Sound of Freedom and the Shape of Modern Propaganda

[@themorbidzoo]

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[@hughmac13]

You're a fantastic writer and critic.

[@muggsyaxton8085]

@hughmac13 I like that she pinned an ad while her audience whines about the evils of free market economics.

[@themorbidzoo]

@@muggsyaxton8085 you’re right, in the future I’ll reconsider buying food and paying my rent

[@muggsyaxton8085]

@themorbidzoo well, you seem fine with using the free market to improve your bottom line. Which is great. The free market system has lifted millions out of poverty. But, like an ungrateful andl spoiled child, many of your viewers attack it. I find vapid and intellectually lazy people to be quite interesting.

[@muggsyaxton8085]

"I hate the free market! Here's an ad!" Brilliant!

[@donalvarez4006]

In the words of Dom Helder Camara: "When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.”

[@brandontrammel4581]

Straight facts

[@bob7975]

Because Marx was right about the only thing he needed to be right about, the nature and trajectory of capitalism. This has been well-known for decades, but we can't be allowed to talk about it.

[@ethanduncan1646]

Well. You can starve as the commies did like they have and continue to do under the few suriving juntas. Marx is an outdated idiot and his internet shill brigades are naive and harmful.

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

​@@bob7975 Yet people are talking about it.

[@hippieash2799]

@@ChucksSEADnDEADnot enough tbh

[@Jonsan]

I investigated child abuse, most often sexual abuse, for over a decade. I worked a fair number of trafficking cases. One of the most tiring parts of the job was listening to people perform their morality and outrage when they found out what I did for a living. I found this entire analysis vindicating and cathartic. Thank you, sincerely, for taking such time and care to explore the hollowness of Sound's soul and why our culture is such fertile ground for this delusion.

[@themorbidzoo]

Thanks for doing the (actual) work

[@viridianacortes9642]

Dude. Yes! I have a coworker that is obsessed with this film. He never stops taking about it. It’s frustrating that I can’t outright tell him the movie and how it portrays trafficking is a lie.

[@adambazso9207]

​@@viridianacortes9642Maybe he is insane or religiously deranged.

[@Jonsan]

I was probably about a year into the work before the reality that I was in no way the protagonist of the story went from conceptual to true understanding. The video commentary about lack of curiosity is such a a great insight into the fundamental element of the good-guy-with-a-gun solution.

[@tng514]

@@viridianacortes9642 Why can't you?

[@nickchambers3935]

As much as I hate the term virtue signalling, filming a random child in public to show people on TikTok that you care about human trafficking is surely the textbook definition

[@airplanes_aren.t_real]

What happened?

[@yohei72]

I hear you about "virtue signalling." Like "fake news" and "deep state," it's a formerly legitimate and useful term that's been poisoned by overuse and misuse by the right.

[@halcyon63]

i feel like it's almost crossing over from virtue signaling to exploiting a stranger who didn't consent to being online, who is also a child, for clout

[@Gamfluent]

As much as it is creating a whole challenge for women to harass their bfs because they dared not like Barbie over Oppenheimer

[@macias7125]

how

[@tirirana]

The problem is that it will always feel and look better to save 5000 abused and tortured children at gunpoint, rather than implement social policies that would save hundreds of thousands of children from ever getting abused and tortured in the first place.

[@Kaiyanwang82]

ding ding ding

[@laeviga-sunstrider]

To think in such a way requires an amount of problematizing that it seems most folks either never speak out loud or know how to consider, not unless it concerns them personally.

[@kant.68]

And the first step to that is TALKING about the program. Which things like this do very well

[@Roosters-rants1977]

What does that even mean. This seems to just be a way to trigger you and demonize people you have decided you don't like. What policies would you implement? I think that's the point. You must be aware of the problem before you can fix it.

[@msjkramey]

​@sparksparkleexactly!

[@ravendreaming3966]

It really says something about how little these people care about trafficking/CSA that these types of stories always seem to end with the victim back home, usually with their family, when anyone with PTSD can tell you that surviving the actual thing is only the start. It takes time to recover, and a lot of people who are abused as kids go on to be abused in different ways as adults. But these people don't care about adults. They don't even actually care about the kids. The idea of childhood innocence is what needs to be protected, and if you aren't innocent, if you didn't fight back, if you weren't kidnapped out of your home, if you were queer, if you said yes to anything even if you didn't understand it, well, you weren't innocent so they don't need to care.

[@Monarch_Prime]

Aint ever about being good, just about protecting some vague ideal of purity for these people.

