A movie poster for Sound of Freedom where a trafficked boy is reunited with his father.
I’m sure glad I thought to put tissues in my purse before we went to the movies Saturday. I love going to the movie theaters, which pre COVID, we did every weekend. There was a theater a quarter mile from our house and with temperatures well over 110 degrees, a cool, dark theater was the perfect place to hang out in the summertime.
Since COVID, we’ve seen three movies in theaters. Last summer we saw the new “Top Gun.” Last month, “About My Father,” and Saturday, “Sound of Freedom.”
I’m surprised at the weird reviews “Sound of Freedom” is getting from some news outlets like Rolling Stone and Washington Post.
‘Sound Of Freedom’ Is a Superhero Movie for Dads With Brainworms — headline from Rolling Stone
‘Sound of Freedom’ is a box office hit whose star embraces QAnon — headline from Washington Post
The reviews I’ve read like those above, after watching the movie, are so far off base. They state that it’s a right-wing, Q-Anon, religious movie that’s paranoid about child sex trafficking and exaggerates the issue.
First of all, the movie is based on a true story of a former government agent who makes it his mission to rescue trafficked children. He quits his job where he was arresting pedos watching porn online to rescue children. Throughout the movie, you see the horrific truth about child sex trafficking, which is the second largest criminal activity in the world — hence the reason for my tears.
There’s nothing right-wing or “Q” about this movie — unless being against child trafficking is considered “right wing” (sarcasm alert). It makes me wonder if the journalists bothered to see the movie, or did any research about child sex trafficking? The movie brings to light a terrible tragedy that is happening around the world including in the United States.
As I’ve written before, I learned a lot about human trafficking through a charity I joined. It turns out Phoenix is one of the biggest hubs in the nation. Prior to my experience with The Dream Center, I had no clue about human trafficking and that it’s so prevalent.
The Dream Center of Phoenix is a four-year resident facility for victims of human trafficking. They provide a safe home, medical care, optometrists, food, clothing, a garden, mental health treatment and if wanted — a place to worship. Our group provides fundraising and donations of whatever they need from toiletries to clothing for the Dream Center.
Here’s a post I wrote about human trafficking facts from my education through The Dream Center. Two of the facts on that post include that 1% of sex trafficked children are rescued and the number one prospect for child sex trafficking are young boys.
Sound of Freedom is a difficult movie, but a compelling story with great acting. In my opinion, it’s important to get the message out about human trafficking so it can be stopped. The reviews are a reminder to not believe everything you read in the media!
How familiar are you with the crisis of human trafficking around the world and in our country?
On a lighter note, what good movies have you seen lately?
