Review of 13th (2016) by Mace8704 — 21 Oct 2016

13th blurs the line between an advocacy film presenting a specific perspective that goes unchallenged, and an honest historical account of the transition to mass incarceration in the United States. Personally, I was hoping for a strictly historical account, but when push comes to shove, the documentary clearly chooses to be an advocacy film that runs loose with the facts.

Allow me to give you one very specific example. At 33 minutes into the film, the documentary is discussing how George Bush used crime and rape to appeal to white voters. At 33:29, he states, "Never mind the fact that the history of interracial rape in this country.

That record is far more marked by white rape against black women than of black men against white women." The documentary then cuts to the rape scene from the film 12 Years a Slave.... Not a presentation of crime statistics from that year.

..a rape scene from a film about slavery. The assertion that interracial rape is disproportionately white men raping black women is simply not backed in any way by the FBI's Uniform Crime Report which is available free to anyone who can be bothered to Google: Interracial rape statistics + FBI.

Is denying the existence of racial disparities in violent the best way to tackle violent crime? I have my doubts, but it appears many critics don't. You very well may still enjoy the film, but make sure you're prepared for an advocacy film rather than a historical documentary.