beaten with a chain, the letters “KKK” were written in an African-American man’s chest. With this close-up from the beginning, DuVenay shifts the tone from frightened to horrifying. Furthermore, the medium shot is another camera shot utilized by DuVenay in the next minute. The type of shot chosen shows how unfair and brutal the conditions were for the blacks, continuing the tone. The viewers can blatantly see a black man getting beaten by at least 5 white men, while also more white men just watch this torture. The blacks had no help and rights, as they were seen as criminals.
DuVenay does a magnificent job in the choice of background music too. Even from the beginning, it contributes to the frightened and horrifying tone. Furthermore, the tone has a significant impact on carrying the tone throughout the whole documentary. As soon as the narration stops, a piece of dramatic background music is played, especially while a statistical fact is presented or a clip from an archive is shown. The background music is especially effective in maintaining the attention of the viewers, as the topics presented are sensitive.
However, there are still minor flaws, as the documentary suggests that mass incarcerations are based on the American Legislative Executive Council (ALEC), which is a group formed by major firms. DuVenay implies that ALEC is a major contributor to the prison labor system, however, she does not provide enough evidence to back it up. She contacts Michael Hough to represent ALEC and admit the unethical behavior of the organization in the past. Despite the audience can question how valid his reasons for the denial are, there is no concrete evidence that ALEC was a major contributor to the system. Furthermore, this could make the audience question how valid the presented facts in the documentary are.
