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America is the universal symbol of freedom, many countries look to us for guidance when in need of liberation. However, very few are aware that America has 5% of the world's population, yet has 25% of the world's prisoners. America-land of the free has ¼ of the population incarcerated 2.3 million prisoners 323.1 million Americans. America has the highest rate of incarceration in the world and yet, we’re the “land of free”? Directed by Ava DuVernay, “13th” exposes the modern-day prison labor system in links to slavery.
Through the use of animated visuals, music, as well as live clips from historical events, DuVernay created a powerful call to action and evoked strong emotions in the audience hoping to reconstruct our arbitrary system.
Ratified in 1865, the 13th amendment deemed it unconstitutional for someone to be held as a slave, therefore granting freedom to all Americans except criminals within the United States. This had a significant impact on commerce since slaves were the dominant source of labor in most states.
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After this ratification, slaves were released from plantations and factories. The nation celebrated, families were reunited and the strong force of freedom lifted slaves from their chains and into the real world. However, this “victory” was nothing more than a facade, for there was a large exploitable loophole in this amendment. That clause, that converts slavery from a legal business model to an equally legal method of punishment for criminals, is the subject of the Netflix documentary “13th”. In the mid-1800s after the amendment was published, African Americans were imprisoned in mass for petty crimes such as vagrancy or loitering this was America’s first prison boom.
When imprisoned one was sentenced to labor in prison. This was useful in the South because it depended on slavery economically and once slaves were free, its economy crumbled. DuVernay includes clips of established historians, lawyers, and historic civil rights activists such as Angela Davis to elaborate on subjects and provide voice overs for certain scenes. The collective presence of these individuals establishes DuVernay’s credibility. Between clips of African American prisoners on plantations, tied together with the same chains as slaves in their indistinguishable uniforms, the audience is spoken to by these individuals. The setup for these “one on one” sidebars includes the subject in stool in the center of a massive room. The room has a white brick background drawing focus on the speaker. For the audience, this provides a sense of comfort and formality as if they know the speaker personally. The imprisonment of these petty crimes leads prisons to mass incarceration. From this birthed the mythology of black criminology.
Many believed that “The Negro is out of control and a violent threat to white women”. In this film, DuVernay included clips from the late 1800s and early 1900s of “minstrel shows”. “Minstrel shows” were a form of entertainment for white people. White actors would dress in blackface and make a mockery of African Americans. The clips added even more shock factor to the already chilling documentary. The addition of these scenes added to DuVernay’s credibility as they direct sources to reinforce the facts presented in the film. This drastic shift in the perception of African American males from Uncle Remus, a simple-minded pure-hearted man to this rapacious, menacing negro male evil that had to be banished, added many cracks into the already broken society. These sickening perceptions worsened with the publication of the 1915 film “Birth of Nation”. Originally titled “The Clansmen”, “Birth of a Nation” was an important cultural event in history. It was America’s first major blockbuster film and it was hailed for artistic achievement and political commentary by many. It was beloved by all, namely the South. The direction D.W. Griffith was a Southerner and in his film, he confirmed the stories that that many whites wanted to tell about the civil war and its aftermath erasing their defeat and replacing it with martyrdom. Every image of a black person within the film is demeaned and portrayed as “animal-like”, cannibalistic, coon the image spitting of African American males within white society.
The integration of rap music in this film was revolutionary because it has a negative stereotype. However, DuVernay took that stereotype and made it powerful. The beats combined with the words of wisdom provide an equal balance of multidimensional definition of black culture. The repeated implementation of these politically charged songs forces the audience to break past that negative association and listen to the lyrics. DuVernay used rap music for two reasons. Firstly, African Americans are associated with rap music as it was birthed from their culture and many rappers are African American. Second, rap amongst the most listened to genre of the current generation. The documentary is a call to action for the younger generations to change their future for themselves and the future generations that follow. Rap music is relatable to the audience and thus makes them more open to hear DuVernay’s thoughts. The song that stood out to me the most would have to be “Behind Enemy Lines” by Dead Prez. The song is used as a transition between scenes to open discussion about Bill Clinton's presidential campaign. Clinton passed a bill that significantly increased our prison system. Dead Prez says “Behind enemy lines, my ni***s is cellmates. Most of the youths never escape the jail fates. Super maximum camps will advance they game plan. To keep us in the hands of the man, locked up myths about black men as rapists was ultimately stemmed by the reality that the white political elite and the business establishment needed black bodies working”. This line describes the harsh reality of being a black man in America. Stereotypes, abuse, oppression sadly are the price to pay for the skin many are born in.
Ava DuVernay’s Oscar-nominated documentary “13th” forces viewers to self-reflect if African Americans are truly “free” in this country. Yes, it is true that we are freer, and this generation is a lot easier than that of our ancestors faced but the real question DuVernay leaves her audience with is are African Americans as free as their white neighbors? If not, where does this change begin? In our homes, our classrooms, our politics? Truth be told, it starts in the minds and hearts of Americans as a whole. Through the use of numerous cinematic techniques, DuVernay successfully educates the audienceon the horrors of our government and influence them to reconstruct it. The most notable technique used would be the sound. The voiceovers, the music, the sound effects and lack thereof contributed to the success of the film. The music provided a sense of
Modern-Day Prison Labor System in 13th Documentary. (2021, Feb 09). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/modern-day-prison-labor-system-in-13th-documentary-essay
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