THE SOUND OF FREEDOM
“It’s a messed up world.”
“It’s a messed up world.”
That pithy statement is the first truth pronounced in the newly released Angel Studio movie, The Sound of Freedom. It comes very early as agents realize that they might be able to apprehend pedophiles, but it seems they never are able to save any of the victimized children. Many more truths are revealed as the show unwinds with each just as acute as that first one.
It’s hard not to compare this movie with the new Indiana Jones flick which I also just saw (very rare for me to go to the movies at all, much less to see two in one week). Indy, as always, is action-packed with every chase scene requiring a total cessation of credulity. And most of it is, as you might imagine, chase scenes complete with Nazis. There are a couple of poignant parts but, like the chases, it’s all sort of make believe. It’s escape from reality.
On the other hand, The Sound of Freedom was very real. I smiled, I teared up, my heart rate bounced up a couple times and both joy and sorrow were palpable. It was a true experience. The sold out theater audience apparently thought so too judging by the hesitation of anyone to leave after the closing credits. Almost everyone stayed for the special after message from Jim Caviezel who plays the lead. There was a smattering of applause after the message that seemed to hit home to the immobile audience. Folks were in no hurry to leave the theater after seeing this powerful depiction of child trafficking and slavery. No one spoke.
I have been waiting to see this movie since 2019. Caviezel mentions it in the after message that there were many “obstacles” to getting it released so it is just now coming to our theaters. He doesn’t go into any details about what those obstacles might have been but, if what we see in the media is any gauge, it would seem that some people don’t especially like the message. That message being that the US is the top locale in the world for child trafficking. That message also being that the incidence of slavery now is higher than when it was legal. That message furthermore providing statistics and inarguable facts about the prevalence of humans selling humans for profit and sex in the present day. Wow, that is uncomfortable! Who wants to talk about that!
Mike Rothschild certainly didn’t want to talk about it in his recent CNN interview.
https://twitter.com/KarliBonnita/status/1678383274182209536
Rothschild, who fancies himself a “debunker” of conspiracies and exposer of all things QANON, has simply written off the facts presented in The Sound of Freedom as a QANON conspiracy. Really Mike? What about the 85,000 migrant kids that the government LOST, yes, lost, at least some of whom are thought to have been sold into forced labor? What about them, Mike? https://www.npr.org/2023/04/19/1170802333/congressional-lawmakers-raise-concerns-about-the-welfare-of-migrant-children. They aren’t the fabrication of a conspiracy. Our own government acknowledges that they have been “misplaced”. And they haven’t been found either. What about the credible report that the US Government is actually aiding and abetting the selling of migrant children into forced labor and that the swelling numbers of these Unaccompanied Minors have helped surge the child labor market! How about that, Mikey!
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/whistleblower-tells-congress-that-govt-delivering-migrant-children-human-traffickers. And what about the reports of the child sex rings in Haiti perpetrated by UN “peacekeepers”. Are those fiction as well? https://infotel.ca/newsitem/cb-un-peacekeepers-child-sex-ring/cp131761702. Mike, if you want conspiracy, I could, using only your last name, invoke all kinds of reasons that you don’t want this message to get a hearing. But I’m better than that, so I won’t.
But Rothschild is not the only one fighting this movie and its’ message. Vox, in a recent review, referred to it as “a hype machine”. https://www.vox.com/culture/23794355/sound-of-freedom-controversy-true-story-qanon. More than that, it discounted the reports of sold out theaters (the one I was in was sold out), and actually goes on to belittle the message of protecting children. Thank you, Vox. If I ever thought that your material should be among my “must read” stack, you have convinced me otherwise. Likewise, Rolling Stone, Washington Post and others have criticized the story for being “highly fictionalized” (try “adapted for the screen”) and attacks both the star, Caviezel and the true life agent, Tim Ballard as being conspiracy theorists. Note that none of these outlets have addressed the nuts and bolts of the story. They have not brought forth one instance of incorrect information being presented or evidence of one conspiracy theory. Once again, the only thing they can do is attack the message and the men. What a sorry bunch.
Rachel Emmanuel has an interesting take in her Western Journal article. https://www.westernjournal.com/media-attacking-sound-freedom-1-thing-common-adoration-netflixs-sick-cuties/. The same media that is attacking this movie had nothing but praise for the Netflix presentation of Cuties, an exhibition hypersexualizing little girls. That speaks volumes about the state of our media and the people degrading a movie that everyone should see.
It is profoundly depressing that the media in this county continue to discount the issue of human trafficking which is made infinitely worse by the loss of our southern border during this administration. For those crying that “Sound of Freedom” is based on conspiracy theory, let me tell you that it most assuredly is neither. A modicum of your own research with decent sources will make this point abundantly clear. That many of these are children should be sobering, not a cause for reflexive denial.
If you are wondering whether or not to see this, you know my answer. Not just yes, but hell yes. And don’t see it at home, go to the theater. See it with others. See it with strangers. Help be part of the sold-out theater. Sit with silent viewers listening to the after message. Internalize it in darkness and silence.
Yes, it truly is a messed up world. But at least as we have Tim Ballards and Jim Caviezels around to proclaim that “God’s children are not for sale”. No. No they are not.
For more information on the organization founded by Tim Ballard to address child trafficking:
https://ourrescue.org/domestic-law-enforcement-relations
If you live in Houston and want more information or would like to volunteer to help end human trafficking you might want to contact:
https://elijahrising.org