Ava DuVarney's Netflix doc is practically a lock for an Oscar nod come next February. Unfortunately, the film is littered with copious mistakes, misstatements, overbroad generalizations, selective edits and - yes - more than a few brass-balled lies masquerading as "journalistic truth."

By: Jimbo X

@Jimbo__X

- Common, "Letter to the Free" (2016)









- Richard Pryor, Live On The Sunset Strip (1982)

A ll documentary films, to a certain degree, are propaganda films. There are no so-called "journalistic" standards for movies of the sort, and as such, they are inherently subject to the biases and prejudices of the filmmakers. Now, to the degree that a film ports about its own skewed sociopolitical leanings differs. A straight up "encapsulation of a moment" documentary like Restrepo, Whores Glory or The Decline of Western Civilization may not have much in the way of a directly stated political agenda, but each film certainly seeks to establish the directors' interpretation of reality as the authoritative truth on the subject in question. The more abstract documentaries - stuff like Gates of Heaven and Samsara - may have a more oblique sociopolitical agenda, but you can generally determine where a filmmaker leans on the identity politics spectrum by how they edit together sequences (I am immediately reminded of the second Paradise Lost film, brass balled, politically motivated editorialization as Triumph of the Will is devoid of Nazism. ll documentary films, to a certain degree, are propaganda films. There are no so-called "journalistic" standards for movies of the sort, and as such, they aresubject to the biases and prejudices of the filmmakers. Now, to thethat a film ports about its own skewed sociopolitical leanings differs. A straight up "encapsulation of a moment" documentary likeormay not have much in the way of a directly stated political agenda, but each film certainly seeks to establish the directors'as the authoritative truth on the subject in question. The more abstract documentaries - stuff likeand- may have asociopolitical agenda, but you can generally determinea filmmaker leans on the identity politics spectrum bythey edit together sequences (I am immediately reminded of the secondfilm, which pretty much did everything EXCEPT come out and call Mark Byers a child murderer who also killed his own wife .) And then, there's the obvious "propumentary" stuff from Michael Moore, Dinesh D'Souza and even Steve James, whose films are about as devoid ofeditorialization asis devoid of





Now, even transparently biased documentaries can be enjoyable and entertaining. For example, I wholeheartedly disagree with the core theses of The House I Live In, Food Inc. and West of Memphis, but I didn't let my own personal beliefs prevent me from enjoying the films as well put-together advocacy projects. Alas, as C.P. Scott once famously remarked, "comment is free, but facts are sacred" - these movies may be of value as gloriously one-sided activist hit pieces, but as containers of factual information and legitimate knowledge? They ultimately have about as much merit as journalistic accounts as The Eternal Jew or Reefer Madness.





13th, a Netflix documentary helmed by Selma director Ava DuVarney which - Which brings us to, a Netflix documentary helmed bydirector Ava DuVarney which - due to the Academy's newfangled efforts to diversify it's awards recipients in a sort of entertainment-industrial complex form of affirmative action - is almost certain to pick up a Best Documentary nod (if not the preliminary favorite to win it outright.)





As of mid-October, the film held a stellar 98 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 91 on Metacritic.

"

The film builds its case piece by shattering piece, inspiring levels of shock and outrage that stun the viewer, leaving one shaken and disturbed before closing out on a visual note of hope designed to keep us on the hook as advocates for change," writes film critic Odie Henderson (who, perhaps it should be noted, once gave a film a "zero" score because he didn't think the leading actress was black enough .) The film "is one for the cinema time capsule, a record of shame so powerful that it just might change things," writes

Peter Travers. It is "a titanic statement by a major American voice," writes

Joe McGovern. "Viewing - right now - should be mandatory." Indeed, it seems like all of the

originally reserved for box office dud

.

?





