About the film
13th is a 2016 American documentary film directed by Ava DuVernay. It explores the prison–industrial complex, and the "intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the United States". The title refers to the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted in 1865, which abolished slavery throughout the United States and ended involuntary servitude, except as punishment for convicted criminals.
The film argues that this exemption has been used to continue the practice of involuntary servitude in the form of penal labor.
From the film's Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA 4.0).