I haven’t yet seen the popular new movie “The Sound of Freedom,” although I know people who have. The film, which focuses on child sex trafficking, is currently blowing away the latest opus in the Indiana Jones franchise, even though it’s playing in fewer than 3000 theaters. Even reviews have been positive: Rotten Tomatoes, for example, grudgingly gives it a 76% percent “fresh” rating, although the audience gives it 99%.

But there are turds in the punchbowl — and all of them are coming from leftwing media.

Rotten Tomatoes posted this synopsis:

Sound of Freedom, based on the incredible true story, shines a light on even the darkest of places. After rescuing a young boy from ruthless child traffickers, a federal agent learns the boy’s sister is still captive and decides to embark on a dangerous mission to save her. With time running out, he quits his job and journeys deep into the Colombian jungle, putting his life on the line to free her from a fate worse than death.

And here’s the official trailer from Angel Studios:

Sounds like the perfect summer movie, right? A film with a Tom Clancy “Clear and Present Danger” vibe about rescuing children from the most vile humans on this planet — what’s there not to like?

Except for media types on the Left. They despise the “Sound of Freedom,” mainly because of its Christian origins, its audience, and its star, Jim Caviezel.

Scorn for Sound of Freedom

The media are going into a tailspin over this film, accusing it of promoting the QAnon conspiracy theory. Take, for instance, a critic for the UK Guardian, who called it “paranoid” and a “QAnon-adjacent thriller seducing America.”

A movie critic for CNN claimed the movie was created “out of moral panic.”

On The Sound of Freedom, CNN says child sex trafficking is real, but "these films are created out of moral panics… it specifically is looking at QAnon concepts of these child trafficking rings." Do you want more QAnon because this is how you get more QAnon. pic.twitter.com/IsIRWVp1X3

— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) July 8, 2023

Which is a bad take for CNN, since last month one of its former TV producers received a 19-year sentence for luring a 9-year-old girl into sex acts.

Perhaps the most puerile review of “Sound of Freedom” came from Rolling Stone writer Miles Klee. Klee began his article with this title:

‘Sound Of Freedom’ Is a Superhero Movie for Dads With Brainworms

And … it went downhill from there:

Ballard, Caviezel, and others of their ilk had primed the public to accept ‘Sound of Freedom’ as a documentary rather than delusion by fomenting moral panic for years over this grossly exaggerated ‘epidemic’ of child sex-trafficking, much of it funneling people into conspiracist rabbit holes and QAnon communities. In short, I was at the movies with people who were there to see their worst fears confirmed.

Focusing on what he called the movie’s “hackneyed white savior narrative,” Klee added this:

There are mass shootings, lack of healthcare, climate disasters. And yet, over and over, the far right turns to these sordid fantasies about godless monsters hurting children.

Just know that Miles Klee is the same person who six years ago wrote at MEL Magazine:

Is Bart Simpson Queer?

I keep wondering about Bart Simpson’s sexual identity.

Let that sink in.

What the Media Really Hates

There are two main things the media hate about “The Sound of Freedom:” a Christian studio produced it, and a Christian actor stars in it. And they cannot abide that.

Angel Studios, which is responsible for “Freedom,” also created the series “The Chosen,” about Jesus Christ and His disciples. Describing itself as “a curated, free streaming platform offering exceptional movies, shows, and documentaries for all ages,” Angel exists through crowd-funding, and has been very successful.

But the media cannot tolerate the fact that a Christian studio can successfully exist. So because “The Chosen” has become wildly popular, media seeks to shut down “Sound of Freedom,” lest even more of those Christians in flyover country support Angel Studios.

Then there’s the film’s star, Jim Caviezel.

Caviezel is most famous for his role as Jesus in the 2004 film “The Passion of the Christ.” But he didn’t just play his Savior in a reverent movie — he lives out his faith in his real-life, too. Caviezel is a devout Catholic, and has been outspoken about his pro-life views. That’s definitely anathema to the media.

So now they’re accusing him of being a QAnon promoter.

Gee, media, show us on the doll where Jim Caviezel hurt you.

Credit: imgflip.com.

I don’t know if Caviezel is a QAnon supporter or not. If he is, I’ll just roll my eyes and go about my day. If I were to discard every song on my playlist from artists with whom I disagree about politics, I’d have no music left.

The fact is that “The Sound of Freedom” has nothing to do with the QAnon conspiracy. But it does focus on a real-life horror: the abuse and trafficking of children.

In 2019, the New York Times reported that the internet overflows with images of child sexual abuse. In fact, the reports of such imagery skyrocketed from over 1 million cases in 2014 to over 18 million in 2018. These reports include the shocking number of over 45 million images and videos. In addition, the 2020 UN Global Report on Trafficking in Persons found that one in three victims of human trafficking is a child. The report notes that “globally, most victims are trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation.”

But the media are shocked! shocked, I say! about the success of a Christian film with a Christian actor which is being supported by conservative Christians. They would rather brush off a film that portrays the real life sexual abuse of children than give credit to filmmakers who proudly claim a faith which they hold in contempt.

Remember the 2020 Netflix movie Cuties? It was a French film that depicted the sexual exploitation of preteen girls. Media critics loved it, while it shocked a lot of Netflix viewers, many of whom dropped their subscriptions. But as actor Kevin Sorbo tweeted:

The media praised Cuties but criticizes the Sound Of Freedom. That should tell you everything you need to know.

— Kevin Sorbo (@ksorbs) July 8, 2023

They’re hypocrites. Hypocrites indeed.

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Featured image: Daniela Brown/flickr/cropped/CC BY-ND 2.0.