mere preaching-to-the-choir propaganda, 13th is by and large a boring film, devoid of any of the visual or narrative intricacies that made similar racially-tinged docs like The Interrupters or The House I Live In such compelling (albeit painfully one-sided) works. Instead of feeling like a built for the big screen documentary undertaking by Errol Morris or Werner Herzog, the entire film feels like a slightly higher budgeted PBS special. As for the content, it's your usual assortment of liberal pundits who make hundreds of thousands a year working for think tanks and publicly subsidized universities trying to outdo each other in the victimization Olympics, with a sprinkling here and there of conservatives like Newt Gingrich, who are seemingly only included in the film to provide chopped up, out-of-context quips that further the filmmakers' logically inconsistent thesis that the American "carceral state" is indeed a modern form of slavery. Even aspreaching-to-the-choir propaganda,is by and large a boring film, devoid of any of the visual or narrative intricacies that made similar racially-tinged docs likeorsuch compelling (albeitone-sided) works. Instead of feeling like adocumentary undertaking by Errol Morris or Werner Herzog, the entire film feels like aPBS special. As for the content, it's your usual assortment of liberal pundits who make hundreds of thousands a year working for think tanks and publicly subsidized universities trying to outdo each other in the victimization Olympics, with a sprinkling here and there of conservatives like Newt Gingrich, who are seeminglyincluded in the film to providequips that further the filmmakers' logically inconsistent thesis thatis indeed a modern form of





13th suggests has led to the "criminalization" of blackness. The film plays it a little looser when it comes to Bill Clinton, although really,any of Nixon's or Reagan's policies to put large numbers of African-Americans behind bars. And of course, while Hillary is pretty much given a slap on the wrist for her comments about "boldest displays of editorial malfeasance in recent memory - are mangled in such a way as to make it sound like he's talking about a deep-seated desire to personally engage in fisticuffs with black people. As you'd imagine, the film more or less pummels the corpses of Nixon and Reagan for expanding the " War on Drugs ," whichsuggests has led to the "criminalization" of blackness. The film plays it a little looser when it comes to Bill Clinton, although really, his 1994 omni-crime bill did more thanof Nixon's or Reagan's policies to put large numbers of African-Americans behind bars. And of course, while Hillary is pretty much given a slap on the wrist for her comments about " super predator " black youths in the early 1990s, the film paints Donald Trump as nothing short of a slobbering Imperial Wizard, whose cherry picked quotes concerning rally gate crashers - in one of thedisplays of editorial malfeasance in recent memory - are mangled in such a way as to make ithe's talking about a deep-seated desire towith black people.





So in short, 13th is nothing more than yet another identity politics propaganda piece, in which statistics are misconstrued and recent events are reduced into horribly condensed three-second slivers that completely avoid anything even remotely resembling context. But aside from being a very underwhelming piece of activist agitprop, it's also a film absolutely glutted with inaccuracies, half-truths and utterly inflated statistics, as well as some of the most underhanded examples of selective editing in the history of the medium.





Below, you'll find no less than 26 errors, exaggerations, inaccuracies, half-truths and brass-balled lies contained in 13th. And unlike Ava DuVarney, The Internet Is In America actually fact checks its statements and formally cites its sources, so - in stark contrast to the talking heads featured in the critically acclaimed doc - you actually know I'm getting the deets from somewhere other than the Department of Made-Up Bullshit I Want To Believe...













Thousands - but not tens or hundreds of thousands - of black people were lynched between Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Era - At one point, a talking head in the film declares that, between the end of the Civil War and World War II "thousands of black people" had been killed in lynchings. As to just how many black people were killed in these racist, extrajudicial killings, however, is a matter of debate. throughout America from 1882 to 1968 to be only 3,446. Another revelation from the Tuskegee findings, that for some reason 13th totally glossed over? 03.)- At one point, a talking head in the film declares that, between the end of the Civil War and World War II "thousands of black people" had been killed in lynchings. As to just how many black people were killed in these racist, extrajudicial killings, however, is a matter of debate. The Equal Justice Initiative released findings in 2015 that 3,959 black people (including women and children) were killed in lynchings in former Confederate territory between the years 1877-1950 . This number, however, may very be a considerable overcount, seeing as how the Tuskegee Institute lists the total number of blacks killed in lynchingsfrom 1882 to 1968 to be only 3,446. Another revelation from the Tuskegee findings, that for some reasontotally glossed over? The fact that during that same timeframe, 1,297 white people were also killed in extrajudicial lynchings





LBJ may have ushered in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but he was also arguably the most racist person to ever reside in the Oval Office - One of the incredible oversights in 13th involves the downplaying of Lyndon B. Johnson's well-documented racism. While the film doesn't so much as mention LBJ by name, they do include clips of several of his speeches to indicate just how much legislative civil rights progress came about in the 1960s. While LBJ may have had a major hand in pushing measures like the Fair Housing Act through, he was ironically an out in the open racist, 04.)- One of the incredible oversights ininvolves the downplaying of Lyndon B. Johnson'sracism. While the film doesn't so much as mention LBJ by name, they do include clips of several of his speeches to indicate just how much legislative civil rights progress came about in the 1960s. While LBJ may have had a major hand in pushing measures like the Fair Housing Act through, he was ironically anracist, colloquially referring to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as "the nigger bill" to his White House staff and rationalizing his appointment of Thurgood Marshall to the Supreme Court by declaring "when I appoint a nigger to the bench, I want everybody to know he's a nigger.





