JoElle Thompson

Written Communications II
Dr. Craig Wynne
17 February 2017

Genre Analysis- The New Jim Crow vs. 13th

America is known to be the land of the free and that is what supposedly makes it so great,

but is it really great? For a long time, African-Americans and a number of other minorities face

unprecedented hardships imposed upon them by the American government that no citizen of any

free country should encounter. These major hardships under the American justice system and

government are seen through mass incarceration, social injustice and poor leadership of

particular presidential administrations. To create awareness and promote changes, many people

have aggressively and affectively used media outlets and literary genres. Two prominent

examples are Michelle Alexanders book, The New Jim Crow and Ava DuVernays

documentary, 13th. Similarly, both the author and director present their message by informing

their audiences of the problems. In addition to differing in genres, when going about presenting

the information, each piece takes a different perspective on the subject.

Beginning with The New Jim Crow, Alexanders perspective addressed and compared

different eras of oppression since the Jim Crow era to the election of former President Barack

Obama. Her plan was to present these problems while addressing the recent colorblindness and

dumbfounded beliefs that racism and racial caste systems have ceased and desisted since the

election of Obama. On another spectrum, DuVernay presents the information in her documentary

on the basis of the 13th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and how it was used

to basically legalize slavery and enable the criminalization of African-Americans. Like

Alexander, DuVerney structured her documentary by comparing the similarities and minute

differences of the different eras, both beginning with slavery in America.

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Starting with 13th, the purpose of this documentary is to inform and reveal. The

documentary explains how mass incarceration formed from systematic oppression specifically by

the 13th amendment, the United States criminal justice system, poor government policies and

laws, revealing the administrations of past presidents of the United States beginning with the

Nixon administration. Overall, the purpose is to educate people on this issue; however there is a

possibility that some people could use this documentary as persuasion to change the nation for

blacks and minorities and speak up as a citizen of the United States of American because it is the

duty of an American citizen to fight for the rights of themselves and others.

Taking a different route, Michelle Alexanders purpose for writing this book is to inform

and shine a light on the apparent colorblindness of Americans following the recent election of

former President Barack Obama. It directly addresses the racial caste system seen in America,

mass incarceration, the War on Drugs, the United States criminal justice system, and presidential

administrations beginning with Ronald Reagan. This genre challenges people to take action to

make a difference in these areas. By using this book as a call to action and a challenge, it is

also persuading its audience to get up and be affective and create positive change and educate.

By analyzing both genres, it is possible to see the similarities in the purpose of each; however,

genre does affect audience, language, rhetorical usage and presentation.

The intended audience for Ava DuVernays documentary 13th is all people of any

ethnicity uneducated on the topic of mass incarceration, especially African-Americans and other

Americans. The intended audiences of Michelle Alexanders The New Jim Crow are very much

alike the audiences of the documentary. Yet, because this is a book, the audience most likely

includes college educated individuals interested the study of race and ethnicity and mass
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incarceration. Additionally, communities affected by mass incarceration, the war on drugs and a

racial caste system are targeted as an audience for each of these genres.

It is highly likely that the audiences of each genre have an idea of each topic, but not the

specific details presented. Before reading or watching either of these genres, the audiences likely

are well aware of the unstable race and ethnicity relations in America and how things actually

have not changed from slavery to the election of President Obama. They should also know what

the actual Jim Crow era was, what a racial caste system of America looks like, what the War on

Drugs was, what the 13th amendment is and what mass incarceration is. Culturally, the audience

is connected to and should feel obligated to absorb the information presented involving the

history of American culture that shapes the culture of minorities based on systematic oppression.

These genres also specifically relate the past to the present which affects the future black people

and the nation as a whole. Because of the context incorporated in The New Jim Crow, 261 pages

worth, depending on how fast of a reader one is, it is possible to finish this book within three

weeks to a month when reading every day, give or take. Meanwhile the documentary only last

for one hour and 40 minutes, which is short enough to watch in one sitting.

I believe the language used in The New Jim Crow is formal, but not so formal that it is

not understandable due to the level of dialect the author is used to and the message she is

attempting to send. It consists of many statistics and facts, and when presenting these facts, there

are many words and terms that are considered formal, but it fits the context of its meaning and

purpose. Outside of the formalities when addressing fact and statistics, the language is very

relatable and understanding; for example when the author includes scenarios such as the story of

Erma Faye Stewart and Clifford Runoalds in chapter three, The Color of Justice (Alexander,

97).
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There were many formal government terms used, but the average vocabulary used was at

the level of an undergraduate college student. Even though the language and terms consisted of

mainly average vocabulary, there are some terms that readers may not know unless they have

studied government, politics, or economics. Some words that were said a lot were crack cocaine,

amendment, sentencing, incarceration, imprisonment, parole, administration, blacks, African-

Americans, White people, Hispanic, ghetto, and minorities. The most significant vocabulary that

stood out to me was SWAT, the welfare queen, Jim Crow, justice, racial caste system and

colorblindness. In chapter two, The Lockdown, Alexander covers the establishment of Law &

Order and the War on Drugs. Here she talks about the investment the government made in the

development of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams, which began a consistent

reoccurrence of the term and many stories related to it (Alexander, 74). By incorporating these

terms in the writing, it introduces the reader to a specific outlook on the topic while also

interrelating terms that may not usually be used in an average conversation. Furthermore, terms

such as these assists in developing the storyline and information the author presents throughout

the book.

