The Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. The documentary 13th, directed by Ava DuVernay, discusses the mass incarceration of African Americans since slavery was abolished. This controversy of freedmen being enslaved again by the justice system as prisoners. Criminality of African Americans began with ideas such as the prisoner-lease system, where these people were thrown into jails or prisoners for the smallest of crimes or on false accusations and they were sold by the sheriff for labor purposes. Next, this movement took the form of Ku Klux Klan, black codes, and Jim Crow laws. The comic Bitch Planet by Kelly Sue DeConnick addresses similar issues using a different medium. By looking at the documentary 13th in comparison to the comic Bitch Planet, we can see how the genre of non-fiction can be very informative and supported by facts yet tends to lack in the aesthetic storytelling of comics.

Documentaries are essentially nonfiction films that capture reality. The films are typically used to inform viewers on an interesting subject, especially ones that are not covered by the mainstream media. 13th covers the incarceration of African Americans throughout history and how they are virtually being reduced to slavery once more as a result of the clause “except as a punishment for a crime”. This is not something that is typically discussed among people on a normal basis. Another characteristic of documentaries is that they can be funny, disturbing, or even shocking. They can be widely diverse, just like comics. Documentaries often feature interviews from people that are knowledgeable on the subject that is being discussed. Comics typically take one view point, that of the author, or collaborators if there are any. They typically rely more on the visual storytelling rather than fact. However, comics tend to have more of a wider audience than documentaries. Bitch Planet focuses more on how African Americans are treated in every day society, while 13th discusses how this group has been treated in the justice system in the present and past. 

In order to film a documentary, one has to know the story of what the filmmaker wants to shoot. DuVernay had to research information on the subject of incarceration of African Americans. She had to learn of the economic system that slavery upheld until it abolished after the Civil War, how this brought about the mythology of criminality in African American groups, and that the term “mass incarceration” was coined in the 1970s during the War on Drugs. All of these facts had to come together to create a particular story. Another device used the 13th documentary is the interviews portrayed throughout the film to tell the story. While the people interviewed are knowledgeable, sometimes it can be a hindrance to the audience in way that they can use terminology viewers may not be familiar with. This can allow for audiences to become confused. Some documentaries can even utilize devices such as typography and music, both of which are important to make the film more engaging and to help the story. Music can draw out intensity and emotion in audiences, allowing them to connect to the issue being discussed. Typography can also be used to heighten the music and to make viewers more aware of the point being made. In 13th, lyrics to the music are put into typography, as well the imprisonment rates throughout the years. For example, the U.S. prison population was 357, 292 people in 1970. In 2001, the prison population for African Americans was 878, 400. In 2014, it was 2, 306, 200, where one in three African American males are expected to go to jail or prison. All of these numbers were displayed in typography form to draw the audience’s attention to them. All of these devices heighten the experience of watching documentaries. In a way, the typography in documentaries can be similar to the text that is used in comics. Graphic novels rely on nothing but writing (aside from the art, of course) to convey the message being discussed. The text can also come in different forms. It can be bold, italicized, or even written small to display emotions in the story. By using all of these techniques and devices, this makes the experience of watching documentaries and reading comics more memorable.

Mood in documentaries is very important. It sets the tone for how audiences connect with the issue being discussed. The mood of 13th calls for seriousness to fully understand the gravity of the subject. Interviews with various people, movie clips to enhance the story being told, and even video clips of politicians were used in 13th. A testimony is given by Angela Davis, a member of the Communist Party. She told her story of how she went to trial for allegedly being involved in a prison break. Davis spent 18 months in jail before finally being acquitted. The information given using these tools all supports the underlying theme of the documentary: There is a troubling rate of mass incarceration among the African American community. While Bitch Planet mainly focuses on one character, Penelope, the way the comic is presented is extremely impactful in how unfair people can be treated for any reason they may be doing. Like 13th, the graphic novel also calls for a serious mood. One way this can be expressed is through the bleak colors used to create atmosphere in Bitch Planet. All of this highlights the severity of the problem which is racial discrimination towards anyone. Despite two completely different ways of presentation, documentaries and comics can be two very powerful ways to discuss a certain issue.

Devices, themes, and moods are all important to storytelling. Documentaries can also surprisingly be very artistic, however not quite on the aesthetic level of comics. Of course, it is not in their goal to be aesthetic. The information being shared to the audience is more important above all else in a documentary. However using devices such as typography can enhance the movie and capture the audience’s interest. Comics, since they are in art form, typically capture attention more easily, one of the advantages they have over documentaries. On the flipside, documentaries are solely based on fact while comics have the advantage of being able to have freedom over the story they are telling. What is being shown in completely up to the artist. A director of a documentary has to remain completely unbiased or the issues being discussed becomes one-sided. The issue of mass incarceration of African Americans is an important because it shows the flaw in the American justice system. The clause that causes people to be seen and treated as slaves again in the form of “fair” punishment for their crimes is as debasing as it is immoral. The goal of 13th is to open audience’s eyes to the reality that prisoners, especially African American ones, on how they are truly treated by the justice system.
