GOD’S CHILDREN, OUR CHILDREN, ARE NOT FOR SALE
Last Monday evening we, the fetching Mrs. Prometheus and I, went to see Sound of Freedom. I suggested going on Monday as the crowds would be less. Boy, was I wrong; the theater was packed.
Sound of Freedom is a superb production. An excellent script, fine acting, and splendid musical soundtrack. The directors deliver gut punch after gut punch exposing the horrors of child sex trafficking, evoking a strong visceral response. And the courageous, unselfish, and hazardous work undertaken by Tim Ballard will arouse an equally strong lachrymal reaction. Even tough guys will need plenty of tissues.
It is an important film. You should go see it. Everyone should see it. Why? Because child sex trafficking is a multi-billion-dollar industry around the world including THE UNITED STATES.
Let me repeat: INCLUDING THE UNITED STATES!!
What kind of reviews has it had from the Marxist Legacy Media? Writing for the New York Times, Glenn Kenny tells us the movie is “queasy” and “inappropriate” in the beginning, settles on being pious, and ends up “kind of dull.” And he says too that Ballard has been accused of “exaggerating his revue narratives.[1]
Lorraine Ali of the Los Angeles Times wrote, “It’s debatable whether the film’s portrayal of the subject is realistic, and — as with just about any film ‘based on a true story’ — there have been questions about the accuracy of its depiction of the real-life Ballard, whose organization Operation Underground Railroad claims to have saved hundreds of victims to date.”
Ali admits it is a “brutal, uncontroversial topic: Everyone agrees that the exploitation of children is a horrific crime that must be stopped.” But in the same breath commented, “Unfortunately, the very mention of pedophilia rings a Pavlovian bell for QAnon subscribers.”[2] So how large of a bell is needed to awaken the self-righteous, sanctimonious Left to pedophilia, Big Ben?
She then goes on to rant about QAnon (whatever that is, likely a Marxist conspiracy theory), Jim Caviezel’s issues, Right-wing wags, “creative approaches to supporting faith-based films,” and ends by stating, “the combination of unorthodox marketing and conspiracy theory catnip has made Sound of Freedom the perfect focus for another sort of victimology.”[3]
Shannon Bond at National Public Radio titled her review “A Christian Thriller” that is “stoking conspiracy theories.”[4] Sounds a little like religious racism. I thought it was a thriller about child sex trafficking that would shock Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, Agnostic, or Atheist.
Bond opined “The film, based on a real-life controversial anti-trafficking activist, is being heavily promoted in conservative media. A big part of [the movie’s] success is an appeal from its star, Jim Caviezel, who comes on screen at the end urging viewers to buy more tickets so other people can see it … For years, he's been a prominent promoter of the false, violent QAnon conspiracy theory, specifically the claim that an international cabal of elites is abusing and killing children to extract a substance called adrenochrome. These wild claims have become deeply enmeshed with narratives about child trafficking, and Caviezel is pushing them ... Recently, Ballard claimed adrenochrome harvesting is real. And his statements and Caviezel's have an impact.”[5]
Bond interviewed Elizabeth Campbell, co-director of the University of Michigan's Human Trafficking Clinic. There is a clinic for human trafficking? Does one make an appointment after being rescued by Operation Underground Railroad? Does Medicare/Medicaid cover this?
Ms. Campbell commented “Because trafficking is so varied and does span so many populations, it really tests our brain to not distill it down to some sort of this is what a common victim of human trafficking looks like. And by doing that, I think we make actual victims of human trafficking more invisible and more vulnerable to exploitation.” She also believes these actions “divert people's energy, resources and policy proposals away from where they're most needed.”[6]
These comments on Sound of Freedom highlight the Woke Marxist generated ideological culture war going on in this country. Mr. Kenny the movie is not dull, you are. Next time, at least give the impression of objectivity in a review.
The commentaries by Ali and Bond are the typical, predictable excrement that Americans endure routinely. They do not objectively evaluate the film on its merits, as all other films are, rather they make ideologically based ad hominem attacks on it. The accuracy of the movie is questioned, as if all other film makers do not take some liberties with their stories. The very foundation of the movie, it is claimed, is based on a “false, violent QAnon conspiracy theory.” No Ms. Bond, the movie is based on child sex trafficking. Please try to get your head out of your fourth point of contact. Your brain needs oxygen. It is declared a Christian thriller, apparently meaning that it is not for general consumption, giving clear warning to Woke Marxists to attend a Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence performance instead ... don’t forget to take the little ones.
Telling too are the character attacks on Ballard and Caviezel rather than the directors and producers of the film. They are controversial, exaggerate their successes, promote conspiracy theories, and are practically called QAnon officials. Then, the most ludicrous charge is that the film’s success is rooted in free tickets paid for by viewers! (Man, I gotta have whatever she’s smoking!) However, these incompetent, cowardly hacks provide no evidence for any of these accusations.
And, horror of horrors, the movie is being promoted by the conservative media! The question is why is it not being promoted in the Marxist Legacy Media? Afterall, Ms. Ali verified that everyone agrees that child sex trafficking must be stopped. Yet, she and her colleagues attempted to eviscerate Sound of Freedom in their reviews. A gossamer (I would say transparent, but it might be misinterpreted) veil that does not hide their Woke Marxist ideological bent.
As for Ms. Campbell’s comments. Her inane word salad could have been written by Kackling Kamala’s speech writers. It has the bureaucratic fragrance of a state fair cow barn.
PROMETHEUS
26 July 2023
NOTE: The Sound of Freedom logo was obtained at www.cafepress.com/mf/78126229/sound-of-freedom_tshirt
[1] www.nytimes.com/2023/07/12/movies/sound-of-freedom-review.html. [2] www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-07-21/sound-of-freedom-jim-caviezel-angel-studios-amc-box-office-trump. [3] www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-07-21/sound-of-freedom-jim-caviezel-angel-studios-amc-box-office-trump. [4] www.npr.org/2023/07/20/1189066585/christian-thriller-sound-of-freedom-faces-criticism-for-stoking-conspiracy-theory. [5] www.npr.org/2023/07/20/1189066585/christian-thriller-sound-of-freedom-faces-criticism-for-stoking-conspiracy-theory. [6] www.npr.org/2023/07/20/1189066585/christian-thriller-sound-of-freedom-faces-criticism-for-stoking-conspiracy-theory.