How do we understand the "message" a film is trying to give us? How does a documentary organize its "facts" to structure its "argument"?
For this week's post, please watch one of the most talked-about movies of the past year - Ava DuVernay's Oscar-nominated documentary 13th on Netflix.
"Powerful, infuriating, and at times overwhelming" is how Manohla Dargis of the New York Times describes 13th in the opening sentence of her rave review.
I can't wait to hear what you think. If you've already seen it, watch it again. Hopefully, you will be able to approach it with different eyes and see different things the second time.
Once you've seen it, please check out Oprah's recent interview with the director here. You can watch other interesting interviews with the director here and here, too. As always, write whatever you like. Just be sure to articulate what exactly the film's argument is - and please provide specific details about how the director structures that argument.
Is there a message in this film? If so, what is it? Is 13th authentic? Does it present its evidence with authority? Is there something the film could have done better to get its message across?
I look forward to reading your comments - by no later than 5pm next Tuesday, of course.
I feel the fundamental message is that prejudice is incorporated with our laws, and that the laws including our wrongdoing and discipline are the most current type of racism. The film draws vigorously on the impacts brought about by the thirteenth amendment, which is essentially the name of the film.
ReplyDeleteThe chief structures her contention around the thirteenth amendment's loophole: which expresses that nobody can be a slave in America unless they are a criminal. She and a significant number of her specialists assert this has made 'another servitude' and is the reason that the media started pushing a picture of dark individuals being 'criminals'. A fascinating way that she effectively expresses this idea is by having "criminal" fill the screen whenever it is used in an interview or piece of archive footage. This makes a priority for DuVernay to discuss how "criminal" is the substitution word for "slave" and additionally giving implicit cases without a requirement for backtracking.
The film's chronological trip indicates how since the thirteenth amendment's passing, laws have kept pace with injustices. As the film draws near to current circumstances, it gives capable insights of detainment in view of race, the aggregate number of detainees in the framework, and the money that private jail organizations are being paid. For me, these statistics strengthen arguments made all through whatever is left of the film. When numbers can back up the existence of an inherent bias of the system they create an argument that is hard to refute. The producers behind thirteenth even get high level government officials from both sides of the passageway who concur that a considerable lot of these issues exist in our reality today.
There is a authenticity to this film I didn't discover in alternate movies we've observed up until now. DuVernay trusts the messages she exhibits in this film and it shows. The film doesn't appear to shroud any points of interest. It is proud in regards to its message. It interviews lawmakers, activists, and history specialists about the issues it presents. This is the sort of story that ought to be spread far and wide to bring issues to light of the issues America confronts in both race and strategy.
The interview definitely gave new light into what the director wanted for the film and I'm glad I was able to watch this film again.
The concept of Ava DuVernay’s 13th, operates like the pitch for an alternative sci-fi dystopian thriller film. Concepts similar to what if the Nazi’s won WWII?, what if America lost the Revolutionary War?, what if 9/11 was an inside job? In the case of the film, the question is, what if the slavery that we knew in the 1800’s, was still intact in our modern times? However, in this case, DuVernay puts forth a convincing argument for her scenario, not through outlandish fictitious “what if” scenarios, but through a cold, relentless, and calculated investigation into the prison industrial complex of the United States of America. What we see is more horrifying than Hunger Games or Man in the High Castle forms of drama because rather than dramatic flair, DuVernay’s trump card is the ability to assemble a plethora of expert and witness testimony, as well as her strong ability to interview and film interviews, to show us an America where slavery still exists.
ReplyDeleteAs one watches 13th, assuming the audience who will most likely watch it is people with a liberal political viewpoint, you are surprised to see people from all along the spectrum of politics. From the legendary black intellectual Angela Davis to conservative politician Newt Gingrich, DuVernay expertly does not make this just an issue for liberals. What this should be is an issue that needs bipartisan support as the statistics come through to us. Facts that America has the highest population of prisoners than any other country. That 97% of those prisoners plead guilty rather than going to trial. That numerous American companies profit off of this system. The wide array of people interviewed for this film had me asking why conservatives and liberals are not working together to solve this issue? If people from all over the political discussion have to say (except for 1 person in the interview) that we need fix this problem now, then why is there so much deadlock?
Another interesting aspect of the interviews is the way they are filmed. Rather than still cam footage we see a lot of dolly shots and beautifully composed cinematography. I almost feel like this is a superhero movie where these heroes are intellectuals, politicians, activists, and most surprisingly, prisoners. Yes, former prisoners turned activists are interviewed for this movie which provides startling primary evidence and first hand testimony of the conditions that the prisoners face on a day to day basis, a majority of which, are therefore non-violent drug offences. The backgrounds they are filmed in, I was surprised to find out, were chosen specifically for their “laborious” look as DuVernay puts it. Places of glass, concrete, stone, brick, plastic. Furthering her argument for the current state of slavery these people are put in. I’m really not sure if I’ve ever seen a documentary where there had been such intense focus on where people are interviewed, so that it will connect to the overall message of the film.
In the interview with Oprah Winfrey on Netflix, my favorite part was DuVernay’s discussion of the implications of the ending. At first it seemed like they wanted something positive to leave the audience with, but it is actually a lot smarter. As DuVernay puts it, they wanted something that would not let people off the hook for what is going on. As consumers, we are all funding the prison industrial complex by going to stores and purchasing our stuff. DuVernay’s mission as a documentarian and for this documentary, is to move us to go make social change. To realize that slavery, to hammer the point home, is alive and well. We have all just made it more acceptable in our modern sense. After watching this you can no longer plead ignorance, and because of this movies popularity and Oscar nomination, you can not call irrelevance.