[@Saibellus]

its funny, bc theres an old SVU episode that managed to handle this concept with more grace and intellect than this whole movie. in it, a girl who was kidnapped as a child and kept prisoner for years acts cold and distant from her parents when shes found. she has no memories of her childhood with them and doesnt recognize beloved toys. she isnt comfortable around them and even confesses to sometimes missing her captor. its ugly and sad, and the parents are coached through accepting that even though their dream of having their daughter back isnt going the way they wanted, they need to respect her boundaries. specialists help them understand that she is going to need time and patience to recover, and what THEY think of as love and concern looks completely alien to her. in the end the parents discard her childhood toy, accepting that the ideal of an instantly healed child they want isnt realistic, and that its only hurting all of them to cling to it. instead they move on to getting to know this new version of their daughter and learning to be happy together. its a very profound look at how sometimes, the trauma of another can feel hurtful to us, because we just cannot understand the world through their eyes anymore. how abuse completely warps our ideas of whats normal, and how kids deserve autonomy and room to express their pain too. its honestly amazing how the daily wire could fail so acutely to capture even a sliver of the nuance of a daytime tv show from 25 fucking years ago.

[@ravendreaming3966]

@@SaibellusThat sounds surprisingly well done. Wouldn't have axpected that from SVU.

[@PublicUniversalFriend2]

That is so true

[@evergarden8592]

​@user-nz8uy1zm3z the art of missing the point

[@CeeLoGreen666]

The fucking pause about the release date was actually fucking horrifying

[@Sanch0000]

he deserves an oscar for that

[@direcircumstances]

I thought my computer was malfunctioning when he waited so long to finish his sentence, I was freaked out.

[@matthewsanchez7953]

Legitimately unnerving.

[@TheGrades90]

That's what mormons are raised to do! Start crying when god gives you a "personal revelation". And it's really creepy.

[@carsarthu]

right?

[@gonzohiccups]

"Disgust doesnt do anything. The only thing disgust succeeds in is in locating yourself within intolerable and unpredictable conditions." Perfect way to summarize performatism. This was absolutely amazing. The effort and passion you put into this really shows. I would eat up any long form videos like this in the future, too.

[@AlexReynard]

This was not passion. It was smug contempt.

[@gabimartinez8862]

@@AlexReynardIt’s okay to express contempt for things that are contemptible.

[@AlexReynard]

@@gabimartinez8862 Are you guys aware that your idea of "contemptible" is "a guy with firsthand experience in preventing child trafficking isn't doing it the way *_I_* think he should"?

[@gabimartinez8862]

@@AlexReynard She literally says in the video that she thinks he’s done noble things though. Her problem is that the narrative he paints is self serving and seems to be more interested in recounting how his way is the BEST way to deal with the problem rather than centering the hardship of the people actually put into these situations and the conditions that create these situations. Conditions that he directly opposes changing by nature of being a religious conservative. Yes, I would say taking child sex trafficking and making it about yourself is pretty contemptible.

[@AlexReynard]

@@gabimartinez8862 "She literally says in the video that she thinks he’s done noble things though." One compliment doesn't outweigh half-an-hour of condescending character assassination. "Her problem is that the narrative he paints is self serving and seems to be more interested in recounting how his way is the BEST way to deal with the problem" Please step back and consider: What would you think of some KZbinr making a video about a surgeon, telling him, 'You're doing surgery wrong. I know better than you how you should be doing your job'? >Yes, I would say taking child sex trafficking and making it about yourself is pretty contemptible. Why? *He's actually doing the work.* And all she's doing is complaining about him doing it. Maybe, I dunno, that's an attitude that one has to take in a position like that, to prevent the stress of the job from driving you insane, or preventing nihilism from taking over. Maybe, after looking at thousands of images of horrifying child abuse, if you don't narrow your focus, you lose your fucking mind. I certainly wouldn't have the gall to criticize someone doing a job I don't have the faintest idea how to begin doing.

[@tarettime9392]

My favorite fallout of the “Pay it forward campaign” is that because people were buying so many tickets for others that didn’t even want to go theaters were getting booked out but no one was showing up meaning people going to see the movie in nearly empty theaters then creating conspiracies that they were getting bought out by a secret group to prevent people from being able to see it

[@themorbidzoo]

@@tarettime9392 there’s literally no losing with this strategy lmao

[@Oh_DeER_1_1o1_1]

I’m from Colombia: Sound of Freedom is a bad depiction of the issue. There has been American agents helping to solve some issues in our country, but in contrast, a huge scandal in the 2000’s was American soldiers doing despicable things to Colombian women and child. Colombia is a land of contrast, it’s up to us to depict ourselves: but stories coming directly from us are rarely listen. A Colombian artist could be listened or seeing and being respected, but then, the imaginary rounds again over narcoculture and war. Then, they used exactly the same marketing tools to Colombian evangelical folks, and we are depicted again as an spoiled tutifruti. It’s sad, TQG was also a media product of 2023 Edited to solve typos

[@Oh_DeER_1_1o1_1]

PS:. I send a shout-out!!! This is one of the best digital media analysis I’ve ever watched in KZbin! Edited to solve grammar errors

[@themorbidzoo]

Thank you! 😊 and thanks for your perspective

[@abeaconintheoffice]

I'm not Colombian, but my fiancée is. She has noticed, and shared with me, how groups like the Daily Wire are using a news organization called "Americano News" to try and gaslight their readers into believing that most, if not _all_ of Latin America are Conservatives pushing against Progressive thinking, 'Woke' ideals and such (Woke in quotes, as that's not what being Woke means but I digress) as well as stating that all Latinos actively support the former President of the US... because of the Wall thing, despite the clear contradiction that a Closed Border policy would only end up negatively impacting the migrating community.

