13th is a film by Ava DuVernay based on the issue of race in the US criminal justice. The title is sourced from the 13th Amendment that outlawed slavery albeit leaving a significant gap for exploitation. In the film, the director talks about mass incarceration within the US and the potential discrimination affiliated with the judicial criminal system. The film shares the thoughts of Michelle Alexander who argues that mass incarcerations in the US have fronted the ideals of slavery and racism in the country. According to her, the number of citizens deprived of the right to vote has increased in this era to hit figures incomparable to the Jim Crow era. Indeed, both DuVernay and Michelle agree on the nexus between justice, race and mass incarceration within the US.

The film explores the usually exploited provision of slavery abolishment except for criminals under the 13th Amendment. The result of this exploitation is the mass incarceration of thousands of black children even before they attain a legal age. These sentiments reflect those of Michelle who claims that African America children are arrested for very minor and normally not harmful reasons attributed to drugs and crime. The continued exploitation of the provision s in the 13th amendment forms the basis of this film with regard to mass incarceration of African Americas. Indeed, more than half the population of African Americans in the US has criminal records arising from minor charges of crime. Moreover, the people of color are much more likely to face mass incarceration than their white counterparts. Truly, Michelle is right in asserting that mass incarceration is the new form of slavery within the United States.

The question of prisons in the US is further explored in the film and resonates with the work of Michelle. The US for instance, leads in the number of incarcerations all across the world, with figures that exceed those of perceived dictatorial nations such as Russia and China. According to DuVernay, the prison system is built around the idea of making profits for a select population of the country. These sentiments are shared by Michelle who argues that the prison system is used as a conduit for the enrichment of sections of the population through the punishment of human beings. Indeed, the judicial system is not structured to achieve restoration for the incarcerated people, and most of them turn to crime once they are released. In this sense, therefore, DuVernay and Michelle agree and call for an end to slavery through mass incarcerations.

Still, the film explores the issue of mass incarceration as a form of discriminating against people of color through deprived privileges. The use of mass incarceration is touted as a form of taking back the freedom to vote from African Americans. By incarcerating as much as half the total population of black people, the government deprives them of the right to vote in leaders of their choice. These sentiments are shared by Michelle who argues that the government is advancing new tricks in depriving the people of color their rights to vote in elections. The film terms the 13th amendment as exploitative having been signed to allow the United States to rebuild its economy through the use of prison labor. In every standard, the works of Michelle and DuVernay agree in linking mass incarceration to slavery and racism.

Work Cited

DuVernay, Ava. 13^th. 2016

Do you need an Original High Quality Academic Custom Essay?