13th is by far the most impactful documentary I have seen so far in this class. Ava DuVernay created a film that captures the truth behind not only mass incarceration, but the corruption of politics, big business, and the neverending racism that plagues our country. I was captivated from the beginning and found that I couldn’t take my eyes off of the screen for even a second or I would miss something monumental.
ReplyDeleteI feel extremely guilty for not knowing about the loophole in the 13th amendment that allows prisoners to be “modern-day slaves”. Another extreme shock for me was learning about ALEC and the impact they had when it came to creating new legislations. DuVernay did an astounding job at weaving and connecting all the evidence of U.S. history together to make sense of what the injustice looks like today. The fact that someone who is unable to afford bail will remain imprisoned and considered a criminal for the rest of their lives is sickening to me.
Ava DuVernay in my opinion has accomplished every documentary filmmaker’s dream; to take a story and expand it in every sense to reveal a truth or injustice and to right the wrong. This film is a call to action in every way possible and was made to inform the uninformed. I definitely feel like my eyes were opened (more open) to the corruption in politics and the extent of malicious racists.
This film was one of the most authentic docs I’ve ever seen. It presented harsh facts based on countless interviews, photos, video footage, graphics, music, and perspectives from both sides of the story. Of course there are hundreds of stories and problems that the U.S. should be held accountable for such as gun laws and lobbying, yet this film hit the truth behind racism in our country on the nose! 13th should be viewed by not only every person living in the U.S., but every human on Earth. I’m going to show this documentary to everyone!
I actually liked this documentarty a bit, and not just because they shat on politicians, and also not because I didn't have to read subtitles, though I'll give it a +1 for that. For someone like me who doesn't pay attention to the news or politics, or any of that stuff, this film has made me more aware of the fault of the prison system, and the origin of those problems. Previously, my only knowledge of this content comes from the episode of Adam Ruins Everything. I would say that this film appears to be authentic. Again, not knowing enough about this stuff, makes it hard for me to say. There are infinite sides to every story, who's to say which is the right one? This definitely seems like it, but life is too uncertain, and I have trust issues with things that I see and read about. In general though, I thought there was a decent balance between b-roll and talking heads, but leaning a bit towards too many talking heads.
ReplyDelete13th’s purpose is to unload and display the levels of systematic racism in place in the United States. Since we’ve become a country, this racism has taken many forms. It started out as slavery and now ranges everywhere from police brutality to the prison industrial complex. The worst part about our current situation is that it’s easy for people to ignore.
ReplyDeleteNot only is our country fueled on racism, but also money. ALEC, the secretive devil, creates these laws that put minorities at a disadvantage in order for their own economic success. Although we don’t have legit slavery, the complex web our government has woven for minorities, specifically black people, has brought on a new form of slavery.
The 13th amendment, although it ended slavery, literally allows slavery if you commit a crime. And black people are being targeted for arrest. For example, the “war on drugs” is all a scam to put more black people in prison, running lives (even if they’re innocent). White criminals get off incredibly easy while black people aren’t given a chance.
Ava DuVernay expertly crafted this documentary in such an effective and authentic way. The people she interviewed are all experts in their field and she managed to get people from liberal to conservative. The use of these interviews along with archival footage, modern protest footage, music, and graphic design, keeps audiences intrigued while still giving us as much information as possible. We really get the whole picture of the issue and are prompted to help make a change.
Also, could this have possibly come out at a more ideal time? Given our political climate, 13th is a necessary documentary. The scene where Donald Trump’s disgusting speech played over archival footage that acted out what he was spewing was incredibly powerful. Hopefully this film helps bring upon the revolution we need to end the new form of slavery.
Ian Roozrokh
ReplyDeleteThis being the third time I’ve watched 13th, this documentary still rings perfectly the message Ava DuVernay wanted to communicate. Although the target audience seemed to be millennial and/or liberal focused based on the aesthetic and storytelling choices, which I’ll mention later, the film itself encapsulated a broad dynamic of interviewees and political perspectives a larger audience would empathize with.
This is one of my favorite documentaries this year by far; 13th coherently tells one of the most important American stories to be educated on.
We all know the boring history documentary we were forced to watch in class and how they were narrated by a white man with still frames on ken burns crop filters, but this documentary turned informative history doc’s into the pearl of the deep blue sea. From effectively using diverse interview subjects to the impactful use of song and lyric just by graphics to beautiful cinematography, this film perfectly and smoothly shares the message of the horrible, racist past and how we’re still living in it today.
The documentary uses the strongest tools for presenting its case on evidence with authority by directly facing you with strong voices of writers, professors, politicians, speakers, activists, and even including former prisoners. The message hits harder, for me personally, by the end of the film because of the involvement I’ve had in this past election while becoming an activist and a fighter for human rights amid the racism I’ve witnessed during this chaos of elected authority. This film makes me want to fight stronger and harder and it makes me not want to stop until there’s justice, even if that means putting others before myself.
Overall, this film will and should always be a resource for education for our youth, a tool for inspiring activism, a way to be reminded of our past and present, and a foundation of what to do next.
Also, salty it didn’t win the oscar but I mean O.J. also really deserved it too.
When I was little, I used to visit my grandparents house a lot throughout the summer. There was an elder, African American man that lived near them and every time we drove by his house, I would note that he would be dressed in his best attire, no matter what day of the week it was. I remember my dad always saying, “I could hold a great conversation with a man like that.” I never understood what he meant, until my recent years in these early stages of adulthood. A man like that has been through the vice and rage put against his own well-being, yet he is still able to show that this contemporary misguidance that we all know as society will never be able to grasp the freedom that he has as a man with no regard to color. Freedom is the overwhelming sense of self, surpassing the gaps between the present and the past. He was able to achieve this when harsh reality brought about contemptuous lies.