05.) There is plenty of reasons to be suspicious of John Ehrlichman's bombshell quote about Nixon's crime policies - Fairly early on, we get the following statement, which was allegedly uttered by former Nixon domestic affairs assistant John Ehrlichman:

"The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”









There is a very simple explanation why blacks are overrepresented in prison - Despite the film's blunt-as-a-sledgehammer attempt to posit the incarceration rates of black people in the United States as some sort of insidious, racist holdover from the Jim Crow era, there is indeed a VERY simple, one sentence explanation for why African Americans are jailed at higher rates than Caucasians - as the indisputable F.B.I. data demonstrates, it's mostly because, get this, black people tend to commit crimes at disproportionately higher rates than white people. And for those of you STILL convinced that there's some sort of magical, supernatural ethnic totalitarianism at the root of incarceration disparities along racial lines in these United States? 07.)- Despite the film's blunt-as-a-sledgehammer attempt to posit the incarceration rates of black people in the United States as some sort of insidious, racist holdover from the Jim Crow era, there is indeed a VERY simple, one sentence explanation for why African Americans are jailed at higher rates than Caucasians - as the indisputable F.B.I. data demonstrates, it's mostly because, get this,. And for those of you STILLthat there's some sort of magical, supernatural ethnic totalitarianism at the root of incarceration disparities along racial lines in these United States?

Just for kicks and giggles, here's a





Quibble over the "Super Predator" terminology all you want, but crime in the United States unquestionably exploded during the 1990s - Without a doubt, the early 1990s were the most violent time in U.S. history, with the aggregate number of violent crimes recorded between 1990 and 1994 an absurd 1.8 million per year. For comparative purposes, the violent crime tally in 1970 was just 738,820, and today, it is only 1.2 million. 08.)- Without a doubt, the early 1990s were the most violent time in U.S. history, with the aggregate number of violent crimes recorded between 1990 and 1994 an absurd 1.8per year. For comparative purposes, the violent crime tally in 1970 was just 738,820, and today, it is only 1.2 million. In 1993, the U.S. logged its highest national homicide count in history (24,530 murders), in 1992 it recorded it all-time highest forcible rape tally (109,060) and in 1991, it posted its highest annual number of robberies (687,740) to date . In that, Clinton's "tough on crime" stance wasn't even remotely rooted in racial animosity - rather, it was a downright reasonable, if not even tepid, response to hard statistical evidence.





You REALLY don't want to bring up interracial rape stats - At one point, an interviewee states that, historically, rape in the United States has largely been white male on black female. Methinks the term historically wasn't just arbitrarily selected, seeing as how the National Crime Victimization Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice reveals a pretty one-sided portrait of interracial sexual assaults in modern America. From 1996 to 2008, there were 24,304 white on black sexual assaults. That's really, really bad. Alas, the tally for black on white sexual assaults was substantially worse - a colossal, head-spinning 271,224. 09.)s - At one point, an interviewee states that,, rape in the United States has largely been white male on black female. Methinks the termwasn't just arbitrarily selected, seeing as how the National Crime Victimization Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice reveals a prettyportrait of interracial sexual assaults in. From 1996 to 2008, there were 24,304 white on black sexual assaults. That's really, really bad. Alas, the tally forwas substantially worse - a colossal, head-spinning The numerical evidence makes it clear as day: in contemporary U.S. society, a white woman is officially eleven times more likely to get sexually assault by a black man than a black woman is to get sexually assaulted by a white man . But

clearly,

are

more important than addressing, you know, the

.





