My wife and I have been wanting to see this since it came out over a month ago but due to the fact that the subject matter was unsettling, we were looking for the right time. November 25th was the day. I thought I was prepared for the subject matter. I wasn't. This Netflix documentary is directed by Ava DuVernay and shows the inequality of the prison system stemming from a "throw away" line from the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution that outlawed slavery except as punishment for a crime. With that the prison industry boomed by imprisoning freed slaves for the slightest indistrection. The full 13th Amendment goes a little like this: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
I don't know what else to say that this film should be required viewing in our school system (like that would ever happen, why teach the truth, no matter how ugly it may be). In addition to giving a history of prison inequality, the film also touches on how special interests draft the the bills that our lawmakers submit. Democracy for sale. Nice work 'Murica!
Just take the time to see this film. That's all that can be said.
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