The Netflix Film “13th” and its Relationship to Philosophical Ideas

The Netflix documentary 13th, directed by Ava DuVernay, is a documentary that takes an in-depth look into the details of the United States prison systems and its relationship to racial inequality in America. The documentary begins by introducing some statistics about the United States prison system. The United States makes up only five percent of the world’s population, however, twenty-five percent of the people in the world who are imprisoned are in the United states; that statistic is absolutely staggering.

The title of the documentary comes into play as one of the central ideas throughout; the 13th amendment. The 13th amendment of the constitution states that “'Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.'. The film brings to light that there is a rather large loophole in that amendment; that all citizens are granted freedom except in the case of being punished for a crime; this loophole has been used as a “tool” for whatever purpose someone wants to use it for.

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This concept begins the discussion of the ideas of the documentary, and feeds into the history of freedom and imprisonment, racial inequality, Jim Crow Laws, the Civil Rights Movement, different ideas of previous presidents and these ideas, and many others. “13th” works its way to discuss the issues of racial inequality, police/government brutality, and the United States prison systems as a whole, bringing to light the faults on both sides.

This documentary reflects ideas discussed in this course such as ethics and political philosophy. Locke’s ideas of Political Philosophy can be directly related to this documentary. John Locke is a staple figure that advocates for the claim that all men are free and equal, and that God made all people. Locke states that all people have the right to life, liberty, and property. This goes hand in hand with the overall discussion of the documentary; that there is a very apparent loophole in the 13th amendment and racial inequality in the United States. Locke’s advocation for the idea that all people are free and equal, and have the right to life, liberty, and property, goes hand in hand with the overall point of the documentary; that we all don’t really have that. In particular, not all African Americans have it because of racial inequality.

The other philosophical idea of Ethics is tied in with this documentary. John Stuart Mill’s idea of ethics is articulated in “Utilitarianism”. This text’s final sections discuss Mill’s views on the freedom of will and justification of punishment. Mill advocates that all humans are free in an appropriate sense. This idea again goes back to the very beginning idea, that according to the 13th amendment all people are free.

The Netflix documentary “13th” is a staple documentary; it brings up ideas and points that most people don’t really want to talk about, but that are still apparent and true. The idea that all people are free according to the 13th amendment, and that we are all granted freedom and have the right to life, liberty, and property are also ideas that were proposed and used by philosophers John Locke and John Stuart Mill. This documentary and the ideas of ethics and political philosophy go hand in hand and reflect the information learned in this course.