13th (film)

13th
The poster shows an American flag in black and white with a black-cameo of a man in black and white-stripped uniform with chains shackled to its ankles. On top of the flag, text reads "FROM SLAVE TO CRIMINAL WITH ONE AMENDEMENT."
Digital release poster
Directed byAva DuVernay
Written by
Produced by
Cinematography
Edited bySpencer Averick
Music byJason Moran
Production
company
Kandoo Films
Distributed byNetflix
Release dates
  • September 30, 2016 (2016-09-30) (NYFF)
  • October 7, 2016 (2016-10-07) (United States)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1 million[1]
Box office$566 (UK only)[2]

13th is a 2016 American documentary film directed by Ava DuVernay. It explores the prison–industrial complex, and the "intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the United States".[3] The title refers to the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted in 1865, which abolished slavery throughout the United States and ended involuntary servitude, except as punishment for convicted criminals. The film argues that this exemption has been used to continue the practice of involuntary servitude in the form of penal labor.

DuVernay contends that slavery in the United States has been perpetuated since the end of the Civil War through criminalizing behavior and enabling police to arrest poor freedmen and force them to work for the state under convict leasing; suppression of African Americans by disenfranchisement, lynchings, and Jim Crow; politicians declaring a war on drugs that weighs more heavily on minority communities; and, by the late 20th century, mass incarceration affecting communities of color, especially American descendants of slavery. In addition to the prison-industrial complex, the film examines the emerging detention-industrial complex, discussing how much money is being made by corporations from such incarcerations.

The film garnered acclaim from a number of film critics. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 89th Academy Awards,[4] and it won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards.[5]

  1. ^ "13th (2016)". The Wrap. January 23, 2013. Archived from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  2. ^ "13th". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  3. ^ Manohla Dargis, "Review: '13TH,' the Journey From Shackles to Prison Bars", The New York Times, September 29, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2017
  4. ^ "O.J.: Made in America" wins Best Documentary Feature-Oscars on YouTube
  5. ^ "Oscar Nominations". The Oscars. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on January 10, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2017.