Thirteen depicts the evolution of the system around the criminalization of African Americans from post Civil War to today. The 13th Amendment freed enslaved people, but with one critical loophole, though, the amendment excluded criminals. The South, in ruin from the Civil War, sought to rebuild their economy with equal mistreatment and cost of labor. So by enforcing petty crimes, they rounded up many and many newly freed Black people, and put chains back on to them. Today, through mass incarceration, many corporations use imprison labor to make products, that you and I use everyday.
It’s deeply heartbreaking to see how ruthlessly efficient our country has eaten up communities. Chris Hayes in his book, A Colony in a Nation, argues this point that we are nation that has two systems: one for the nation that applies democratic principles of justice such as presumption of innocence; another for the colony, to control a population with lethal and brutal force.
One silver lining is seeing that BLM does not depend on a leader to push for change. The movement has seen a 25+ point increase in support. Changes in police departments are happening in several cities. And Minneapolis is dismantling their police entirely. (A)
Carley Rae Jepson dropped her b-side to Dedicated. First song, This Love Isn’t Crazy is a real banger. I imagine having a lot fun dancing to this at a club or dance hall. Overall the album is pretty good. (B+)
Taylor Swift’s Lover is pretty darn good. Favorites are Death by Thousand Cuts, Man, I Forgot You Existed, It’s Nice to Have a Friend. Perhaps it’s the album where Taylor Swift decided to speak out against the Donald Trump that has me enjoying it a little more. (A)
Kipo is a wild anime. It’s has hip hop and rap as underlying music. And the characters are all compelling. It depicts an America 200 years after the collapse of society. People live underground and animals have mutated to be sentient. The combination of different animals and their tribe’s culture is really interesting. (A-)