ReplyDeleteIn this country today, we see betrayal, misguidance, and morose corruption, yet we attempt to disregard it as just “occurences” on our tv. This systematic racism that has plagued our country for years needs to come to an end. The social injustices we have in this country with being and freedom agitates my mind with infidelities and outrage. How do we measure freedom? Through integrity? Virtue? Vice? Or perhaps it should be measured in the simple understanding of one another. This is the third time that I have watched 13th, and it seems to be getting better each time. One of the biggest flaws pointed out in the film is the overall moral capacity of the human’s thought process. It seems to be that we get stuck in a labyrinth of right and wrong because we get so afraid of saying the things worth saying. Ava DuVernay was able to consistently show this throughout her film. One of the big arguments she has is that their is this undermining racial barrier when it comes to our legal system in the States, especially pointing out our 13th amendment. We see this continuous pattern of prejudice in the ubiquitous laws that are suppose to be for all ethnicities to have this “freedom” that America praises so greatly. I think one of the best ways this racial inequality was showed in the film was not only by the b-roll footage, but by the stated facts of the talking heads. My personal favorite interview was the one with Angela Davis. I thought she did an an excellent job showcasing her profound thoughts and research of Jim Crow. She states that it is, “the subordinate status of a group defined largely by race.” Furthermore, this shows that Jim Crow was more than just a series of laws, it was a way of life at one point. Personally, I thought this concept was the basis of this film because they all honestly just brought it back to the beginning of enslavement with emphasis on Jim Crow being modernized to fit our time. On a bit of a side note, she did not just interview higher intellectuals, but activists, ex-cons, and people who were just not afraid to speak their minds. (I also just adored the cinematography in this film. I thought each shot with a talking head was beautiful with the was it was framed, the contrasts in shadows, and the locations they were filmed at.) Personally, I thought she got her point across pretty well, and I almost wish it were a longer film. Overall, I just think this country as a whole needs a collective awakening.
I tend to remain neutral about this film even after that emotional state the film brought me when I was watching it as the film being very current and "persuasive" - I wanted to have a viewpoint in this matter and the film happened to provide a very "mind-blowing" reality. The fact that it is so "persuasive" alerted me of the film somewhat shifting from a "documentary" to "propaganda". The difference between these two? I guess it'd be the extent of intention trying to sell its point.
ReplyDeleteI agree with some classmates's comments on how interesting this film is compared to bland history channel documentaries. Editing is 80% of the success in this movie. The rapid, suspenseful editing style, from point to point, from reasons to consequences, created a almost flawless "alt-reality" and drew most of audiences' attention, there is no breathing room. This is a double sword, indeed. From filmmakers' perspective, it means successful attention gathering and potential covering for some bugs - who would press that "pause" button and do fact-checking or even stop and think about it, not to say have one's own opinion about it. For example, the film drew a conclusion that because there is a positive correlation between "amount of colored people in jail" and "extent of government's action against crime", government's action against crime is the reason of colored people in jail - it was convincing but as soon as I step out of the film I remembered that scientifically, correlation doesn't mean anything in cause-effect relationship. In this case, I tend to see poverty gap and education as the cause of colored crimes rate but the film covered little about it. Maybe because it'd weaken its argument because it's hard to understand for ordinary people, therefore lose its popularity. Sure when there's a white government to blame on, the voice is "louder".
As a Chinese international student, I came from a collective society in which different ethnicity take their steps back to ensure a greater peace. What makes me most uncomfortable is that when I look into American politics - Feminism, BLM, Hillary/Trump(Democrats/Republican) supporters don't set up conversations or debates with their opponents. They present the best of themselves, worst of their opponents in their own circle, they don't compromise and they make as much noise as they can.
Just like that this film is based on a set of interviews. Mostly intellectual black right activists and several negative examples such as lobbists. Just like most documentary would choose from its interviewees.
I don't think The 13th deserves an Oscar. It does deserve attention and discussion but The Academy's decision shows its position in encouraging more healthy political environment - a less one-sided, "manipulative", emotion-driven way of political, historical presentation.
This has been my favorite documentary that we've watched so far. It had great aesthetics that made the film look good without being distracting. It showed a lot of numbers, but kept them simple and often used images to support, such as when they said 1 in 17 white men are in prison and showed a line of 17 men with one in prison stripes. This documentary's point would be lost without numbers to back it up, and the filmmaker managed to make them interesting, spreading them out and keeping them at a minimum. The film followed the timeline of black criminality clearly and without recognizable bias. As Ava Duvernay said in her interview with Oprah, she treated this film as an investigation, with 40% of her interviewees being Conservatives. She took an idea and followed where the story took her. If there was any bias, I believe there was enough evidence presented to back up what everyone said, except for the one guy who kept denying the racial discrimination in arrests. Speaking of that guy, the film nicely juxtaposed everything he said with a few others-including Newt Gingrich- to shoot down his arguments. Duvernay utilized a variety of voices: from politicians to activists and historians, and also people of different colors. They used people like Angela Davis to recount their stories, as well as songs from the eras they covered, showing how imprisonment had a cultural effect on black communities. The film also covered immigrants in the prison system a bit. For a film only 100 minutes long, I feel as though I gleaned a lot of knowledge, and the film's message was very clear in that our prison system is and has been broken, from the ways we run them to who we put in them. It's purpose was to point out the brokenness. I liked how the interview with Oprah added to the film from a documentarian standpoint. Miss Duvernay gave great advice to documentarians by saying to go in with the point of view of curiosity, and to treat it as an investigation.I admit, once the credits of the film started I stopped watching, but when Ava Duvernay said that there was meaning to the montage, I went back and sat through it. It was a great way to end such a disheartening film. Without seeing that ending, I felt crushed, and that fighting the prison system is a hopeless endeavor. But with the montage of black people going about their days and Common's song in the background, I felt a surge of hope for the future of minorities who tend to end up in the prison system despite their innocence. The film was well done, and it felt as unbiased as a documentary can get and presented a lot of info without feeling crowded and boring. It also discussed the Black Lives Matter movement, which is helpful for people who don't really know what it is or think it's about hating police and authority when it's not. This film was successful in conveying its point and hopefully changing minds and making people care.
