As the midterm elections approach, Ava DuVernay’s latest documentary, “14th,” comes at a pivotal moment for the United States. Unlike this season’s other hyped films, it doesn’t touch on the dangers of AI or examine tech billionaires. Instead, it explores the 14th Amendment and its vital role in the fabric of America’s democracy.
“14th” focuses on the constitutional amendment that established the right of citizenship, due process and equal protection under the law. The film argues that these core principles – along with the amendment’s ban on those who engage in insurrection as heads of state – have come under unprecedented pressure in recent years.
Through interviews with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), legal scholars Sherrilyn Ifill and Robert Chang, Stacey Abrams, social commentators Donald T. Critchlow and Hasan Piker, and others, DuVernay explores the history of the amendment and its contemporary implications.
The Netflix film is set to close the New York Film Festival and will begin streaming on December 9.
Variety sat down with DuVernay and editor-producer Spencer Averick to discuss their collaboration on the film, released a decade after DuVernay’s documentary “13th,” which examines the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. “13th” was released just weeks before Donald Trump was elected to his first term as president.
This marks your return to feature documentaries after “Origin”. What was the trigger for “14”?
AVA DUVERNAY: We’ve been through a decade of Trump. When we were “14th”, he was not yet president for the second time. But the world has changed. During this decade, there has been a surge in attacks on our democracy that have captured my interest, particularly around conversations about who is an American.
One of our commenters, Van Lathan Jr., made it clear that if being born in America or going through the naturalization process doesn’t mean you’re American, then what will? Over the past decade, we have seen forces emerge that want to dictate what it means to be American. This is in contradiction with our founding documents. At its core, this documentary is about the fact that we are in the middle of something very sinister – something very dangerous – and we all need to be aware of it.
Spencer, when did you get Ava’s call?
SPENCER AVERICK: We talked about Trump’s attack on citizenship rights, and it started before he was elected. He talked about it in interviews and it started to become a concrete threat the closer he got to his election. He was attacking the Constitution, he was attacking immigration and it slowly turned into an attack on the 14th Amendment.
We never intended to follow up “13” with this, but it led us to explore the subject further and it naturally became the follow-up film.
How did the “Lost Cause” become the common thread of the “14th”?
AVERICK: This story is about the battle over the 14th Amendment. The civil war happened, there was a truce, and there was a promise after the war. The resolution of the war was these amendments, the 14th Amendment in particular.
Immediately there was reluctance. It took all forms: violent, legislative and cultural. The culture war against the 14th Amendment and against Reconstruction was at the heart of everything – it was underhanded and hidden. This was in the form of the “Lost Cause,” which celebrated the Confederacy and the side that wanted to keep slavery alive and it continued throughout the 20th century.
DUVERNAY: With “13th,” Michelle Alexander had written this thesis in “The New Jim Crow” that there was a flaw in the amendment that had led to mass incarceration. We followed that and it opened up this beautiful story.
The 14th Amendment, however, has five parts and one of the parts has three subsections. When I think about its scope, we have to go back to the beginning: how did it come about?
The response to the 14th Amendment was the “Lost Cause.” It became the beating heart of opposition to the 14th Amendment. We might have called it the “Lost Cause” in 1876 or the early 1900s, but today it’s called MAGA. This is rooted in the idea that there is a hierarchy to being an American – that some people are more capable, more deserving than others – which is the exact opposite of what the 14th Amendment stands for.
Stacey Abrams, AOC, Steve Schmidt, Dr. David Blight are among the many talking heads featured in the document. How did you determine who to include?
DUVERNAY: We were looking for certain people and Tammy Garnes did extensive research. A lot of what Spencer and I were looking for was not just someone who knew the information, but someone who could convey it in a way that was not only accessible but entertaining.
Let’s be real: this is a film about the Constitution. It’s not “Jack Reacher.” This is probably one of the driest topics you can read in print. But we knew that underneath, there was this thrilling life that governs how we spend our days.
One of the things I love about Spencer’s editing is that there can be seven people explaining the same thing, but he cuts it in a way that feels vivid. He finds the moments when people are excited.
AVERICK: It can seem difficult, when more than 50 people are speaking, to choose the right voices. But Sherrilyn Ifill served as narrator and she guided us. We also had people talking about specific topics. David Blight was our master on the Civil War and Reconstruction. Adam Dombey was our expert on the “Lost Cause”. Jelani Cobb was a master of the Mother Emanuel situation. Everyone had their moment, and it created a nice transfer throughout the film.
I’m curious: Did you go to the Republicans and ask them to participate in this?
DUVERNAY: We sent more than 300 requests to every sitting Republican congressman, senator, governor and major city mayor. These were not only sent to general mailboxes but also to those responsible for communications services. The Republicans who participated in the film were Senator Jeff Flake and Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna. We also included Donald Critchlow, an author and conservative pundit. They were the only ones to have answered yes out of these 300 requests. Many politely refused, but the majority did not return. I needed those voices in the film. I wanted to hear their side of the story. I’m afraid we’re in a time where people just want to talk to the choir. I didn’t want to speak to the choir. I wanted these voices, and they were invited and they didn’t accept the invitation.
What is your call to action?
AVERICK: In the film, we reflect the Reconstruction era, which was a mess. The North and the South had just fought one of the bloodiest battles of all time because they could not agree. After the war, a group of people inside and outside the government decided to create this new government with this new document.
One thing we can do is turn to this moment in history and look within ourselves. Frederick Douglass was not in government, but he pushed, instigated, spoke, and taught. He came out there.
We had a more robust call-to-action section in the film, but we decided to shorten it to make it more powerful. We wanted to ask the audience to see themselves as the founders and creators of this era – an era that, unfortunately, mirrors the period after the Civil War.
DUVERNAY: At the end of the day, we can vote and everyone should vote. But one of the things I learned from making this is that you can vote, but then you have to follow what these people are doing. Attend board meetings, monitor their records, and know the details beyond what they say during a campaign.
But beyond that, forget about politics. What are you doing at the community level? Do you know your neighbor? Do you talk to people about opinions? Do you know anyone in your life who doesn’t watch the news? How to keep them informed?
When AOC says it’s about the people who govern, she’s right. That’s not what we’re doing right now as a country. We elect leaders, then we turn around and let things happen to us.
We need a more informed electorate. Politicians need to know that if they don’t speak for the people, they won’t take that seat next time. We have politicians who defend our interests, but they are inspired by the people. The way we operate, and for most of our adult lives, you elect someone and then what they decide for you is what happens. When we look at history, this is not how this government was put in place. This is not how our systems of checks and balances and community participation work.
The Daughters of the Confederacy did not wait for the President to tell them what to do. They attended local school board meetings and made things happen.
We’re in such a mess right now that it’s going to take everyone paying attention and helping us get out of this house.
How did you know when to finish the film, given the constant news cycle?
DUVERNAY: We ran out of time.
AVERICK: It was a living and evolving montage. As this was happening — Trump attacking voting rights, birthright citizenship and other parts of the amendment — it felt like a barrage of attacks. How do you manage all of this and synthesize it until the end of the film? And unfortunately, he attacked every section of the 14th Amendment and when he did that, we realized we had an ending and we were able to fill in each section with his attack and the ramifications of the attack and how it relates to history. We stayed there for a long time, and we got to a point where we had…
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