13th

Perfect. Absolutely perfect. I will go so far as to say that 13th is the documentary by which all documentaries should measure themselves. Ava Duvernay has delivered a clear-eyed, laser-focused look at incarceration in America today and has connected the dots from slavery straight through to the election of Donald Trump. This doc is absolutely infuriating, should make you cry, and then get you motivated. There’s no hyperbole, no unnecessary heartstring plucking; the crystalline nature of this film cleaves away everything unnecessary to show what is. Systemic racism and, therefore, systems of oppression are alive and well and working for a profit in our judicial system and that should enrage every American. It seems hard to imagine that 228 years of American history and the complex systems that shaped it can be compressed down into 100 minutes but Duvernay has done it. I really can’t heap enough accolades onto her for being so concise in her storytelling and I can’t even begin to imagine what ended up on the cutting room floor. Regardless, EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD SEE THIS FILM.