A 2016 American documentary titled "13th" was produced by DuVernay. The 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which was adopted in 1865, is the inspiration for the title of the movie. "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime of which the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or in any place subject to their jurisdiction," read the article of the amendment. As a result, the author describes how this draft had a significant gap that allowed for the legalization of the entire practice of enslavement, which had previously been outlawed. Consequently, this movie depicts the contemporary experience of modern enslavement in prisons. (Dempsey, 2017). In this regard, the documentary shows the abolition of slavery into mass incarceration and criminalization of African-American population.
Analysis of the of the Movie "13th" (2016)
The Death Penalty
Birth and death are two chronological events that are only ordained by God. However, in the film, we are made to believe that man has manipulated laws that lead to one being killed for certain crimes. The documentary talks about how in the 1800s the African-American population was lynched due to petty crimes and sometimes due to wrong accusations. In addition, in 1994 there was Crime bill that was passed. The bill seeks to extend the death penalty and encouraged states to lengthen the jail period of prisoners. This was because the prisoners were used as cheap laborers in large plantations, factories and railway lines with the government being paid handsomely for their services (Dempsey, 2017).
However, the society does not believe in death penalty. Corporal punishment and maybe life imprisonment is viewed as a punishment enough worth being considered rather than death penalty as it was advocated for. Besides that religion also teaches us that no man should end the life of other men, instead the religion advocates for forgiveness as two wrongs do not make a right.
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)
The law of the land as clearly stated in the constitution is created by the legislatures in the parliament. This is the information that is within the public domain. However, as the film portrays there is a lot that is done behind the scene that not all people get to know of it until they become culprits if the set laws. For instance, the film shows that ALEC advocates for the expansion of the prisons, lengthening of the prisoner's terms and inmates having harsh conditions during their jail terms. This work is done in collaboration with the states. The laws are passed when the legislators are sponsored together with ALEC by the government for foreign trips where the legislators dine and drink, when called upon to vote for the bills they vote in favor to the terms of the ALEC. Besides that, the film also portrays how the ALEC publicly fights for the criminal justice while in indoor meetings it advocates for mass incarceration. In addition ALEC advocates for more jails in order to increase the number of inmates who are mostly the blacks, the film shows that America is made of 5% of the world population while 25% of the population are in the jail, with a larger percentage of the inmates being blacks (Dempsey, 2017).
However, this is not the belief that the public has in ALEC and in the State. For instance, I believe that the council works to ensure that the inmates have good living conditions in order to live a healthy life despite being in prison. I also believe that the council advocates for the rights of the prisoners and seeks leniency from prison authorities when offering corporal punishment.
Dehumanization of the prison
Slaves played a major role in the America`s economy, therefore, its abolition led to a massive impact on the economy. As such there was a need to find ways of forcing the blacks legally. Therefore, the amendment of the constitution that allowed slavery to only those that committed crimes paved way for the modern slavery, mass incarceration of the blacks and racial mistreatment in prisons. The film states that in America 1 in 3 black men is expected to go to jail in his lifespan while 1 in 17 whites is expected to go to jail. The blacks are targeted and used as laborers while in the prisons. The African-American elites in the society have also pointed that dehumanization of the blacks has been due to political, economic and culture of the whites. This is backed up in the documentary as we see during presidents Reagan and Bush Snr the number of the blacks in prison increased. Besides that, an Antony and author Michelle Alexander in her book "The New Jim Crow", writes how the disenfranchisement, racial segregation, and mass incarceration has risen to replace the convict slavery that was practiced before. She argues that this technique of legalizing slavery will work to favor the whites for many years to come (Dempsey, 2017).
In contrary to the authorities and the culprits in prisons, the public is not of the opinion that a certain group of people is being targeted. As such, most people know that slavery was stopped and banned in the United States in 1865 and it can`t be in existence in the 21st century. Therefore, this film remains an eye-opener for the African-America population to reflect on their roles in the society, and the perspective of the whites to them.
Effects of labeling individuals as "criminals"
Labeling of individuals as criminals has taken deep roots in the American society. As the film begins we are introduced to D. W Griffith who published a book called "The birth of a Nation" in 1915. The book portrays the blacks as the evil, the criminals, and therapists in the society that deserved either to live behind the bars or be killed. This image and picture of the blacks as criminals has lived on with other writers also backing up Griffith. As a result, there have been numerous cases where the blacks have been wrongly convicted as criminals and ended up in prisons. For instance, the incident at the Central Park led to the arrest of the black teenagers, forced to accept the crime that they had not committed. As a result of their color, they ended up serving jail terms for only the truth to come out after a decade (Dempsey, 2017).
Additionally, the blacks seem to have accepted their fate. This has been due to the perspective build in the nation that they are the inhuman beings that were perpetrators of crimes, drug dealers, murderers and rapists in the society. As such this has made the blacks act tough in all activities they undertake so as to fit into the American society that has a crooked way of judging people according to their color. Besides that, there has been racial segregation in that the blacks have been labeled poor and thus have their own estates of poor people while the whites have their own estates labeled for the rich people.
However, this is not the real picture of the people. It`s true that some blacks are criminals but not all blacks are criminals as perceived by the American society. As such, the whites have also been reported in several cases involving drug dealing, raping, murder cases and other general cases. Therefore, it`s wrong to label the blacks as evil while labeling the whites as saints as individuals differ and should not be grouped on racial line (Dempsey, 2017).
Prospective of Forensic Psychologists
The issue of making judgments on racial lines is very rampant in American society. The film has clearly illustrated how the African-American population is labeled criminals. In addition, there have been cases where the Negroes have been convicted falsely, served jail terms for sins that they did not commit. Besides that, a loophole in the 13th amendment of the constitution has been the driving force in targeting the blacks so that they can work on railway lines, factories and large farm plantations on the notion that the government has not enough resources to provide such labor (Dempsey, 2017).
Therefore, as forensic psychologists, there is a role that we have to play in order to find the solution of these problems that the blacks under in their own country. As such, the first and major solution has been identified by the director of the documentary DuVenay, the loophole in the 13th amendment of the constitution. There is a need for the legislatures and ALEC to understand and view the blacks as fellow human beings that deserve same respect just like the whites. This will lead to amendment of the constitution to totally end slavery as a form of punishment to criminals (Brewer & Williams, 2017).
Additionally, there is need to change the national wide perception of blacks that are the criminals, evil, murderers, and rapists as portrayed in Griffith`s book "The birth of the Nation". The society has to be made understand that the blacks are normal people just like the whites. This can be achieved by having public campaigns, use of media and changing the curriculum to incorporate equity of all races (Brewer & Williams, 2017).
Finally, there is need of carrying out thorough investigations on cases. This shall help in curbing down cases of blacks being arrested for the mistakes they had not done. Besides that, the authority should also not force suspects into an admission of crimes they had not committed.
Reference
Brewer, N., & Williams, K. D. (Eds.). (2017). Psychology and law: An empirical perspective. Guilford Publications.
Dempsey, L (2017). 13th 2016-Full Movie. Published on February 20, 2017. [Retrieved December 12, 2017] from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpI1d7QqSwU
