‘Sound Of Freedom’: A Christian Response To The Controversy

Everything is controversial these days, even protecting children from harm. Seriously. That’s not a joke or hyperbole. It’s a fact. The film Sound of Freedom hit a limited number of screens on July 4, 2023, and it has surprised Hollywood by being a huge success. As I’m writing this (July 18, 2023), Sound of Freedom is the #2 movie in the country. Its success, though, has triggered the political far-left in a surprising way. Christians, we need to acknowledge the appalling response from mainstream media and leftist film critics. And we must push back, speak up, and stand for the weak among us.

Sound Of Freedom: What’s The Deal?

Note: Full transparency. I have not watched ‘Sound of Freedom’ yet. This post is not a movie review, so it is not necessary to have seen it. However, I do plan to watch it in the future. My focus today is the controversy surrounding the film and the realities of child trafficking.

Near Failure To Launch

Sound of Freedom sat on the shelf for nearly five years, but the filmmakers and actors continued to advocate for it until Angel Studios finally licensed the right to the movie and released it in theaters. Prior to the involvement of Angel Studios, 20th Century Fox owned the movie. Disney bought out 20th Century Fox which transferred Sound of Freedom to the Mouse House. For reasons you can decide, Disney shelved the flick until Angel Studios came into the picture.

Sound Of Freedom Movie Facts

Sound of Freedom is a film based on the true story of a man named Tim Ballard. (More on him soon.) Despite being a film about child sex trafficking, the movie only holds a PG-13 rating. The creators believed no one needed to see what happens to children in these instances. We all know. And personally, I’m not sure how different the filmmakers would be from the pedophiles in the story if they chose to film scenes graphically portraying such acts.

Nonetheless, the film is clear about what happens, and viewers report leaving the movie heavily affected by what they watched. This, of course, is the point of the film. Those who made Sound of Freedom want people to face what so many of us ignore. They want to educate and motivate action.

The movie stars Jim Caviezel. You may have seen Caviezel play Jesus Christ in Passion of the Christ or Edmond Dantès in The Count of Monte Cristo. The plot follows Caviezel as Tim Ballard as he leaves his job and attempts to rescue children who have been trafficked. The movie only focuses on one particular mission. Although it is based on a true story, Ballard himself has said the screenwriters made him look braver than he is in real life and changed details like timelines in order to make a more cohesive and watchable movie. Overall, however, fact checkers report that Sound of Freedom does a decent job sticking to facts.

Who Is Tim Ballard?

His Start In Policing Traffickers

Tim Ballard is a Mormon man who tries to live his life guided by his beliefs. He worked for the CIA for approximately one year before joining the newly created Department of Homeland Security. Ballard’s job focused on arresting the individuals who were purchasing what traffickers sold. The children, sadly, were left behind.

“Well, I had spent 12 years as a special agent, undercover operator for the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, working child crimes, child trafficking. And it was kind of an evolution.

The first few years there was mostly just end user, collector cases of people who are possessing, distributing child exploitation material. And [I was] always wondering, “Where are the kids?” I see these videos, it breaks my heart. I got to describe them.

There’s a scene in the movie that breaks my heart where Jim is crying as he’s having to describe these horrific sex scenes of children. And when I say children, I mean averaging 7, 6, 5, OK?”

Tim Ballard, ‘The Daily Signal‘

Ballard Quits

After working a couple of cases in 2012, Ballard received orders to return home. This was no different than before, but he had reached his breaking point. So, he quit his job and chose to find a way to pursue the trafficked children. (The movie only focuses on one of the two cases.)

Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.)

Ballard founded O.U.R. in 2013. It’s a nonprofit organization which works to rescue children from sexual exploitation and sex trafficking. O.U.R. has conducted over 4,000 operations and made 6,500 arrests. Additionally, O.U.R. has rescued more than 6,000 women and minors.

Sound Of Freedom: Two Reactions

Sound of Freedom has had two main reactions. As with all films, there is a spectrum of opinions, but there are two specific reactions getting the most attention: positive reception and loathing.

1. Positive Reception

As I write this, the Rotten Tomatoes scores for Sound of Freedom from critics and audiences are “fresh” at 73% and 100%, respectively. Critics who don’t usually go for films and messaging that lean on the conservative side have recommended the movie and think it’s well-done.

Theaters across the country are filling up just as much as opening day, if not more, as Sound of Freedom continues its theatrical run. In fact, it made 38.6% more money at the box office in its second week in theaters than it did in the first week. Movies typically make less money per week as the theatrical stay goes on which only adds to the buzz around this surprise success story.

2. Loathing

As soon as Sound of Freedom hit theaters and attracted attention, mainstream media outlets and left-leaning critics lashed out. One of the more notable reviews comes to us from Rolling Stone. The title says it all: “Sound of Freedom is a Superhero Movie for Dads with Brainworms.” Directly under the title it reads, “The QAnon-tinged thriller about child trafficking is designed to appeal to the conscience of a conspiracy-addled Boomer.”

