The trailer for Ava DuVernay’s documentary 13th dropped on Netflix Monday. DuVernay directed the critically acclaimed Selma and is the creator/director of the OWN original series Queen Sugar.
13th is a documentary about the U.S.’s prison system. The trailer previews the film’s exploration of the prison industrial complex, and how mass incarceration disproportionately impacts black Americans. It identifies a “loophole” in the 13th Amendment, which excuses slavery being abolished in the cases of “punishment for crime.” DuVernay’s latest opus was chosen to open the New York Film Festival this coming Friday, the first ever nonfiction feature to earn the honor.
Given the state of our nation and the bubbling climate of unrest, this documentary is a must see. For those willing to battle injustice and understand the severity of the challenge ahead, this will provide the necessary conviction to keep your eyes on the prize. For those that believe black and brown people are painting a more grim picture than what is truly happening. Or, that things can’t be “that bad” because we have a two term black President and a few millionaire athletes. This documentary will open your eyes to the systemic and systematic ways in which minorities have been oppressed for hundreds of years.
Of course for those that move through life with a closed mind, and a lack of basic comprehension and intelligence you’ll just see this as some piece of propaganda. That’s an injustice and one of the great failures of this nation.
Check out the trailer below.