Review of 13th (2016) by Noam T — 12 Mar 2017

Thank you Ava and team for this very powerful documentary. It was a real eye opener for me and I think this film should be mandatory for all high schoolers in the US. It really galvanizes how "democracy" has worked, and still does, in the United States: that everything is interconnected: the pressure from businesses to pass laws that affect incarceration rates (of mainly minorities). This affects employment rates in those businesses that then propel lawmakers and put the pressure on the to pass the laws that the businesses want. And moreover, breaking this cycle is extremely difficult because this cycle is illusive and keeps morphing to new forms over time.

One of [very sad] subliminal messages of this movie is that minorities in America are worth more to the American economy if they are locked away than if we help them get and maintain a healthy productive life - that is very sad.

Thanks again.