The Guardian took a similar approach with the title: “Sound of Freedom: the QAnon-adjacent thriller seducing America.”

The lead actor, Jim Caviezel, is linked to some right-wing conspiracy theories, and, thus, Sound of Freedom is conspiracy propaganda for MAGA Boomers… I haven’t even spent a moment checking on the connection between Caviezel and QAnon because it doesn’t matter to me. I don’t care if Caviezel thinks he can talk to rocks. Frankly, he’s just a guy who does a good job pretending to be other people. His personal beliefs have nothing to with the validity of the true story of the terrors of human trafficking Jim Ballard has witnessed. However, the far-left media has gone on to try and destroy this film’s reputation because the movie is too conservative, features conservative people, and lightly refers to God. And I thought we could all rally around the desire to care for our children… I guess not.

Did Sound Of Freedom Make Child Trafficking A Bigger Issue Than It Really Is?

The focus on Caviezel’s support for QAnon conspiracy theories and the way his personal beliefs may influence how people view and understand Sound of Freedom undermines the actual message of the movie. The outrage over child trafficking that viewers have experienced is shamed by big news outlets because they don’t like the source.

Rolling Stone’s article shames the “messaging” of Sound and Freedom because people might walk away believing children are trafficked for organ harvesting. (The movie does not claim this is true.) Apparently, the critic also felt triggered by the “white savior narrative.” It doesn’t matter, I suppose that the movie is about a white man who tries to rescue children in real life. Perhaps Rolling Stone would prefer if the filmmakers had tried for more diversity…in a true story of a white man.

The article from The Guardian appears to take issue with the fact that the United States is implicated in the sexual exploitation of children because the critic felt like some viewers might link it all back to the Clintons. The critic also criticizes the alleged relationship to QAnon while simultaneously complaining that the film doesn’t discuss any of the QAnon conspiracy theories!

My favorite quote from The Guardian is as follows.

“…the disappointingly un-juicy Sound of Freedom pretends to be a real movie, like a “pregnancy crisis center” masquerading as a bona fide health clinic.”

Charles Bramesco, ‘The Guardian’

That quote is the response to my challenge: Tell me you’re far-left and hate conservativism without telling me you’re far-left and hate conservativism.

These conversations and complaints about the politics Sound of Freedom may align with has turned support for the fight against child trafficking into an unpopular, QAnon-related, MAGA hat wearing, conspiracy theorist position. This reporting (intentionally?) lumps child trafficking into the conspiracy pile. At the very least, it is taking the attention away from the problem Sound of Freedom is trying to educate moviegoers about. So, is child trafficking really a big enough problem for us to care about? Is the far-left media missing the entire point of this film?

The Statistics

There are so many statistics on human trafficking that it can be overwhelming to even begin looking at them. Moreover, the numbers can really make you feel sick to your stomach. Researching human trafficking has been the least pleasant thing I’ve done in recent memory. One person being trafficked in any capacity is too many people, but we aren’t working in single digits, folks. First, I’d like to share this graphic from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for a snapshot view, but then I’d like to take a quick walk in the weeds, if you will, for a closer look.

Let’s start by defining the terms. Sound of Freedom focuses on child sex trafficking, so we should define that specific form of trafficking. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), it is child abuse defined by a child under 18 being advertised, solicited, or exploited through a commercial sex act. A commercial sex act is simply sex in exchange for something of value.

We often assume these children must be missing and taken to far away places, but that isn’t necessarily the case. Sometimes exploited children attend school like other children and are forced to engage in commercial sex acts when they get home.

Where Is Trafficking Happening?

In 2021, NCMEC received 17,200 reports of child sex trafficking in the United States. These reports came from cities, small towns, and even tribal land. There is no such thing as a completely safe place.

Is Trafficking Common?

Well, it depends on what you mean. Certainly, we are all at a much greater risk of many other things before trafficking. On the other hand, it isn’t so rare that we should ignore it, downplay it, or try to keep others in the dark about it.

Again in 2021, 25,000 minors were reported missing to the NCMEC after having run away. The estimate is that 1 in 6 of those minors were likely trafficked. If that estimate is correct, then more than 4,100 minors were trafficked in 2021 in the United States. Of course, these numbers are only for reported runaways and don’t account for minors trafficked in other scenarios.

Human trafficking is much bigger than runaways, so we should consider the possibility that minors are not a highly targeted group. I wonder what the statistics have to say about that. Well, the 2021 Federal Human Trafficking Report states that 57% of all U.S. trafficking victims and 66% of sex trafficking victims are minors. On a worldwide scale, the victim demographics change. Minors make up 20% of all human trafficking victims in the world. Either way, I’d say minors are a significant portion of those harmed by human trafficking.

So, is human trafficking an American issue? Yes. Does it impact the safety and well-being of children in the U.S. and around the world? Yes. Then let me ask you, why are major media outlets focused on what personal political leaning Jim Caviezel has and what conspiracy theorists might think when they watch a movie about the very real, very heartbreaking, and very profitable crime that is known as child trafficking?

