In an interview for The Paris Review, Austrian director Michael Haneke, says that he despises films that have a political agenda. “Their intent is always to manipulate, to convince the viewer of their respective ideologies.” There’s no telling if Haneke refers to fiction or docs.

Are there any non-political docs? Feels as if Herzog’s ecstatic truth is a quest for the deepest political core of things. 

13th is more painful to watch then I’m Not Your Negro because of its plain & direct argumentation. Starts off with a quote from Obama: The USA is home of 5% of the world’s population. And 25% of the world’s prisoners.

And keeps going. USA had 300.000 inmates in 1972. 2.3 million nowadays. Mass incarceration, private prison system. 

Premise: if you’re white, you are the product of the history that your ancestors chose. If you’re black, you’re the product of the history that your ancestors most likely didn’t choose. 

Title derives from the 13th amendment of the American constitution, one that states that slavery is illegal, except for the purpose of punishment for a crime. The space between slave to criminal becomes a battleground of interpretation.

World is spinning faster with every day.