Nasen Washington

Jennafer Vondal

CRJU 1105

21 October 2022

Movie Reflection: 13th

The movie 13th covered a lot of ground in the time it ran for, and there were a lot of valid

points made about each topic that was discussed. There was thorough research into each topic,

and it was overall an interesting and educational experience. It included real clips to show

exactly what was being discussed, and, which made it more real to me, like something I needed

to pay attention to. 13th speaks a lot about the 13th amendment in the US constitution. There is

talk about the history of racial inequality and the criminal justice system. It speaks of how

African Americans were still forced into labor using the loophole in the 13th amendment, and

how African Americans were painted as criminals. A movie called Birth of a Nation helped this

idea along, and even helped the KKK to gain more attention and popularity. It speaks of

President Nixon’s “war on crime,” which was pretty much a war against Black people and the

movements and activists. The movie also discusses the war on drugs and how this mainly

affected people of color, and how people remain in jail due to being too poor to post bail. The

movie speaks a lot about ALEC and how it influenced laws and got corporate members more

money. It tells about how once you are a convicted felon you no longer have the right to vote

which is a right all other Americans have. Other things discussed are innocent people being

arrested, and even pleading guilty to crimes they did not commit to avoid trial, and wrongfully

killed African Americans who never got justice.

 There were several outlined problems with the criminal justice system, one of them being

mass incarceration. With President Bill Clinton’s three strike mandate, prisons filled quickly

with people who committed even little crimes. Another thing wrong with the criminal justice

system was stated earlier, people who are poor cannot afford to post bail. This means that there

are potentially worse criminals walking free just because they had money. Trial wait times is also

a problem. Kalief Browder was discussed in the movie. He was arrested over a stolen backpack

and refused to plead guilty to a crime he did not commit. He waited in prison for a trail for three

years before the charges were dropped and he was released. He committed suicide soon after,

due to the violence and being wrongfully imprisoned for three years.

One of the proposed changes in the movie was for Americans to have the right to vote

once their time in prison is up. There are pleads in many ways for the racial bias to be fixed, and

for slavery to be abolished and not redesigned like it is now. I have a couple of questions after

watching the film that I would like answered. First, in what ways would it be possible to end the

racial bias? This is a problem that has been going on for an exceedingly long time now, and there

is bias deeply imbedded into almost everything that America is, so I know the fix will not be

easy. Second, what can we do to avoid situations like Kalief Browder? An innocent man sat in

prison for three years and it essentially ruined his life. No one should have to go without answers

that long, regardless of if they are guilty or innocent. My third question, how do we fix the

problem with posting bail? A person’s freedom should not depend on their financial status. There

were a lot of good points made in this movie, but it seemed to have just a more factual approach

than showing what can be done to fix it.