The real reason journalists hate ‘Sound of Freedom’

Over the Fourth of July weekend, “Sound of Freedom” shocked many by closely contesting the latest Indiana Jones movie for the top spot at the box office. The relatively low-budget film from independent Angel Studios stars “Passion of the Christ” actor Jim Caviezel and is based on the story of Tim Ballard, a former Department of Homeland Security agent, and his quest to stop child sex traffickers.

A small indie movie with a powerful message about victimization going toe-to-toe with a major box office titan: This is the kind of story journalists should be lining up to write glowing celebratory pieces about. Instead, as if some form of order had been issued to all the most vile leftist outlets simultaneously, a flurry of hit pieces suddenly appeared to denounce the movie as red meat for QAnon conspiracy theorists. Journalists hate the movie for a simple and very telling reason: They have managed to code opposition to child sex trafficking as a radical right-wing position.

Outlets like Rolling Stone, Jezebel, the Washington Post, and the Guardian fell into immediate lockstep, framing the box office upset not as a David and Goliath story for the ages, but as evidence that dangerous right-wing conspiracy theories have seized the minds of the movie-going public. Each article made sure to use phrases like “QAnon-tinged” despite never linking any content from the movie itself to the fringe movement. Rolling Stone described the film as “A superhero movie for dads with brain worms,” while the Guardian accused the movie of “seducing America.” Rolling Stone famously defended the French movie “Cuties” against charges of child sexualization in 2020, praising the movie as “a sensitive portrayal of growing pains.” The writers who attended a showing of “Sound of Freedom” for their article treated the experience like a trip to the zoo, taking every opportunity to mock the backward yet dangerous nature of the GOP-voting plebians were absorbing conspiracy-theory-laced marching orders from their Klan-hooded overlords. The breathless journalists were desperate to frame the film as “Birth of a Nation” for the disgruntled Trump voter, a cartoonish depiction of hate designed to whip up the latent violent tendency of a conspiracy-addled public.

“Sound of Freedom” started life as a major studio project that was originally produced by 20^th Century Fox and finished back in 2018. Despite being completed and ready for distribution, the film was shelved after Fox was acquired by the Walt Disney Company in 2019, with the new owners refusing to release the movie.

Disney later became embroiled in controversy after battling Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over a child protection bill, going so far as to ban employees from using “boy” and “girl” in order to be more inclusive of “trans kids.” Footage from journalist Chris Rufo also revealed an internal Disney struggle session in which one television producer bragged about her “not-so-secret gay agenda” and her efforts to force LGBTQ+ characters into children’s programming at every opportunity. The entertainment giant is the parent company of Lucasfilms, the producers of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” the film that “Sound of Freedom” eventually did battle with at the box office.

I have not personally had the opportunity to see “Sound of Freedom” yet, but the film has been getting rave reviews. Despite the attempt to manufacture controversy by the mainstream press, the movie stands at a 76% fresh rating among critics and a 99% fresh rating with audiences on the popular movie rating website Rotten Tomatoes. This is made all the more impressive by the fact that Rotten Tomatoes is infamous for its political bias, often creating a large differential between favorable fan ratings and the scores of reviewers who punish films with the wrong political opinions.

Successful faith-based films with questionable production often rely on the favorable disposition of a devoted audience, but that does not seem to be the case with “Sound of Freedom.” Honest critics who might not like the political leanings of the target audience are still awarding the film favorable reviews and commending its message.

Child trafficking is not some delusional conspiracy theory manufactured online. At least 1.2 million children are trafficked every year worldwide, over 18,000 in the United States. Immigrant children are some of the most likely victims, and drug cartels are notoriously active in the child sex trafficking business, often using minors as cover to enter the country before selling them to the highest bidder. I wish this did not need to be said, but apparently it does: This is the most heinous type of crime imaginable, and those who commit it should face swift public execution after being found guilty by a jury of their peers.. Woodchipper, feet first, no exceptions. Progressives are quick to use children as political props, speaking about the need to protect the future of children by funneling more money to failing schools or the latest green energy boondoggle, but when it comes to protecting children from sex trafficking, the left has nothing but condemnation for those who would bring awareness to the issue.

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