As “Barbenheimer” took theaters by storm this summer, Sound of Freedom bided its time, and after emerging from the shadows, gathered its own loyal audience throughout the world, netting $190 million at the box office (as of September 8, 2023). Directed by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel, two celebrities known for their openly strong faith, Sound of Freedom was not entirely without controversy. Sound of Freedom is far from an easy summer flick or a dull documentary. Moviegoers will not laugh as the lights come up and the credits roll; in fact, some may be wiping away tears. The harsh reality that the movie reveals and the poignant personalization of its characters are easily recommended and not easily forgotten
Sound of Freedom tells the tragedy of two young siblings in Honduras who are systematically kidnapped from their father and sold into sex slavery. Homeland Security agent Tim Ballard, enraged at the child pornography evidence he must investigate at length, makes it his personal mission to rescue the two stolen children and do as much damage to the sex trafficking ring as possible. He embarks on a dangerous solo operation through the wilderness of Colombia, confronting pedophiles at every turn.
The film was a success on numerous levels. First, the overarching message was effectively yet tastefully hammered into the audience just enough to have the shock value while not being obscene. Trumpeting “faceless masses” (“a million starving children in Africa”) is not very effective at garnering widespread sympathy, whereas a personalized story about a specific victim (“a 5-year-old named Jonah who lives with his grandmother in a poor Ugandan village”) will likely have much more impact. Sound of Freedom artfully employs this method in the film.
Second, the Christian values underlying the entire script give witness to the real authority of God. The crux of the film is that children should not be bought, sold, or abused for sex and that pedophilia is wrong.
It would be wonderful if this were unanimously agreed upon; however, with newly-coined terms like “minor-attracted persons” and the encouragement of “sexual expression” unlimited except by consent, even a whiff of the idea that certain sexual desires could be “perverted” is rapidly becoming unpopular.
If one accepts that such a thing as sexual depravity can exist, then logically there must be some standard for sexual “normality,” or properly-ordered sexual desires; something can only be considered “depraved” if there is a good, original thing capable of being corrupted. In the current consent-based culture, Christian and conservative values are the only thing holding back the floodgates of complete sexual degeneracy. The traditional view of sex is being overrun by the claim that consent justifies any sexual act without exception.
Sound of Freedom hits hard at the pornography industry. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, in 2020, pornography was by far the leading venue for trafficking case reports. 58% of Americans used porn at least once and more than 25% watched in the past month (according to the Institute for Family Studies), an issue many citizens would rather sweep under the rug. Pornography has become so normalized and incorporated into our lifestyles that the many oppressive systems nearly inherent to the industry are easily overlooked. For example, it’s highly likely that many female porn actors who are labeled as adults are (unbeknownst to the audience) actually underage girls led into the industry by financial desperation.Sound of Freedom has made it clear that everyone must do their part to lessen, if not eradicate, the heinous network of child sexual trafficking. And though it may be impossible to prevent all of these crimes, God Himself, the ultimate Judge, will have His justice. As he declares in Luke 17:2: “Better a millstone be hung around your neck and you be cast into the sea than you should ever hurt one of these little ones.” If one is to remember anything from Sound of Freedom, it is that every person on Earth is a child of God, and that God’s children are never for sale.
Liana Winans is a lifelong Bostonian studying Biology as a freshman in MCAS. While not working on Torch articles or practicing pro-life apologetics, she will often be found playing basketball in the Rec, reading at the Res, playing piano, or watching old action movies. Her go-to prayer is the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
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