Additional Reading

If you have the stomach and interest, I recommend looking over the Polaris Analysis of 2021 Data from the National Human Trafficking Hotline. Below is a quote that offers a short summary of what the data analysis found.

“From 1/1/2021 – 12/31/2021, there were 10,359 trafficking situations reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. In those situations, a total of 16,554 likely victims of trafficking were identified. The top three types of trafficking reported in 2021 were Escort Services (10%), Pornography (8%), and Illicit Massage, Health & Beauty (8%).”

Remember that about 57% of those likely 16,554 victims in the U.S. were minors.

What Should The Christian Response Be To Human/Child Trafficking?

Sound of Freedom puts child trafficking in the spotlight and there is nowhere for us to hide. We can’t pretend it isn’t real. But what can we do? I’m not going to Columbia to personally lead a paramilitary operation. I can barely walk and chew gum at the same time!

I do have a few ideas, though, and I’m open to more if you have any.

1. Pray

We pray to find our keys, to afford a new car, to get married, for our friend who has bad allergies, but do we pray for the women and children who are at risk or already being trafficked? How often do we truly pray about and concern ourselves with things out of our sight?

God has given Christians the ability to serve all people from all nations no matter our strengths, weaknesses, or circumstances. We can intercede through prayer. I imagine many of us don’t think our prayers can do much, but I challenge you to pray anyway. God wants to hear what is on our hearts. Pray.

2. Educate Yourself

This might mean you should see Sound of Freedom, read some statistics on human trafficking, or watch a documentary on the subject. Whatever method you use is fine, but just make sure you learn something.

Christians, we spend far too much time ignoring the realities of this world. I can’t even count how many women I know at this point who don’t know anything about what is happening in the world because they refuse to read or watch the news. It’s too sad and discouraging to them. And I get it. It can be. But what good is willful ignorance in a world spiraling deeper into sin and doubling down on its rejection of God?

3. Tell Others

Share what you have learned with other people. Your information may protect them from falling prey to someone’s schemes, help them recognize someone in trouble, or ignite a desire in them to find ways to serve trafficking victims.

4. Find Organizations To Give To Or Serve With

Are there organizations serving trafficking survivors in your area? Do you know of any groups that need funding to help trafficking victims? Depending on where you live, you might find that you are surrounded by people touched in some way by these horrendous crimes against humanity.

5. Teach Your Children

Raise your children to recognize threats and teach them about internet safety. Sometimes Christians are so insulated in their Christian bubble that they are too naïve and easy targets for criminals and all manner of manipulative people. Don’t raise victims by confusing Christian love with blind trust.

6. Safeguard Your Church

We like to think that everyone in our church is a wonderful and trustworthy person, but wolves can be anywhere. In fact, churches are common targets for criminals.

Watch your children and require common sense standards for people to minister with anyone (e.g., background checks, membership status, waiting period to serve, no children alone with one adult, etc.).

Remember, the “bad people” aren’t usually strangers. According to the Polaris Data Analysis I shared earlier, approximately 48% of the trafficking exploiters were the victim’s family or intimate partner. The percentage jumps to 91% if we include employers. Victims know their exploiters, and churches would do well to remember that.

Does The Bible Say Anything About Human/Child Trafficking?

Sound of Freedom pulls at our heartstrings, but Christians need to rely on more than feelings. We have to look at the world through a biblical lens. Well, Scripture hasn’t let us down. (Not that it ever would!) I’m going to finish things out with some verses to consider as you process through the realities of child trafficking.

The Sanctity Of Life

“And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.” (emphasis mine)

Exodus 21:16

“Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;” (emphasis mine)

1 Timothy 1:9-10

Speak For Those Who Need A Voice

“Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.”

Proverbs 31:8-9

Serving Christ By Serving The Least Among Us

“For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (emphasis mine)

Matthew 25:35-40

Final Thought

Most of us are not going to do anything to fight child trafficking on a global scale. We have lives that are in a much smaller box than that. It’s OK. We can do something. Actually, the most important thing we can do as believers is pray to God for the human trafficking victims’ freedom and for the victims and exploiters to come to a saving knowledge of Christ.

However, I want to leave you with a warning. A small indie film addressing an evil that any person should see as absolutely disgusting and worth fighting against has been ignored and then attacked and lied about by the people who control the narrative. If you had doubts about how serious the culture war is in our country, then this should help you see more clearly. If you weren’t sure if we are really fighting a spiritual battle at this time, then consider how seared someone’s heart must be to use child trafficking to attack a rival political party and unfavored religious group (i.e., Christians).

Common sense, natural affections, and spiritual sensitivity are quickly dying in the United States. Pray, witness, and pull further from the world and closer to Christ. The world was never our home, but never in my lifetime has it been so destructive and toxic to all that is right and good.

Have you seen Sound of Freedom? Were you surprised by what you saw in the movie? Comment below with your thoughts.

Image courtesy of Trym Nilsen via Unsplash.