I watched the documentary 13th on Netflix, which is an academic event. This documentary affected me as it made me see the mass incarceration of African Americans in the US as more than just a punitive measure for crimes being committed. The film opens up by discussing a line in the 13th amendment, which is supposed to make slavery unconstitutional. This line says that involuntary servitude is unconstitutional, except for punishment for a crime. In historical context, this was used as an excuse for the South post civil war to use African Americans for free labor. I never realized how this had evolved into a systematic bias that targets African Americans specifically for prison sentences. This relates to the topic of international affairs as it reveals the flaws in our prison system domestically, and how we can use foreign prison systems to improve our own. I personally gained from watching this documentary because I now have a more extensive view of the need for prison reform in the US, and how many people are suffering because nothing is being done. This relates to economics, as the prison system in the US has become intertwined with parts of our economy, so there are now monetary factors that play into our justice system. Questions I have about this are how to ensure that the justice system is not biased against any racial group, while still maintaining its integrity.