There's really no understandng of our American political culture without race at the center of it.
The title of Ava DuVernay's bracing new documentary 13th refers to the Amendment to the Constitution that abolished slavery, but left open a loophole that has been systematically abused ever since. Backed up by statistics that make plain how much of a problem mass incarceration is for all Americans, but especially those with dark skin, and historical evidence that points to the myriad ways the legal system has been stacked against people of color since the end of the Civil War, DuVernay and her co-writer/editor Spencer Averick make a strong case for the point of view that slavery didn't go away in 1865 because it was too much in the vested interest of some to keep it around, even if it had to go under a different name. (Suffice it to say, the film's interview subjects are able to list many.)
In the first half of the film, DuVernay and Averick explore how much influence D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation had on the perception of black men in popular culture and the role the War on Drugs played in the explosion of the prison population in the '70s, '80s, and beyond. The second half is kicked off by the Trayvon Martin shooting and provides a sobering overview of the seemingly endless stream of police violence that has followed in its wake, then wraps up with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and its reliance on social media to get its message across. In between, 13th shines much-needed light on the sorry circumstances that brought us to this point. Don't know what ALEC -- the American Legislative Exchange Council -- is or what it does? 13th will fill you in. Ever wonder what Newt Gingrich would sound like if he were a reasonable person? 13th has you covered. Curious how long a film like this can go without one of its interview subjects deploying the phrase "prison industrial complex"? The answer is 66 minutes.