Analysis of Ava DuVernay’s 13 th

13 th is an exploration of how the 13 th Amendment legalizes a modern form of slavery
contrary to its official use of ending slavery in the United States. According to DuVernay, the
U.S prison system is a continuation of slavery. In the documentary, the filmmaker highlights the
institutionalized denial of freedom to African Americans both during slavery and in the current
prison system. DuVernay references the history of African Americans in the U.S, specifically
based on racial relations in which this population is unfairly targeted. Currently, there are more
African Americans in incarceration today that those enslaved in 1850s (Tucker 138). The 13 th
Amendment was meant to abolish slavery from 1865, but part of the clause, “except as
punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted” makes it difficult for the
country to end slavery (DuVernay) . The American government has since exploited that clause to
generate profit from prison laborers.
The 13 th reflects the failure of African Americans to effectively transition from slavery to
citizenship as a result of legal loopholes for enslavement. The documentary shows how even
with the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans remain victims of unfair targeting from age
old “vagrancy” and loitering to contemporary drugs. DuVernay seems to put the Black Lives
Matter as an annex of the Civil Rights Movement, whereby certain legal bureaucracy makes
fighting for real freedom extremely difficult. According to civil rights activists featured in the
documentary, the core element of mass incarceration has not changed, only the dialogue about
those imprisoned have. DuVernay’s purpose in producing the documentary is to bring attention
to the ways that slavery has been broadened and extended over the course of history due to the
13 th Amendment loophole. This loophole has constantly given the criminal justice system power
to enslave anyone that is deemed an offender. In cases where wrongdoers have been wrongly
incarcerated and eventually exonerated, they are incapable of enjoying freedom due to the
emotional and mental impact of the prison system. This incapacity is as a result of lack of
humanity and dignity in prisons in America.
Statistics cited in the film shows that the process of criminalization is specifically
targeted to black Americans. The intersection of justice and race is undeniable, and the ignored
hard truths about mass incarceration makes the U.S an ignorant nation. Black Americans have
been subject to racial degradation due to a morally bankrupt criminal justice system. The
tendency to rush judgement in racially-charged cases is still the norm, 150 years after official
termination of emancipation and involuntary servitude. Oppression is largely legalized and the
criminal justice system worsens this status quo by conveying the image that African Americans
deviate towards lawlessness compared to their White counterparts. Through the film, it is clear
that racial oppression remains to be an integral element of the American society as a result of a
clause that was intended to abolish the same. As long as such a loophole exists in the
constitution, modern day slavery in form of mass incarceration will remain a problem that is
difficult to weed out even with policies to remedy racial degradation. This status quo leads to the
question: What does it really take to end racial oppression in the criminal justice system?

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Works Cited

13th. Dir. Ava DuVernay. Prods. Howard Barish, Ava DuVernay and Spencer Averick. Netflix,
2016.
Tucker, Ronnie B. “The Color Of Mass Incarceration.” Ethnic Studies Review 37.1 (2017): 135-
149.