Sound of Freedom: The Perils of Modern Slavery

A Review of Sound of Freedom (2023)

In Sound of Freedom, Tim Ballard, played by Jim Caviezel, is a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent who targets people viewing and sharing Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).

Trigger Warning: This post may contain descriptions or depictions of any or all of the following: self-harm, domestic violence, alcohol use, drug use, sexual abuse, addiction, pornography, or racism.

Sound of Freedom: The Plot

After making an arrest, Ballard’s partner Chris shares that he doesn’t know how much longer he can keep doing this.

Chris asks Ballard how many pedophiles they’ve caught.

Ballard answers with a number around a few hundred.

Chris then asks, “How many kids did you save?”

“Never Trust a Pedophile”

Tim Ballard (played by Jim Caviezel)

Ballard is taken aback by the question. He becomes motivated to shift the focus on saving the children rather than incarcerating offenders.

Ballard talks to the predator he just arrested. He pretends he is into CSAM to get information about how to get a real child. The offender says he doesn’t act on his fantasies. Ballard pushes to establish trust to gather more information from the offender. The offender is then released as a possible criminal informant (CI).

At the Border

Eventually, the offender contacts someone who is able to traffic a child named “Teddy Bear,” real name, Miguel.

At the US-Mexico border, HSI was able to arrest the buyer and save the child.

Ballard then arrests the confidential informant again for committing another crime.

He looks at Ballard, confused, and says, “I thought you understood?”

Ballard replies “Never trust a pedophile.”

Vigilante Justice

Ballard spends the remainder of the movie working with Miguel, the boy he rescued. Miguel asks Ballard to find his sister who wasn’t as fortunate. Ballard eventually resigns from HSI and continues to look for Miguel’s sister on his own.

In his efforts to rescue Miguel’s sister, Ballard hatches a plan. He works with a previous contact, a billionaire, to fund an Epstein-esque Island.

This scheme ends up saving fifty-four children, but the sister was not among them. She had been previously sold to another individual before the mass displacement of children to the island.

Through great difficulty, Ballard ends up finding the sister and returning her to her family.

Sound of Freedom: Contemporary Slavery

The overwhelming truths about human trafficking are daunting.

The film goes into statistics of sex trafficking. Bewilderingly, it has surpassed the illegal arms trade and is nearing the drug trade.

In addition to trafficking surpassing the illegal arms trade, Ballard speaks about how CSAM material has increased 5000%.

Sadly, America is the leading consumer of it.

The Realities of Trafficking

Sound of Freedom does a good job of showcasing the importance of this issue.

Sound of Freedom shows how easy it was for children to be kidnapped and sold into slavery. The lure of money to the impoverished can be intoxicating. Especially in environments with high levels of police corruption.

Therefore, all these factors could lead to crimes going unreported. Additionally, ANY delays in reporting these crimes will greatly reduce the likelihood of families getting their loved ones back.

An Unintended Subtext

Punitive punishments, ill-informed and out of touch lawmakers, and greed for money and power create a perfect storm that leads to these increasingly dire trafficking statistics.

Wealth inequality is growing at an alarming rate. Law makers target consumers of this material for criminal punishment rather than offering a way for potential CSAM consumers to find help before offending.

The current economic, political, and justice systems are honed to making these horrors a reality. Hence, the monsters rise from the toxic sludge of these systemic issues.

I saw none of this directly stated in the film. However, I can see all the themes at play when looking at the big picture.

What do we do?

While watching this, I felt overwhelmed. But called to help prevent these scenarios from happening. But how can I fight against the these black markets when the economics of profitability are against me?

I recommend checking out the Department of Health and Human Services list of 10 suggestions. Also, you can read the U.S. Department of State’s article: 20 Ways You Can Help Fight Human Trafficking.

Sound of Freedom: Final Thoughts

I feel Sound of Freedom could open a lot of eyes. However, there are issues with the film’s vigilante themes, Tim Ballard, and his organization, Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.).

In researching this film, I’ve learned that O.U.R. has capitalized on QAnon’s sex trafficking conspiracies and done a poor job of dissuading dangerous rumors. Further, Ballard, himself, has been quoted saying, “Some of these theories have allowed people to open their eyes. So now it’s our job to flood the space with real information so the facts can be shared.” References: 1, 2, 3

Additionally, Ballard and O.U.R. are under investigation for scheming to launder money from donors to his non-profits and funnel it to his for-profit businesses. References: 1, 2

I appreciated the filmmakers including a QR code in the post-credit scenes for free tickets to spread the word and raise awareness. However, I wish they provided more reputable and truthful information and resources.

Likewise, I feel giving the average movie goer a desire for vigilante justice without grounding in reality is a mistake.