# ’14th’ Review: Ava DuVernay’s Infuriating, Inspiring Netflix Doc

- Link: https://viralbrief.top/14th-review-ava-duvernays-infuriating-inspiring-netflix-doc/
- Published: 2026-10-10T09:54:06+00:00
- Author: Olamide

On November 3, U.S. voters will cast ballots in midterm elections that will go a
long way toward shaping or reshaping our government. The results will offer a pivotal
snapshot of how the country is currently viewing the solvency of our particular 
brand of democracy.

[Ava DuVernay](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/t/ava-duvernay-0/)‘s new documentary
for Netflix focuses on the [14th](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/t/14th/) Amendment
to the Constitution, recent attempts to strip the [14th Amendment](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/t/14th-amendment/)
of its power, and the ways in which the 14th Amendment embodies and represents the
ideals and long-term viability of the American experiment.

## 14th

**The Bottom Line**
 _Infuriating and inspiring in the right ways._

**Venue:** New York Film Festival (Closing Night)
 **Release date:** November 27(
theatrical); December 4 (Netflix) **Director:** Ava DuVernay 1 hour 48 minutes

Naturally, Netflix has set _14th_ for a brief theatrical run on November 27 ahead
of a streaming premiere on December 4th. A sequel or companion to DuVernay’s Oscar-
nominated _13th_, the doc is a cogent, urgent clarion call, and Netflix is sending
it straight to the scheduling equivalent of voicemail.

I’m baffled, but I guess it isn’t my job to review programming choices or corporate
politics. Like its predecessor — I briefly was outraged recalling that _13th_ lost
the Oscar, until I was reminded that _[OJ: Made in America](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/oj-made-america-tv-review-858385/)_
won — _14th_ is powered by well-earned rage; also like its predecessor, it’s more
a history lesson and a model of carefully composed rhetoric than a screed.

As anybody who studied Constitutional amendments in school — and why isn’t that 
everybody? — knows, there are plenty of amendments that can be summed up in a catchy
phrase: “Alcohol? No!” “Actually, alcohol? Sure!” “Vote at 18!” “Vote if you’re 
a woman!” “Cruel and unusual punishment, like when a state is unable to correctly
administer the death penalty (or, actually, the death penalty itself)? No!” Etc.,
etc.

DuVernay’s last documentary focused on the supposed simplicity of the 13th Amendment,
which outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude, except in cases where the prison
industrial complex is involved. It’s a simple amendment, but the hypocrisy around
its implementation remains complicated.

The 14th Amendment is not one of the simple ones.

As Stacey Abrams, part of a wide-ranging group of talking heads here, puts it, the
14th Amendment is the “everything bagel” of constitutional amendments.

As Dr. Eric Foner puts it, the 14th Amendment is the most important since the Bill
of Rights.

As Dr. Sherrilyn Ifill explains in some depth, the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments
reflect a grand reimagining of the American experiment in the aftermath of the Civil
War — almost a second Constitution.

The amendment offers a new definition for citizenship, one built on equality, particularly
in issues of due process and equal protection under the law. It’s the foundation
for Supreme Court decisions allowing for interracial and gay marriage, the origin
of birthright citizenship, and the reason why paying off the January 6th insurrectionists
is blatantly unconstitutional.

It is, in modern TV and movie terms, a constitutional reboot, and like so many reboots,
it has sparked debate about what is and isn’t canonical to the intention of its 
framers — both the original constitutional framers and the framers of these bridge
amendments, including John Bingham, Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner. Note that
the documentary promises to remove the obscurity around this second group of framers
and, unfortunately, it doesn’t come close.

DuVernay and her various talking heads establish quickly why the 14th Amendment 
is so essential, and then go into depth on the attempts to erase the amendment’s
protections over the years, with a particular focus on the decades of efforts to
erase the immediate gains of Reconstruction. Some of that will be familiar to regular
viewers of documentary and comedy/news programs, especially when it comes to the
evisceration of the Daughters of the Confederacy, the perpetuation of the Lost Cause
myth, and the erection of countless monuments to the various slaveholders and insurrectionists
who fought for the South. I attended a Jefferson Davis Elementary School in my youth—
since renamed for Barack Obama — so much of this hit hard and close to home.

In addition to the usual historians, constitutional scholars, populist commentators
and politicians — including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jasmine Crockett, Alex Padilla
and dedicated regurgitator of MAGA talking points Anna Paulina Luna — DuVernay weaves
in ground-level vignettes. We spend time with the likes of Devon Henry, the contractor
tasked with removing Richmond’s Confederate monuments, and Dr. Carla Hayden, fired
as the Librarian of Congress for poorly articulated reasons related to the current
administration’s war on DEI.

The documentary is fairly straightforward, but never visually dull. DuVernay stages
her interviews in a diverse assortment of settings, moving the camera in a way that’s
kinetic but never nauseating. There’s a frequently utilized effect that brings to
life vintage black-and-white photos, which comes across as an extension of Ken Burns’
beloved technique with a computer-effects twist that I don’t fully understand, but
it keeps things lively. The argument DuVernay builds is deftly constructed within
the 108 minutes of the documentary, escalating from past to present to future and
from dryly historical to emotional and visceral.

Spencer Averick’s editing and the score by Jason Moran retain a high intensity throughout,
evoking a heist movie in which the main antagonists are out to steal your rights.
Which is apt, I guess.

The documentary generates anger, sadness and even, by showcasing clips from the 
likes of George Carlin and Hasan Minhaj, humor. More than that, though, _14th_ made
me wish for two things: First, that DuVernay continue her amendment-by-amendment
documentary series until we eventually get her exposé on the timetable of Congressional
salary increases. Second, that given the effort DuVernay puts into these films, 
it would be nice if they were released at the time when they could most successfully
stir people to action.

[Source link](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/14th-review-ava-duvernay-netflix-documentary-1236726558/)

  TL;DR (AI Generated)

Ava DuVernay’s documentary 14th examines the critical role of the 14th Amendment
in shaping American democracy and protecting civil rights.

Serving as a companion to her previous Oscar-nominated film 13th, the documentary
features insightful commentary from experts like Stacey Abrams and Dr.

Eric Foner.

The film is scheduled for a limited theatrical release in late November followed
by a streaming premiere on Netflix in December.

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