ReplyDeleteThe documentary 13th was extremely eye opening for me as a US citizen. I had no idea that most of these things that were talked about within the film really existed, or had taken place. I think that the film really does an amazing job of depicting the ways the US had integrated racism and prejudice into the judicial and legal systems over time. It started out extremely blatant after the civil war, but then the government found loop holes to keep PoC oppressed and to keep white America afraid.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the way the film was pieced together especially involving current presidential candidates and their ideas. It really showed the hypocrisy in some of their motives. I love the found footage, photos, and news bits that were added into the story to keep the visuals fresh and my attention stuck to the screen. However I did not like that the only people we really hear from seemed to be highly educated, biased individuals, dressed in nice expensive suits. I would have wanted to hear more from people who have been seriously oppressed or who are living in jail situations. I think that would have made this film seem a little more genuine to me.
I am surprised that within the first 20 mins of the film I learned so much new information about history that was left out of my middle school and high school lesson plans. I felt outraged that even America’s education system has been altered with time as well to ignore or delete parts of history that tell the full story of oppression.
I enjoyed the film, with the history, and current examples of what is going on and how history keeps repeating itself. The film is very true to itself in the way that it gives you the full history and background so you can make decisions and understand the society you are living in currently.
MARIA / 1 of 2
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed “13TH” and thought it was successful in many ways. It perfectly depicts racism throughout America and the ignorance most hold. It was irritating to watch, because you wonder, “How can this still be happening?” Nothing has changed with the idea of criminality directly relating to race, specifically the black community. I was genuinely upset the whole time, because of the fact that I know there are so many people in this country who think racism doesn’t exist. So many powerful moments in this film.
Last semester, I was researching psychedelic culture and why government authorities deem drugs “harmful” and “unsafe”. The reason I am speaking about this is because a lot of what I learned had to do with the War on Drugs, which I think is an important subject that “13TH” speaks upon. The film does a wonderful job explaining how there is an assumption that people of color are criminals because of drugs, which is not true. I remember reading articles about drugs in general, but also racial stereotypes and prejudice involved with the war on drugs. Some things that I learned with my research that I saw in the documentary was that cocaine was thought to be favored by blacks. There was a fear that this culture would spread to the white, middle class. Other drugs such as marijuana and opium, as prohibitionists thought, could possibly inspire males of the minority to “act violently” or express sexual interest in white women; marijuana in which was identified with “violent Mexicans”. This, to me, was one of the issues that the documentary expresses well. It’s important to be educated on how EARLY violence, drugs, and race have been connected in American culture.
DuVernay does an impeccable job of pacing the film, chronologically placing events that allow the film’s train to move smoothly. I loved how in the interview with Oprah, she speaks on how the documentary wouldn’t be possible without a bit of history on the subject. She said that she couldn’t tell the story of the present, without facts and evidence from the past. This leads into the fact that she decided to include the archival footage and stories of the civil rights movements in the past. This is so important, because nothing has changed! Most of the interviewee’s in this film take note of that. The degree of racism that existed in America during slave/segregation times still exists today, just in a different way.
MARIA / 2 of 2
ReplyDeleteA quote I love from the New York Times article was, “Ms. DuVernay is working within a familiar documentary idiom that weaves original, handsomely shot talking-head interviews with well-researched, occasionally surprising and gravely disturbing archival material” (Dargis). We receive a great amount of factual and scholarly information from reliable subjects DuVernay utilizes in the film. It’s important that she included people of the opposing view, as talked about in her interview with Oprah. I loved how the film showed archival footage of Angela Davis during the civil rights movement. Granted, its even more powerful to hear her speak about an issue that’s still happening today that she fought for so long ago. Gosh, what an awesome woman. The archival footage makes the film authentic, as well as interviews from people who ACTIVELY participated in the movement in the past.
The only thing that I did not like at some points was the transitions of songs with titling. I don’t think the lyrics were necessary to add, but I understand that the lyrics were crucial for the transition to make sense. The problem I had was the certain word choices; I feel if the full sentences appeared than it would have made it look better. I say, all of the lyrics or none. But, that’s just me being picky with graphic design and film aesthetic. I do say, though, that the choice of areas to interview subjects was pristine, especially of Angela Davis. I love how DuVernay explains why she chose to interview her there. I think the space in general drew me into the interview because it was so beautiful.
The message of the film is to never ignore history. History repeats itself, and we need to actively participate in the movement for equality. Get rid of norms that present the assumption that people of color perform violence. Something needs to be done about this injustice. I don’t think that this film could have been portrayed any other way. I think it was beautiful, emotional, and compelling.
I thought 13th was a very powerful and stimulating documentary about how the U.S Prison system operates and how it got to be so big. In this film, DuVernay exposes the Prison systems as a flawed, broken system, that not only stems from racism but is also profiting off it as well. This film does an excellent job of showing actual footage and statistics.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is both an authentic film and trustworthy film. I thought the typography animations while a bit cliche were very nessicary and helped reinforce the films main points. I found myself fully engaged with this film the entire time. I think this film was so powerful and interesting to me mainly because I dont know what its like to be be behind bars and striped of my rights. In my opinion the message this film is trying to make is that here in America we havent ended our racial past just redesigned it and how today is a product of a century long historical process.
Wow, this film is just, wow. I can honestly say I gained so much more historic information, that I never learned in school. Of course we talked about civil rights, but to an extent. AND THE PRESIDENT'S, gosh it really makes me hate the last five (not including Obama) but oh my gosh the things that Trump said, hearing that in in the voiceover with the b-roll of black men and women being hit by white people. I’m trying really hard to organize my thoughts but honestly my brain is going everywhere after watching that. First off, the documentary visually alone is quite interesting, I assume it is purposeful but the interview locations all seem to include this “prison like” setting. The backdrops have these parallel lines and eery colors that give you that behind the bars feeling. And everything vividly pieces together, the interviews, the historic footage, and not to forget the music. I admire every aspect of DuVernay’s film, you really can tell how precise she was about each and every minute of this doc, just by what you see and hear every 60 seconds. I also admire her for making a documentary that hits home for her, she has grown up with this fear and has put that passion into studying it in a variety of areas, and then ultimately a compelling film. Also to add how strong it is for her to take this heavy topic as a black female, it's inspiring and brave to tap into those bubbles that know one really wanted to touch. Again I also give her props for letting her investigation take her this far, in the interview she mentions she never saw it becoming the film it was, she was initially focusing on the profiting of punishment within prisons in the U.S. Like I said, I was completely unaware of the loophole within the thirteenth amendment, and I’m sure majority was unfamiliar as well, it would have been great to have seen it during my early education days when learning about civil rights and jim crow laws, but I also appreciate it more coming out in this time, because I hope it serves as a huge wakeup call to everyone in this nation, no matter what party you register.
ReplyDeleteBack in the good old days (or actually pretty shitty days) of 2016, I heard about 13th from a friend. I watched it as soon as it got on Netflix. The first time I saw this film, I was so focused and in the moment. I was ready to be educated and by george I was. I loved it. I loved it for its content and intriguing animations and information. It was a new world to me in that fact that I was unaware of the reality of our prison system. The first line grabs your attention and makes you WANT to listen.
ReplyDeleteNow…. skip forward to the present, the good old days of 2017… Don’t get me wrong. I still love this doc, but there’s something about the way the interviews were filmed that just made me so annoyed. Stop moving the camera for .2 seconds. Ugh. The consent moving was distracting and took away from the meaningfulness of the interviews and what was being said. Also, the side view of the interviewee is ineffective for me. Its not as personal compared to when the subject is talking directly to you or at least you can see their full face and emotions while they talk. I understand you want to be fancy and untraditional and more cinematic with your interviews because the only other footage you have is archival footage, but please, Ava, I love you girl but its too much for my poor brain. 13th is clearly intended to shock its audience. It shines a light on two significant issues going on in our country. Money and it’s influences and slavery. It did a great job of being opinion free and stayed focused on facts. But, you have to be open to the information that is being given to you. This doc touches on the point of how slavery plays a role in modern times and suggests how it never went away, it’s just changing with the times.
In the end of the film, I felt like I learned more then I maybe wanted to know. For the most part it kept my attention and linked its points together, however, I thought the pacing of the interviews and the information being given with the quick editing was a bit much at times and I found myself having to go back to re listen to a part because my poor little brain was still trying to process what it had just ingested. A good example of this is the insane amount of interviews that are brought in throughout the film one after another. There is barely any break between each point, I felt like all of these people were in the same room together talking over each other but the camera is always only on one person (obviously that’s not true but ya). Oh! I do have to point out that I loved loveedddd the locations in which the interviews were being held. They were each different, beautiful and made my eyes smile.
13TH is a well-produced, well-thought out film that exposes the faults of the prison system and America's problem with government susceptibility to crony capitalism. DuVernay did a great job backing up arguments with historical evidence and authoritative interviews from experts and politicians involved (I thought the interview with the Buzzfeed guy was kind of strange and inappropriate for the subject matter but that's just me).
ReplyDeleteThe clear message is that Americans should not be ignorant to the underhanded ways that racial disparity and division is in some way still enforced by both public and private organizations, some 140 years after the de jure abolition of slavery and the ratification of the 13th amendment. The other message is that cultural and societal change cannot simply be written into law and accepted, it takes the strength and the will of the people to identify a problem within them and take the initiative the correct it. It is not easy, but nothing easy ever strengthened the human spirit; nothing easy ever made a society great.
I would say there is a good amount of input from old-guard conservatives like Newt Gingrich and Grover Norquist, but seeing more dissenting opinions from more far-right new age conservatives would have been pretty interesting.
This was crazy. So much information was given in less than two hours that it was hard to process what I had watched. The choice to talk about each issue separately was interesting because it would talk about the treatment of black people and then go into the details of the prison system during each era that was talked about. This method worked very well showing the correlation for each issue. One truly does effect the other and taking the audience through the timeline made that very apparent. The use of interviews supported this as they would often connect the dots for us between the issues. Footage of presidents and politicians and raids from the past helped me to see the reality of what has been happening for so long. I remember being younger and avoiding the news because of how negative it is, but every time i went to visit my dad I could expect Fox news to be on to paint an ugly picture of Chicago for me to show all of the drug dens that were so close to home. Seeing these news broadcasts reminded me of that time of ignorance of just being fed whatever my dad told me about the world and people in it just as he had with his dad. My point is that I found the message of this was to go against that ignorant mindset and be informed about what is happening. While slavery is abolished, the documentary showed us how real the issues still are to this day and the idea of blindly following a leader cannot continue if we want true change. Another message of this was to elect and support the right leaders who do have the people's interests in mind, all of the people, not just the white ones. I knew it was anti-Trump from the start but showing the violence in his rallies and use of old terms from other corrupt officials was a great was to show the audience that we won't move forward with Trump. This doc did a wonderful job at getting these points across and I have already recommended it to people with the ignorant mindset that my dad tried to instill upon me.
ReplyDeleteBefore personally watching this film, I had heard a lot of talk about it. I was interested to see what all the fuss was. I tried to become aware of the different aesthetic techniques used by the director that would set the film apart from any other documentary.
ReplyDeleteI felt that the story was successfully told through the usage of maps, interviews, a mix of old and recent news footage, different fonts, and music. The interview shots consisted of different angles and backgrounds which created a variety of shots instead of using the traditional frontal shot. There was also a variety of people interviewed which provided different perspectives. The fonts used in the film intrigued me. I like the choice of using different types of fonts, motions, and colors to incorporate the message intended for the viewer. One specific example is when words are paired with the songs that signify a transition of each section I felt that the emphasized words from each song gave them a more impactful meaning. I also want to point out the editing of the film which I felt was done perfectly. There were many times where a subject would be talking and it would cut to something contradicting or supporting of what they were saying- a technique I might use as a director.
The film felt authentic to me because it was backed up with a lot of evidence. I thought it was a good decision to pair the old news footage with current footage because it proved that the problem was real and still occuring.
From my understanding, the film starts out by presenting the idea that the 13th amendment grants freedom to all Americans with one exception- criminals. The evidence is played out through a timeline touching on problems with the criminal justice system and race. The Conclusion of the film was extremely powerful to me. I liked the director’s decision to include the real photographs showing how people were reacting to the issue. The emotion captured within these pictures made the film more authentic to me.
Overall I liked this film. I felt that it proved its point as well as achieving the goal of being aesthetically pleasing.
The documentary 13th was incredible to watch. It wasn’t my favorite of the semester, but it was very eye opening nonetheless. Just in general, the flow of this documentary was so great, it never jumped from topic to topic in a way that was confusing and I think the balance of interviews/footage/pictures was great. I have to say that I was honestly never bored while watching this. I know that was a big topic last class, but truly, I don’t know how one could be bored while watching such beautifully pieced together history, being put in front of them to devour.
ReplyDeleteI loved the way that this was put together, the way that the story was told. The facts were laid out in front of the viewer in a way that there was no feasible way to refute them, unless you’re a complete asshole. I learned so much from watching this documentary, way way more than I did in my high school classes. In a way I think this documentary is fearless, it wasn’t afraid to show the gruesome photos or really dig deep into history and come back with the horrifying details. Where as, I think, most of my classes in high school, were afraid to do that.
I like how this documentary included things from politics today. I think it’s very appropriate because of our current situation with America’s ‘president’, it seems as if we are regressing rather than progressing. I think this documentary is a nice way of showing what happens when people refuse to, one, be a decent human being, and two, refuse to move forward. Putting together history and today’s politics side by side, sends a perfect message: We must learn from history. If we do not learn from history the history will repeat itself and tragedy is bound to strike. I feel privileged to be at Columbia and to be surrounded by so many like minded people. This is a great documentary, one that everyone should see.
I am in love with how gracefully this documentary flows, but still with such organization. Everything was introduced to me in a way that made perfect sense, and the placement of certain interview segments was impeccably precise. I appreciate that it begins with the chronological order of the nationwide problem or systemic racism in the US, and then eventually focuses on present-day changes and how current events relate to it. Everything was easy to follow, the interviews were fruitful and informative, and the structure was nice.
ReplyDeleteI felt 13th had enough of a gritty and dark style that allowed the subject’s seriousness to shine, without being distractingly gaudy. My favorite- the title screen breaks with lyrics from rap and blues songs- was a touch that showed how this happening of injustice to black people throughout the country induced the creation of a lot of art. I’m glad this opportunity to marry the two artforms of music and film was taken, and it’s impeccable how lyrical pieces were sprinkled exactly where they belonged in the narrative we followed.
The authority of this film is strong- and doesn’t mess around. Ava DuVernay wasn’t even featured in the film itself, but the stern nature of each interviewee and the somberness of the moments they captured was perfect with the use of the B roll that was featured. It’s not like I have a say in how tasteful an issue that doesn’t affect me is handled, but DuVernay definitely took something that was incredibly meaningful to her and her race and made it into the least controversial piece of informative art that she could. Or, not controversial in my eyes, at the least. Perhaps other social views would think otherwise.
I know that technically every documentary is “propaganda for something”, and it’s hard for me to call a film like this propaganda when I agree with it so whole-heartedly. Nevertheless, it’s undoubtedly “propaganda” for the socially aware leftists. But damn, does it do a good job.
Sean McGann
ReplyDeleteI thought 13th was a great, if a bit flawed, documentary. I really loved Ava DuVernay's last film, Selma, so I went into this film with high expectations. Overall, though the visuals were at times ham-fisted or generic, and some points could have been made clearer or a case made better, this is a powerful, eye-opening film.
The film's message is that we need to stop the privatization and monetization of prison systems that oppress minority communities. The film was very convincing in its points. I found the parts detailing the history of various "dog whistle" terms being used by U.S. presidents; terms that signaled that a mass criminalization of minorities was under way with wars on "drugs" and "crime." It's terrifying to know what these terms mean now, but it's very helpful in deciphering malicious intentions. It's a film that wants to communicate and educate people who otherwise wouldn't know about the oppression happening right under their noses.