By using stories such as the ones stated above, the author is able to relate to the reader

and also evoke emotions such as empathy and anger in the readers. The story of Erma Faye

Stewart was that she was arrested in a drug sweep where all but one of the people arrested were

black. She was thirty years old and a mother of two, and after a week in jail, she had no one to

take care of her two young children. She eventually plead guilty after a month to go take care of

her children; yet, when she was released from jail she ended up homeless, jobless, losing custody

of her children and labeled a drug felon. After she was released, the case was dismissed and all

charges on each individual that did not plead guilty (Alexander, 97). We see here that the author
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is first, putting us in the shoes of Erma while also evoking our emotions which more than likely

angers and/or saddens the reader. This genre evokes the emotions of anger, concern and shock.

By the stories, statistics and timeline of events explained and presented by the author, many

readers will be shocked to find out all the information which could possibly evoke the emotions

of anger and concern.

When considering the documentary, the language is pretty relaxed but not too informal

while still being pretty formal depending on who is speaking and what they are speaking about.

This documentary consists of one third being interviews, one third a narrator and the other third

consists of recordings of past events. Mainly, the people besides the narrator that spoke were

people who carried a lot of weight in the field of government, social and civil justice, economics,

television, and politics. Even though many people speaking on the documentary are current or

former senators and representatives of the United States, the tone and language used was very

relatable, genuine, and emotional which fit the context of the documentary and the setting of

their interview. There were a few formal government terms used every so often by the narrator,

but overall, the vocabulary stayed at the level of an average college-educated individual. Some

words that were said a lot were crack cocaine, mandatory sentencing, amendment, incarceration,

imprisonment, parole, administration, blacks, African-Americans, White people, Hispanic,

ghetto, and minorities. All of the words are interrelated throughout the entire documentary.

Despite the emotion in the tone of the speakers, the language they used upheld the dignity

of the positions they hold or held. By the interviewees using relatable language and relaxed tone,

they were able to appeal to the regular everyday person. One prominent example, beginning at

20 minutes and 35 seconds into the documentary, is the interview clips with New York 13th

District Congressman (D) Charles B. Rangel. His interview consisted of him defending himself
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on supporting Nancy Reagan in the Just Say No campaign. He did not understand that this

would ultimately lead to mass incarceration (DuVernay, 13th). He truly looked at it as

prevention, and you can tell in his tone, language and body language. His interview appropriately

fit this documentary because it reveals the purpose of this specific segment of the documentary:

The Reagan Administration. It is a memorable incorporation of pure and genuine apologetic

emotion relating to the issue at hand.

The genre is attempting to evoke positive anger. That is weird to say, but by revealing

these aspects of the prison system and government, it angers African Americans and black

people, but it also motivates them to make a difference and advocate for the issue. Although this

might evoke anger in some, it also has the ability to evoke the emotion of surprise and shock

because the purpose and the topic of the documentary is to reveal and educate people on the

messed up prison system of America and how the 13th amendment has been used as a legal form

of slavery.

By DuVernay incorporating clips of accrual heart-wrenching events, she uses the

rhetorical techniques involving real people to relate to the audience. When talking about the War

on Drugs, there are many videos of police brutality and President Ronald Reagan giving

speeches and proudly endorsing these terrible things. Specifically in this section of the

documentary, Angela Davis stated that, In many ways this so-called war on drugs was a war on

communities of color, a war on black communities, a war on Latino communities, (DuVernay,

13th). Interestingly, Michelle Alexander, the author of The New Jim Crow was an interviewee in

this documentary and following Angela Davis, she stated, And you see a rhetorical war for that

was, you know, announced as a part of a political strategy by Richard Nixon and which morphed
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into a literal war for Ronald Reagan, um turning something that began to feel nearly genocidal in

many poor communities of color, (DuVernay, 13th).

Following these specific comments, a very angering recording of Lee Atwater was

played. In this recording he explained how crack-cocaine was purposely placed in black and

Latino communities and how they knew exactly what they were doing. He explained how the

whole purpose was to hurt blacks and help whites (DuVernay, 13th). This is direct support for the

purpose of this genre because it reveals a truth supporting the claims made. These are simply a

few examples of the rhetorical strategies used to evoke the emotions of positive anger by

educating the audience.

When comparing to genres structurally, the biggest difference was the medium used. In

the documentary, there were a lot of different colors, specifically complementing what was being

said or presented; contradicting the previous, the book was strictly black and white with no

pictures. Structurally, each of them followed a chronological order when presenting their

information in order to create a more perfect, engaging and sensible story.

The documentary genre allowed the director and producers to freely express everything

they felt need be. When considering the interviews and topics covered, after editing, the message

was fully and freely expressed with very minute limitations. In comparison, in The New Jim

Crow there are not many limitations placed on the author besides the range of information that

can be included in the book while continuing to stay on topic and also not being repetitive. She

has the freedom to freely express what is need be; because the book covers the flaws of the U.S.

justice system and racial colorblindness, it is perfect that the author is able to exercise her right to

freedom of speech especially on a topic such as this.

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When comparing two genres such as these, it is imperative to pay close attention to detail

to be able to designate the similarities and differences. After conducting this genre analysis, the

most effective genre at conveying its message was the documentary 13th. This genre takes less

time to complete its entirety while the book could take a long time. Even though both genres

cover the same topic, the book contains more detail which can be harder to grasp for some. With

the visuals, interviews, and video clips and recordings, the documentary is able to present the

same information in a more engaging and concise format. Regardless to the differences of the

two genres, they are both very powerful and affective. These are both very important things that

advocate and bring awareness to the injustices of this country, and they challenge individuals to

make a change in America. These books are perfect and highly recommended for people of any

race and for anyone 18 and above.

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Work Cited

Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. The
New Press, 2010. July 2016. Print

DuVernay, Ava, director. 13th. Produced by Howard Barish, Ava DuVernay, and Spencer
Averick. Netflix. 2016