You may not like it, but there's ample evidence the much-maligned 1994 crime omni-bill did indeed lower America's crime rate substantially - Really, the numbers here don't lie. Since the contentious, controversial and highly criticized Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act was authorized, violent crime in the U.S. has been on a huge downward trajectory. The year the bill was passed, the violent crime rate was 713.6 per 100,000 Americans. The very next year, the rate dropped to 684.5 per 100,000, and it's been precipitously declining ever since (albeit, with a brief uptick that quickly reversed itself between 2006 and 2010.) And today, dare trudge up is the clearly coincidental decline in violent crime running concurrently with the uptick in incarceration numbers. 11.)- Really, the numbers here don't lie. Since the contentious, controversial and highly criticized Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act was authorized, violent crime in the U.S. has been on adownward trajectory. The year the bill was passed, the violent crime rate was 713.6 per 100,000 Americans. The very next year, the rate dropped to 684.5 per 100,000, and it's been precipitously declining ever since (albeit, with a brief uptick that quickly reversed itself between 2006 and 2010.) And today, the U.S. violent crime rate stands at 372.6 per 100,000, representing an astonishing 50 percent drop-off since the bill was enacted . Of course, of all the hypothetical correlative evidence the movie throws out, the one it doesn'ttrudge up is thein violent crime running concurrently with the uptick in incarceration numbers.





No, the U.S. legal system hasn't done away with parole as an alternative to incarceration - Even in a film glutted with gloriously hyperbolic statements, few in 13th are as astounding as the interviewee who proclaims that the American judicial system has "done away" with parole as a jailing alternative. Hate to burst your bubble, folks, releasing nearly 40 percent of the United States' prison population. 12.)- Even in a filmwith gloriously hyperbolic statements, few inare as astounding as the interviewee who proclaims that the American judicial system has "done away" with parole as a jailing alternative. Hate to burst your bubble, folks, but there were indeed 853,200 cases of incarcerated individuals receiving parole in 2013 - i.e., the equivalent of40 percent of the United States' prison population.





Surely, academia would be just as receptive to a presentation titled "Black People are a Detriment to American Society," right?

Sorry, but the Black Panthers weren't totally non-violent pacifists railroaded by "the man" - In another fantastic bout of historical revisionism, one interviewee - who attempts to express how the Feds had it out for the Black Panthers, because racism - says that not only were there not enough people in the Black Panthers to represent any kind of major civic threat, they - by and large - were extraordinarily peaceful. As for the size of the Black Panther Party, well, 13.)- In anotherbout of historical revisionism, one interviewee - who attempts tohow the Feds had it out for the Black Panthers,- says that not only were therepeople in the Black Panthers to represent any kind of major civic threat, they - by and large - were extraordinarily peaceful. As for the size of the Black Panther Party, well, seeing as how their newsletter circa 1968 had a circulation of 250,000 people and satellite offices in nearly 70 cities across America , yes, I'd argue that they INDEED had the manpower capable of enacting mass civil "change" (and certainly more capacity than a group a'la the Aryan Nations, the much, much, MUCH loathed white supremacy outfit whose world conferences barely drew 200 people at their peak .)

But the Panthers were definitely peace-loving individuals, though. I mean,





Since 2000, incarceration rates in the United States have remained relatively static - Now here's a huge statistical oversight that truly torpedoes 13th's central thesis about incarceration in the U.S. Simply put, the number of people imprisoned in the country over the last 17 years has been practically flat, with the total number of people in the nation's prisons increasing by just 180,300 prisoners between 2000 and 2013. And really testing the merits of the film's "carceral state" claims? 14.)- Now here's astatistical oversight that truly torpedoes's central thesis about incarceration in the U.S. Simply put, the number of people imprisoned in the country over the last 17 years has been practically flat, with the total number of people in the nation's prisons increasing by just 180,300 prisoners between 2000 and 2013. Andtesting the merits of the film's "carceral state" claims? The fact that U.S. incarceration rates have actually been on a considerable downturn since Obama came into office, with the total number of people in jail or prison declining by about 90,000 (or a year-over-year three percent net decrease) since 2008

















And while GEO recorded an impressive $1.6 billion in profits in 2010, you have to recall the entity is indeed a

,

One little thing you should know about plea bargains - Not that you would've realized it from the apoplectic ranting and raving in 13th, but plea bargains aren't mandatory and defendants have every right in the world to forego them and pursue a trial jury. voluntarily choose them over waiting it out in a court of law. 19.)- Not that you would've realized it from the apoplectic ranting and raving in, but plea bargainsmandatory and defendants haveto forego them and pursue a trial jury. If you're pissed about the staggering number of people who take prosecutors up on their reduced sentencing offers , don't blame it on "the system" - blame it on the individuals whochoose them over waiting it out in a court of law.