In some instances, there were points or statements that could have been made better. For instance, when it's doing a parallel between Donald Trump and his racist predecessors, it doesn't really have it well-edited to make its point clear. Then, it just feels like taking his words and putting it over footage of racism. The final point with the "law and order" parallel was solid, but the scene prior to that wasn't. Also, the film doesn't have much of an ending. After having a statement from one of the interviewees, it's edited to where you think it'll cut to another talking head, but it just begins the credits. The film didn't really care to bring it all home, instead just leaving the scene unsatisfied. The lack of a proper ending was jarring and really took me out of the movie.
Other than some minor or moderate hiccups in editing, the film was able to stay on topic and make some fascinating and eye-opening points. While I did worry that the film would be too ham-fisted and alienating, it was quite the opposite. I'm very interested in seeing what Ava DuVernay will give us next.
10/10
The documentary 13th consistently kept me on my toes! I really enjoyed the film, not only for it’s aesthetics but also for it’s message. I think that Ava Duvernay is incredible and her artist vision is a great representation of her character. I am glad, that she decided to conclude the documentary 13th with photographs of African American families, instead of her original idea of having each person that she interviewed say who they were. I felt that this made for a pivotal ending to an already compelling film. During her interview with Oprah, Ava discussed how she wanted people to feel accountable for the issues dealing with incarceration and human rights in our country. It’s not enough to be aware if the issue but we must become apart of the process of raising awareness that will hopefully initiate a resolution.
ReplyDeleteI felt like I needed to get up and do something, after watching this groundbreaking film that is 13th. Some of the issues that the film addressed I was somewhat familiar with but the film addressed many issues that I simply was not aware of. For example I have never heard of ALEC [American Legislative Exchange Council] which helped make fake laws become real laws. I liked that she had interviews from the opposing side. The film sheds light on so many issues beyond race, for instance human rights. I thought it was interesting that Ava Duvernay overall point of view , was that of curiosity and authentic interest. I believe that this point of view is evident throughout the film. Although the film has some undeniable facts about the issues of incarceration in America, Ava Duvernay is not too forceful in her approach but allows the audience to make their own conclusion.
In contrast with many of the films we've watched in and out of class, this film felt like a return to a more traditional documentary style. And damn.. it was powerful and beyond relevant for everyone living in America today.
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't know how I've gotten this far without seeing this film; my girlfriend has been telling me to see it for the past month and I don't know why I didn't listen to her and watch it earlier. It is shocking and exposes so many controversies involving race in the U. S. and our extremely flawed prison system. That said, what was the most gut-wrenching part of this doc for me? The fact that I already knew most of this was going on in my country and I haven't done anything meaningful about it.
One can debate the validity of the movie "Hotel Rwanda", but a line that I am reminded of when I watched 13th spoken by Juaqín Pheonix: "I think if people see this footage, they'll say Oh, my God, that's horrible. And then they'll go on eating their dinners." It's a tenuous correlation but this was my knee-jerk reaction to the film.
As far as its craft goes, I believe for the most part it was well made and engaging. The "talking head" interviews were beautiful, simplistic, and powerful because of t he filmmaker's purposefully unaesthetic approach to framing. I believe this helped subconsciously emphasize the deceptive nature of the selective mistreatment of a large portion of our society. The use of color and repeating patterns between the interviewee and their background was admirable. I found the ignoring of conventions such as the 180 degree rule to further effect the story, though I also found myself being critical of the jittery dolly work in the interviews.
Overall it was a well made film that utilized archival footage more effectively than most, and made many very good points to spread its message.
First off I just want to say I enjoyed this film, but I can’t tell if it was this doc in particular, if it’s the times itself, or just this class, that has me questioning everything I see. The only reason why I think this is because, when I see someone say one thing is not true and this is the true thing, I don’t know why but I become skeptical. I’m not trying to say what they were saying in the film is not true, I think for the most part it is. What I’m saying is that I don’t find that style of argument effective at least towards me. I just think everything needs to have citations nowadays. If I made a Documentary I would create a website to provide all my sources for the information shown in the film, even if it was what people in interviews say. I think there is a message in 13th, and it’s obviously along the lines of nothing changes it all just has a fresh coat of paint on it, when it comes to race inequality in America that is. Like I said before I for the most part think the film is for the most part authentic. But there is just something that I’m not sold on and I don’t know what it is. Maybe it is the bias the film has, I never am sold on stuff with bias really. But at the same time I feel like the film is justified on the bias it has. I don’t know. There is a definite authority to the film when presenting evidence. It has a very official feel to it, but I am kinda skeptical on if everything the U.S. does is targeted towards hurting Male African Americans. I feel like it is mainly targeting poor people in general. I think the way the film was made was probably the best way it could have been made, I can’t really think of a way to change it to make it better without putting in opposing viewpoints, and that would just probably change the whole message and tone of the film. One last thing I want to say is I really liked seeing Trump and Hillary talking about “super predators” mainly because all that and learning about ALEC just furthered to solidify my feelings towards the system.
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ReplyDeleteThis is the second time I have seen this doc. I am actually working on a documentary right now about systemic racism, specifically white privilege. This was quite an umbrella investigation of the system, so it is rather overwhelming. I needed this push to be overwhelmed to better understand once more why I am doing what I am doing.
