Almost every literary work carries a definite message on an important topic. Hence, the film documentary directed by Ava Duvernay, “The 13th,” explores the history of racial inequality in the United States of America. This scientific paper aims to consider the main problem of the film. Moreover, an attempt will be made to determine the primary goal of the director who took this cinematic picture.
Thus, the film “The 13th” focuses on the problem of racism in America. Moreover, this picture reflects the issue that the country’s prisons are disproportionately filled with African Americans. The author of this cinematic work criticizes the Thirteenth Amendment, which in its way allowed the spread of slavery as a criminal punishment. Throughout the film, the author of the picture introduces the audience to people who have faced this problem in real life. Moreover, it is attended by figures who explore the issue of racism in society.
The film under study was named after a state document – the Thirteenth Amendment. It was adopted in 1865 and touched on the process of the abolition of slavery and the termination of forced services (Goodwin 899). It states that such a phenomenon as slavery is appropriate as a punishment for any crime. Ava Duvernay cites several historical examples as evidence of her point of view to emphasize the controversial side of the criminalization of African Americans. Thus, the director in his documentary creates a more detailed and understandable picture of slavery and racism, which still exist in modern society despite the perception of diversity and inclusion. The film analyzed in this scientific paper aims to show what harm can be caused by the subordination of some people by others, despite the fact that the law denies such a possibility.
The central assumption of this study is that the work of director Ava Duvernay had the primary purpose of drawing public attention to the problem of modern slavery in the United States of America. Other problems in the country that were also highlighted were the criminalization and imprisonment of black representatives of American society. To clarify the situation and provide an additional opinion, the director in his film uses an interview with the reaction of politicians to these problems.
It is essential to emphasize the fact that the main task of the film can be called to present the problem of the imprisonment of African Americans by private unreasonableness or excessive punishment. Moreover, in cases where illegal activity is justified, black people are still treated as enslaved people and much more cruelly. The idea also lies in the fact that mass incarceration of representatives of the African-American community is a modern version of slavery, which is enshrined in law with the help of the Thirteenth Amendment of the US Constitution.
Therefore, in conclusion, it can be argued that the documentary “The 13th” by Ava Duvernay provides valuable insight into the problem of racial prejudice in American society. Moreover, this cinematic work can interest all members of society and give valuable insight into a problem that still holds a strong position. In “The 13th,” Duvernay shows his negative attitude to the influence of freedom of African Americans in the context of modern, often unfair realities. Moreover, the film of this director can be called a valuable source of information that helps to understand better the problems with the attitude towards African Americans in American society and helps to spread awareness about the issue.
Work Cited
Goodwin, Michele. “The Thirteenth Amendment: Modern Slavery, Capitalism, and Mass Incarceration.” Cornell L. Rev., vol. 104, 2018, p. 899.