13th (2016)

An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality.

Director:

Ava DuVernay

Writers:

Spencer Averick, Ava DuVernay

Stars:

Melina Abdullah, Michelle Alexander, Cory Booker

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 31 wins & 45 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Melina Abdullah	...	Self - Interviewee
Michelle Alexander	...	Self - Interviewee
Cory Booker	...	Self - Interviewee
Dolores Canales	...	Self - Interviewee
Gina Clayton	...	Self - Interviewee
William Jelani Cobb	...	Self - Interviewee (as Jelani Cobb)
Malkia Cyril	...	Self - Interviewee
Angela Davis	...	Self - Interviewee
Craig DeRoche	...	Self - Interviewee
David Dinkins	...	Self - Interviewee
Baz Dreisinger	...	Self - Interviewee
Kevin Gannon	...	Self - Interviewee
Henry Louis Gates Jr.	...	Self - Interviewee
Marie Gottschalk	...	Self - Interviewee
Newt Gingrich	...	Self - Interviewee

Storyline

The film begins with the idea that 25 percent of the people in the world who are incarcerated are incarcerated in the U.S. Although the U.S. has just 5% of the world's population. "13th" charts the explosive growth in America's prison population; in 1970, there were about 200,000 prisoners; today, the prison population is more than 2 million. The documentary touches on chattel slavery; D. W. Griffith's film "The Birth of a Nation"; Emmett Till; the civil rights movement; the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Richard M. Nixon; and Ronald Reagan's declaration of the war on drugs and much more.

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Plot Keywords:

prison | greed | discrimination | civil rights | prisoner | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Crime | News

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Official Sites:

Facebook Netflix

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

The 13th

Filming Locations:

West Oakland Amtrack Station, Oakland, California, USA

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$566

Company Credits

Production Co:

Forward Movement, Kandoo Films, Netflix

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

D-Cinema 48kHz 5.1

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

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Quotes

Bryan Stevenson: The Bureau of Justice reported that one in three young black males is expected to go to jail or prison during his lifetime, which is an unbelievably shocking statistic.

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Connections

Featured in The Oscars (2017)

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Soundtracks

Chains
Written by Nas (as Nasir Jones), Issiah Avila, Bibi Bourelly (as Badilla Bourelly), Andre Bowman, Paul Epworth, Miguel Gandelman, Juan Najera, Usher Raymond, and Arthur Strong
Performed by Usher Raymond (as Usher) featuring Nas and Bibi Bourelly
Courtesy of RCA Records
By arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment
Bibi Bourelly appears courtesy of Def Jam Recordings under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Real Statistics

The movie is well done but borders on propaganda in my mind. We all know history but few tend to delve into present reality.

This link breaks things down in no uncertain terms.

…."in regard to nonviolent crimes, such as DWI/alcohol offenses, blacks and whites both commit crimes nearly identical to their representative population. However, in violent/aggressive crimes, blacks commit them at a rate many times higher than their representative population, while whites tend to commit them at a rate markedly lower than their representative population…."

https://infogr.am/Black-34991937313