ReplyDeleteThe scene in which they discuss being shocked out of complacency is so vital to me because as horrific as that fact is, it is so true. This focuses on modern day slavery in the U.S, but we can’t talk about that subject without talking about the ever-present system of oppression that has allowed for it. There is no other way to illustrate the issue without overwhelming. The issue itself is indescribably overwhelming and the audience would be cheated if she didn’t force us to see.
Duvernay weaves a web for us of complexities, breaking down all the tiny instances in which where we are today has been essentially concocted like a brilliant game of chess- starting from the very beginning of the story and slowly showing us through images and varying perspectives how we got here. No documentary can be purely objective, but damn, did she get close. She featured Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry, for Christ’s sake.
In regards to the cinematography on second watch, I do agree in part that at times it was distracting. As I thought about it more, I pondered what it would look like if she didn’t have the bizarre angles, positioning, and dolley movements. There is an unwritten rule that once you have finished discussing one topic from a specific interview session, you leave it. But she never did this, she featured a lot of the same people talking about every point she instigated conversation on. If there was no movement or varying angles, we would be bored. We would be sick of looking at these experts or activists. We would stop listening.
Duvernay is arguing that this civil rights movement we all learn about in history class never ended. She is showing us it didn’t start in the 60’s, it started the moment the first African was kidnapped from the coast of Africa. It has been snowballing ever since with moments of public awareness greater than others. This is just another moment of awareness to shock us out of contentment.
It would be hard to come up with an opposing argument and that alone proves the strength of Duvernay’s work.
The scene in which we see archival footage playing over Donald Trump talking about ‘the good old days’ was enough to make me sick to my stomach. I don’t understand how anyone could watch that and not feel the same, supporter or not. I honestly believe that scene alone should have won her the Academy Award. She is showing us with a flashing red sign “THIS IS STILL HAPPENING. WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT.”
Complacency has no place in our world today. Whether you agree with the unavoidable information she provided or not, this fact is undeniable.
My apologies for the lateness of this post.
ReplyDeleteWithin the first 10 minutes of watching Oprah's interview with Ava, they touched on the exact reasons I really loved this doc. I know I am quite ignorant about things related to history even though it both fascinates me and bores me. The way the entirety was strung together made it an extremely captivating film. Some of the facts, I knew, but most I did not.
The doc had me engaged from the very beginning. It was like a look back at the history of the issue, and while I'm not a fan of history in general, there are certain aspects that always draw me in. Fights for freedom and rights have always stood out to me in history, therefore, I was hooked at the beginning.
I really liked the way they introduced the growing number of the prison population based on year with text only. It felt like it was a more powerful statement to have it seen as opposed to heard. Seeing the numbers increase was astonishing, and the statistics added blew my mind! The one I that astonished me enough to stay etched in my brain was that we make up only 5% of the worlds population but we hold 25% of the worlds prisoners (or however it was phrased). I was dumbfounded by this stat, and would somehow manage to bring it up in conversations with other people as I recommend they watch this doc.
It has been over a week since I watched it, but I remember loving the way the film was put together. The way the stats were sprinkled throughout, the historical footage added in just the right places to help the story along, the talking head interviews with different professionals with different ties to the issue...it was just really well done. I think the doc achieved its goal in that I am even more aware than ever there is a problem with our justice system and the way we treat "criminals". The fact that we label all of them as such when some are just druggies or drug dealers who got caught...just shows how damaged our system is. I wanted to go into criminal psychology after film school, and I may also was to try to find a way to help criminals acclimate themselves back into the world. I have so many dreams and goals, and watching this doc just makes me want to add more to the list in a good way.
The documentary 13th is extremely relevant, true, and necessary. Although this doc wont sit well with a large demographic of people and their political views, I believe that this film was confident in the stance it took and didn't bother to try to cater to and appeal to everybody. They wanted to preach a message for the sake of those who wish to hear it. Even so, I feel that they gave every type of audience member a chance to get on board and understand their message by setting a slow pace and starting their story back in time as they slowly set the context of the issue and worked their way up to todays message.
ReplyDeleteStarting the film off by talking about slavery is a smart way to try to unify audience members at the start of the film, since almost everybody nowadays can agree and share the view that slavery was wrong. From establishing this point and on, the documentary holds your hand and walks you through the progression of slavery and the different forms it has taken as years went on. As it draws closer and closer to present time, it may become more and more challenging to hear and accept, but it gives the audience every chance and piece of evidence they need to accept it so long as their ignorance doesn't fight against it.
To be honest, I felt mostly bored with this documentary compared to the others we've viewed in class so far as I found myself constantly checking my phone or getting myself get distracted. I don't think this is because it's not well made or that the message isn't important, but I think it's because sadly, I feel so saturated with this issue of police brutality and mass incarceration that I'm becoming desensitized to it or something. The end of the film showing real footage of police violence would be a lot more moving had I not seen these clips plastered on Facebook and social media already and already felt cut to the heart about this issue over the past few years. I feel that I am already aware of these things going on, so the documentary was just affirming it for me along with giving me helpful and impactful statistics and personal accounts which were new for me.
So, funnily enough, maybe these past few years of the black lives matter movement have just felt like one long documentary for me-- one that we are still a part of and living in, which is why I kind of viewed this documentary thinking "well, duh." I understand that it had the unique spin of focusing on the prison system, but maybe it wasn't in depth enough for me, not to sound snobbish. I actually REALLY enjoyed this documentary called "Kids for Cash" which explored the twisted judicial system in a specific town and how juveniles were being thrown in jail for petty crimes and tried as an adult, all for the benefit of the private jails making more money. The head judge and these jails essentially had a deal going on where they both benefited by ruining these young kids lives for something as small as getting into a fight at school. It was really impactful, and probably gave me all of the disgust for our judicial system I needed even before watching 13th.