To call Ava DuVernay’s new documentary, 13th, “astounding” (or some other similar superlative) somehow feels wrong.
To be clear, the film is an astonishing feat of filmmaking. But to reduce the critical analysis to a reviewer’s typical qualitative metrics would be to reduce the lived experiences of entire groups of peoples to a recommendation for your Saturday night viewing pleasure. “Two thumbs up” is something I’d say about the first season of Bloodline, not an investigation of the continued institutional oppression of people of color in America. (And before you start, yes, I know I’m pretty much alone in my appreciation of Bloodline.)
But to get things started, I’ll go ahead and start where I usually do: a description of what the film’s about.
For most of us, prisons are just a part of life. Like most everything else in the universe, the way the prison system is is just a fact; it’s always been that way and always will be. But the criminal justice system didn’t just pop up overnight.
13th chronicles the invention of the contemporary prison-industrial complex, culling from a wide variety of “expert witness” interviews (and those with… less than expert opinions) and historical sources.
13th is not a pleasant film to watch. While there are many who are all too acquainted with the injustices DuVernay shows us in her film, there are perhaps many more who see systemic racism as a horror that died with the Civil Rights Act. 13th shows the prison system for what it is: a civil rights issue that we as a people are largely abiding. While the film’s thesis isn’t exactly new, this documentary will likely be many’s first exposure to the issue, and the way in which it does out the information potentially packs more of a visceral emotional impact than piecing it together yourself from the disparate parts.
I can’t think of another documentary in the last few years with this much social relevance. As a call to action piece, it’s extremely effective.
It seems only fitting that a piece of reporting with this much potential impact has been done in a visual medium. One of the more disturbing elements of the film is the way in which it shows the very real-world impact of art and media.
It’s very easy to want to see art as insular from the real world. Many artists love to speak about the ways in which their novel/film/television show has the ability to “change the world,” but backpedal as soon a potentially adverse correlation is pointed out. Think of the way video game developers reacted at the height of the violent games controversy, or the many feet film directors have put in their mouths when asked why all the characters were white. As someone who dips his toes in the creative waters occasionally, I will admit that I have also had some of those unfortunate knee-jerk reactions instead of taking the criticism to heart and analyzing it.
The arts, and most broadly film and television, are the cultural unifiers of our country. When what we see on the screen is so universal and homogenous then it becomes the norm, shaping how we think about he world around us. Hundreds of years of white voices dominating the cultural conversation has made whiteness the default from which to deviate.
As shown in 13th, D. W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation perpetuated negative stereotypes about African-Americans. While it’s easy to dismiss that film a product of its time, it’s far less easy to dismiss the way the news constantly depicts and has depicted people of color, in part leading to damaging pieces legislation which have wreaked havoc on minority communities.
In this way, the timing of the documentary couldn’t have been more perfectly timed. The issue of representation in the media we consume has reached a tipping point; just think back to #OscarsSoWhite. While it’s not the primary focus of the film, 13th shows just how damaging to the real world homogeny in the fake world is.
Is the information in DuVernay’s documentary new? Are there any revelations made in the film that can’t be found elsewhere? Not necessarily. Is this an issue? Absolutely not. The beauty of 13th is in the way it effectively consolidates the boggling amount of research and writing previously done on the subject into a clear and easily communicated thesis, and that is what makes it a successful documentary and call to action.
I think services like Netflix and Amazon Prime are terrific. They (theoretically) allow for a broad catalogue of classic film and television shows to be easily accessible for a relatively low cost. However, this comes with a potential downside: the devaluation of the medium. The way in which content is consumed over streaming services lends itself to viewing with a lack of care and consideration.
Art has the ability to shape the mindset of the public consciousness; 13th shows us this. A film like 13th is one that deserves to be viewed meticulously and critically. It should be an event that brings into sharp focus a conversation that is long overdue for the nation rather than something unceremoniously dropped on Netflix doomed to be lost under the constant flood of new Marvel shows. That being said, I’m still glad it’s there at all. And who knows? Maybe Netflix is the perfect way to distribute this film. Maybe this way, someone will unknowingly click on it some lazy Sunday and feel inspired to change the world. Besides, I don’t know anyone who goes out to the movies anymore, anyway.
The film had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival.
