Conflict Model Ideas In The Film '13th'

Ava DuVernay’s documentary, 13th, is a powerful analysis of the 13th Amendment included in the United States Constitution. Released October 7th, 2016, 13th depicts African Americans, even after the abolishment of slavery, as legally exploited through the 13th amendment. The goal of the documentary seems to strongly portray to its viewers the manipulation of politics at the expense of Blacks, yet again. 13th effectively demonstrates the struggles African Americans face in the arms of the criminal justice system in a powerful and emotion-provoking manner.

The book I have been reading is called 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher. The major external conflict of the story was of Hannah Baker against the 13 reasons/people why she committed suicide. Everyone on the tapes had verbal or emotional conflicts with Hannah. Moreover, she also had an internal conflict with her feelings. She has constant internal fights about how she shouldn’t do things or hang out with different people, but still does it in hope for the best. She is already in constant mental pain because of how she’s been treated and hoped that someone may actually become her friend.

The Civil War was fought over the “race problem,” to determine the place of African-Americans in America. The Union won the war and freed the slaves. However, when President Lincoln declared the Emancipation Proclamation, a hopeful promise for freedom from oppression and slavery for African-Americans, he refrained from announcing the decades of hardship that would follow to obtaining the new won “freedom”. Over the course of nearly a century, African-Americans would be deprived and face adversity to their rights. They faced something perhaps worse than slavery; plagued with the threat of being lynched or beat for walking at the wrong place at the wrong time. Despite the addition of the 14th and

The 13th amendment abolished slavery and freed millions of African Americans. This was supposed to improve their lives and give them a new beginning. However, more than 30 years after the abolishment, their situation has not improved. Their right to vote was revoked in many southern states during the early 1890s. Less than 40% of black children were enrolled in schools in Georgia by 1880. Between 1880 and 1918, over 2400 African Americans were hanged. Africans had the lowest paying jobs and very few owned land. Jim Crow laws were established in many southern states to legalize segregation. Their situation was disastrous and wasn’t improving. Four respected spokespersons presented their ideas to fix this racial inequality crisis. The four courageous people who offered their alternatives were Ida B Wells, Booker T. Washington, Henry Turner and W.E.B Du Bois.

The documentary “13th” is very telling about the problems with the prison system and society's view of African-Americans. After the end of slavery, the economy too a hit because of the lack of labor needed for the industries. To solve this problem, people turned to prison workers, because it was cheap labor that weren’t protected under the 13th Amendment. This amendment abolished slavery and indentured servitude, but left the clause of criminal punishment. Because of this loophole, and because whites were very much still in control of society soon after the 13th Amendment was passed, police forces began going after African-Americans in order to fill prisons and satisfy work forces.

Twelve Angry Men (1957) showed several example of conflicts within the film. I will examine how each conflict was managed, which conflicts were resolved and how, along with the kinds of effects each of these conflicts caused in the film.

In 1865 Lincoln was assassinated, Andrew Johnson became president, the black codes were passed by Southern state governments, and the Thirteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution. Those four events paint a picture of just how much tension there was in the United States at that time. Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment to abolish slavery and outlaw involuntary servitude in the entire nation. Involuntary servitude was only to be allowed as a punishment for a crime. The crime had to be one in which a person had been properly sentenced, and Congress had the authority to see to it that the law was being followed. Southerners rejected the new amendment and pushed the boundaries of the law as much as they could. They searched for loop holes in order to limit the amount of autonomy freemen experienced. The black codes that were put into place seemed to almost negate the Thirteenth Amendment. This further increased the tension in the South.

According to the thirteenth amendment, “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.” The purpose of the thirteenth amendment was to end slavery or any form of involuntary servitude everywhere among the United States. There was new hope for African Americans throughout the country but unfortunately their freedom had a limit and coincidentally, President Lincoln was assassinated shortly after. Jim Crow laws were established among the states and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the southern states of the United States up until 1965. This is how white southerners

In the 1940’s a series of propaganda films titled Why We Fight were produced for the purpose of defining the enemies of World War 2 to justify the necessity of America’s involvement in war. Hitler needed to be defeated, Nazism had to be destroyed, and tyranny had to be stopped for the sake of the American way of life by any means necessary. How could society argue against America’s role in the world war when freedom was being threatened? As Martin Luther King Jr. said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to everywhere.” No questions asked, Americans mobilized in the name of liberty and freedom. However the 2005 documentary film Why We Fight directed by Eugene Jarecki is not a sequel or war propaganda. The film informs the audience and questions America 's military industrial complex that has since dictated policy since the victory of World War 2. With the help of narration, soundbites, and credible speakers Jarecki shines light on the pernicious impact of the armed industry on our government, army, and citizens.

The documentary “13th”, directed and written by Ava DuVernay and released as a Netflix Original in 2016 is about the history of racism and inequality across America, corresponding with the mass incarceration of African-Americans in modern prison. The title represents the 13th amendment of the United States Constitution stating the abolishment of slavery. The target audience of this movie is the federal system, black communities, and the modern society. This movie seems to coincide with the Black Lives Matter movement that stormed the country in 2015 after the death of black males at the hands of police officers. Mass incarceration across the United States makes up a Majority of the movie. DuVernay bases the movie of the narrative that

Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, and the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution were historical milestones in which the ever controversial topic of racial equality was first challenged. In theory, these two movements laid the groundwork for a racially equal United States of America. A country in which every member, regardless of skin color, or race were to be treated equally under the eyes of the law and to one day be treated as equals within all realms of society. As historic and powerful as these movements were, they did

One of the five theoretical perspectives mention is the Conflict Theory. The main ideas of this theory are conflict underlies all social relations because of injustice in society. Social change is desirable, especially when it can lead to greater equality: the powerful who are the haves impose their values and belief on the haves not’s. This is influenced by critical sociology One of the examples that come to mind is The American civil rights movement. In history African American have been treated so harsh from being kidnap from their homeland to being stereotype for walking down the street with a hood on. For many years African American did not receive the same amount of privileges because of the color of their skin. They were not able to go where they wanted when they wanted. They were not able to vote, go to the same restrooms. All they want was the same rights as everyone else. They were beaten, murderer jailed, hosed with water just to be treated the same. Every time there was progress, there was a new problem that stops the African Americans from being treated with the same level of respect as everyone else. They went from being kidnap from African to being sold as slaves in

justice system on the black community. The film opens with the harrowing statics spoken by

Twelve Angry Men is a courtroom drama that was brought to the big screens in 1957. The storyline follows twelve men selected for jury duty, who are trying to reach a verdict on a young man’s trial following the murder of his father. Throughout the debates and voting, the men all reveal their personalities and motives behind their opinions. Because of all the differences of the men, their communication skills lack in some ways and are excellent in others. The three small group communication variables that I found portrayed throughout the movie were prejudice, past experience and preoccupation.

Defiance is a movie written, directed and produced by Edward Zwick. This movie’s setting is in Nazi occupied territory in Belarus during World War II. The storyline follows the Bielski brothers as they attempt to evade capture and fight for their lives, and over the course of the movie, the lives of twelve hundred other Jewish survivors on their quest for life, liberty and the new promised land. The film features Daniel Craig as Tuvia Bielski, Liev Schreiber as Zus Bielski, Jamie Bell as Asael Bielski and George MacKay as Aron Bielski. The film is based upon the novel Defiance: The Bielski Partisans written by Nechama Tec and is a true story s of survival during the Nazi occupation of eastern Europe. This is a gripping movie full of