Probation is FAR and away the nation's number one response to criminal prosecutions, and it isn't even close - One of the absolute biggest problems with 13th's "carceral state" accusations can be found in the nation's probation numbers ... which, for some inscrutable reason, the documentary never brings up. Alright, so a good 2.3 million people are in federal, state or local detention centers at any given time in America, right? Well, what the film doesn't let you know is that at any given time in America, prison state when barely 40 percent of those convicted of crimes in America are actually punished with jail time? 20.)- One of the absoluteproblems with"carceral state" accusations can be found in the nation's probation numbers ... which,, the documentary never brings up. Alright, so a good 2.3 million people are in federal, state or local detention centers at any given time in America, right? Well, what the filmlet you know is that at any given time in America, about 3.8 million convicted offenders are also serving probation as an alternative to incarceration . Factoring in those on parole, America has easily twice as many convicted felons under community supervision than those behind bars ... and in that, can you really call it awhen barely 40 percent of thosein America are actually punished with jail time?





The total percentage of young men arrested by the age of 18 really doesn't vary that much by race - Throughout 13th, several interviewees repeatedly harp on the "discrepancies" in arrest rates for young black men. 21.)- Throughout, several intervieweesharp on the "discrepancies" in arrest rates for young black men.

Alas,

arrest rates for 18-year-old men of ALL races in the U.S. are fairly comparable, with the journal

convicted of any crimes (and, of course, seeing as how there are far more white men in the U.S. than black men, that means - just in terms of bulk numbers - far more young white men age 23 or younger have experienced jail time than black men age 23 or younger.) And then there are the arrest rates for women, which are even closer than the arrest rates for males - by the time they reach the age of 23, 20 percent of all black women in the U.S. have been jailed, compared to 18 percent of all white women and just 16 percent of all Hispanic women. Crime & Delinquency reporting in 2014 that 30 percent of all black males in the U.S. have been arrested at least once for a non-traffic offense, while the number for Hispanics and Caucasians rest at 26 percent and 22 percent, respectively . The numbers stay well within the 10 percent margin of error when expanding the sample size to include those up to the age of 23, with about 49 percent of black men, 44 percent of Hispanic men and 38 percent of white men all being arrested at least once in the United States. So yes, there is about a 9 percent-to-11 percent difference in arrest rates for 23-year-old black and white males, but keep in mind that doesn't take into consideration other factors, like how long the individuals were detained after being arrested, the severity of the charges leading to their arrest and whether or not they were actuallyof any crimes (and, of course, seeing as how there are far more white men in the U.S. than black men, that means - just in terms of- far more young white men age 23 or younger have experienced jail time than black men age 23 or younger.) And then there are the arrest rates for women, which are even closer than the arrest rates for males - by the time they reach the age of 23, 20 percent of all black women in the U.S. have been jailed, compared toof all white women and just 16 percent of all Hispanic women.





a politician they don't like. The scenes showcased in

may be lamentable, but they don't hold a candle to the sort of

violence we've seen over the past few months at events in

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

and

Chicago, where Anti-Trump demonstrators -

- instigated

to prevent Trump from speaking at an engagement.









Speaking of the War on Drugs ... - Stop me if you've heard this one before: did you know that a majority of America's prisoners are jailed because of drug offenses? Aye, such is indeed the case - but only if you look at the nation's 211,000 federal prisoners. In the nation's state prisoner population, drug offenders only account for 212,000 of the 1.35 million individuals incarcerated and they only make up 160,000 of the 640,000 people - convicted or non-convicted - sitting in the nation's local jails right now. that, just 200 are estimated to be imprisoned for marijuana possession alone. 24.)... - Stop me if you've heard: did you know that a majority of America's prisoners are jailed because of? Aye, such is indeed the case - but only if you look at the nation's 211,000. In the nation's, drug offenders only account for 212,000 of the 1.35 million individuals incarcerated and they only make up 160,000 of the 640,000 people - convicted or non-convicted - sitting in the nation's local jails right now. On the state and local level, there are roughly the same percentage of prisoners booked for property crimes as there are those booked for drug convictions and roughly three times as many people imprisoned for violent crimes . Oh, and that old chestnut about people put behind bars for decades for having joints in their pockets? Yeah, that's a bunch of bullshit, seeing as how there are only 20,000 people in the U.S. jailed in state or federal prisons for marijuana offenses - and of









A

nd to conclude this long, drawn out condemnation of the film's

, I'd like to go back to the film's core thesis - that today's

is indeed the last remaining vestiges of that old economic institution we used to call

.





















In an absolutely brilliant critique of the film (which somehow concludes with the extolling of The Geto Boys' underappreciated 1995 album

), Armond White puts it perfectly: