14th

The most prominent image throughout the film is a black star on a red background, meant to illustrate the five key points of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Citizenship, Representation, Insurrection, Debt, and Enforcement. We see hands ripping it apart as the film goes on, because this is a thorough deconstruction of how the Trump administration is desecrating this amendment to the umpteenth degree. It’s a powerful image, and it’s the thing that stayed with me the most after seeing this film. It’s a film that wants to make one message abundantly clear to its audience: the power they have through their vote. It’s a perfect movie to see right before the midterms.

I guess the major problem I can see people having with it is the use of AI. It’s been noted that DuVernay used generative AI to bring back Reconstruction-era pictures, and I completely understand why that rubs people the wrong way. It’s valid to criticize AI usage like this whenever it pops up, and I get it. But it does not change how powerful this movie is. AI or no AI, this is the kind of documentary that should be shown in classes everywhere.