13th [Netflix]

Educate yourself. Educate your children. Educate the people around you.

Bracing. Harsh. Terrifying. Honest. Brutal. Unbelievable. Shocking. Disgusted. Disbelief. Informative. Educational. Hopeful. These are just a few of the many words that suitably described this 2016 documentary by Ava DuVernay. And now, 4 years later, it is still relevant. Chillingly relevant.

As the documentary's tagline highlighted, "From slave to criminal with one amendment" and DuVernay and her interviewees strived to illuminate how America has gotten itself to its current - albeit 2016, although still extremely relevant in 2020 - state. There was a lot of information here and DuVernay had presented them in a clear, but not always concise, chronological order featuring a rotating cast of talking heads. 

The information provided comes from both sides of the partisan benches but not necessarily from both sides of the argument. DuVernay did try to insert some counter-balance into the documentary, but it was apparent from the editing that she had proportioned less weightage to those interviews. This document was an educational tool that leaned heavily on her point-of-view, which undeniably was where my own politics laid, but there was no space given for counter-rhetorics.  Nonetheless, it effectively accomplished its role in a brisk 100 minutes, i.e. to educate. Anything longer than that might strain the attention span of the ignorants, the casually curious, the on-the-fencers and lose recruits to her side.

Do listen to what DuVarney's interviewees have to say. They are not your typical celebrity activists, but, as their titles suggest, smart and invested people who are passionate about what they are saying and what they believe in. Perhaps, the only true "celebrity" will be Angela Davis, an icon of the Civil Rights Movement.

Do also watch the 30 minutes, Netflix-produced Oprah Winfrey interview with DuVernay after the documentary. It was equally illuminating and reassuring, and may answer a few questions that you may have had whilst watching 13th. Although DuVernany's mildly-rehearsed answer to Oprah questioning her about the ending of the documentary did help me to understand why it was ended that way, albeit I am still not entirely convinced that it was the right ending. 

Educate. Learn. Be Better.