The 13th Film Analysis

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Pages: 3

Prior to watching 13th, I had a very vague and general understanding of our current criminal justice system. The movie widened my horizon in recognizing the injustice the majority of Americans see in the justice system, as well as compare modern day situations to historical methods of discrimination against specifically, African Americans. Through the modernization of the media, the world is able to receive more accurate and faster information that has led to the widespread knowledge of movements such as Black Lives Matter. In the late-19th century and mid-20th century, newspapers and television were ways used to advertise and inform people of discrimination; these methods were nowhere near close to having the same effect on educating the American people as our current means of social media. 13th is a film that has a somewhat liberal stance on the topic criminalization; in addition to having many advocates against racial injustice, several experts and professors that appeared and shared their ideas had more of a conservative view, making …show more content…
Its purpose was to free African American slaves and diminish the rights of criminals, giving the southern governments and excuse to reestablish slavery, without calling it slavery, by portraying and convicting African Americans as “criminals.” This was done by incarcerating freed African Americans for minor crimes and using them to rebuild the South’s economy after the devastating Civil War. Although this is unknown by many, this still happens in current times. People who are incarcerated are used as free labor to benefit larger companies, in conditions similar to sweatshops. The African American communities are specifically targeted by the justice system, which has started to become a private business that strives to keep more people in jails for a longer period of time in order to make profit, regardless of the severeness of the