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13TH

A vital state-of-the-union address, 13th connects yesterday’s America to today’s, showing that—for as far as we’ve come—the big difference between them isn’t nearly big enough.

There is something bracing, even exciting, about the intellectual rigour that Ava DuVernay brings to this documentary about the prison system and the economic forces behind racism in America.

The final takeaway of “13th” is that change must come not from politicians, but from the hearts and minds of the American people.

Far from simply a missive from the Black Lives Matter movement, 13th offers a specialised introduction to the prison-industrial complex.