[@christopher5846]

"They cannot represent themselves, they must be represented"

[@Red_Lion2000]

17 thousand British and French Women SA's by US soldiers during WW2, and god knows how many more in Britain and especially Japan since the US occupies our countries.

[@elias486]

I remember being in a trans self-help discord channel and one of the transmasc folks there was trafficked to Northern Europe. He was somewhat aware of his situation, but he had been groomed into learned helplessness and it was incredibly hard to explain to him what he has to do next. The whole group chat was gathering information on how to help him and where he'd have to go to be safe. I remember viscerally the moment when I talked to a friend about this, and I had my roommate chime in like "what are you guys talking about, an action movie?" and when I told him this was real, he would barely believe it. Of course, the question was "why is the family not concerned about this person?". Well, he's trans and got kicked out, and his only financial support is the abusive man that kidnapped him. The fact that we, as a society, have fictionalized abduction to a point that it seems almost a fantastical story about Saving The Kids rather than a real thing that happens to predominantly marginalized people, that happens to people that society has decided are not worth looking after, is truly harrowing. And knowing that a trafficked trans guy would probably not "count" to conservatives as a "good victim", makes me feel a whole other way around this topic

[@idontwantahandlethough]

Aye I really appreciate you sharing this! edit: also I appreciate you :)

[@engelbrekthaakansson4100]

I really hope they're okay now and getting the help they need and deserve!

[@ElevatorEleven]

Must be real nice to live in a world where abduction is so unthinkable a thing that it feels like fiction. Like, I get it. Read history about stuff like Aztec blood sacrifice, Haitian slavery, the Plague of Justinian, Nazi death camps, the Killing Fields of Cambodia, or Enver Pasha, and there's a very strong impulse to shrug it off like 'nah come on that CAN'T be real, that's just TOO ridiculously horrible.' If you wrote Dark Lord Sauron doing this shit, the audience would be like 'no that's silly'. But if it's something that's still happening, you gotta dig in and accept it.

[@pufffincrazy5275]

Fact is stranger and more disturbing than fiction

[@nachosNipples]

you know what's more sickening? i've heard some MOTHERS say they don't think it's even real.

[@Badmanpuntbaxter]

Reminds me of a recent stand up special where he says "did anyone else trick themselves into thinking they were getting smarter by following politics when in reality politics were just getting dumber?"

[@AngryReptileKeeper]

Politics just makes me feel really negatively about where humanity is going, honestly.

[@randomnerd3402]

I read this in Randy Savage's voice cause of your pfp lol

[@Badmanpuntbaxter]

I used to feel that way but I genuinely think once the baby boomer generation starts, uh, "passing on", so to speak, things will begin drastically improving. Like there are certainly bad guys in my generation, but generally speaking we lean far further left than previous ones. Plus, there's a surprising spike of conservative beliefs upon owning a home, so we'll continue to be left leaning, lol.@@AngryReptileKeeper

[@cheesezee86]

Hell yeah dude

[@apersonouthere]

​@@Badmanpuntbaxteri think you're right to an extent but don't forget that systems supercede individuals and their beliefs, and the nature of systems is to preserve themselves in a status quo. Basically, nothing will naturally just change, we still have to be active working towards it because it takes work to put a square peg in a round hole lol

[@CBright7831]

It was fun trolling people in social media comment sections by saying, “I liked _The Sound of Freedom_ better when it was called _Taken_ and starred Liam Neeson.” 😅 Good times.

[@whatwhatwhat1432]

Stunning and Brave. I bet everyone claps when you show up.

[@CBright7831]

@@whatwhatwhat1432 - I get a standing ovation. Tell me what it feels like when you finally get one.

[@macias7125]

how? they're pretty much the same thing

[@bradenharris8718]

You’re so hilarious. Wow. You probably just stole it from another comment. The problem is you thought it was funny enough to steal and repeat a bunch of times.

[@whatwhatwhat1432]

@@CBright7831 From 14 people on KZbin 👊

[@46raulfull]

i watched this movie in theater with my parents and sister. i remember leaving so incredibly angry... how can they use such a nuanced and horrifying subject as an advertisement for their religion/ideology. They did this at my old church too. They used to organize these "marches against human trafficking" once a year cooperating with an organization that actually helped victims of sexual trafficking. I went a couple of times as a volunteer to hand out pamphlets to curious bystanders, and the people who organized the event had to be very persistent to every volunteer that it was NOT a chance to advertize our church. And even so, some people did. The pastors and leaders of the church always marched at the front, making sure they were caught by the cameras, ready to show the world how much good they were doing, and trying to get more people involved with their church. Never in the remaining time of the year was this subject brought up again in church. This is exactly how this movie felt to me, and i think that's why i left the theater so angry.

[@AngryReptileKeeper]

"how can they use such a nuanced and horrifying subject as an advertisement for their religion/ideology." My impression is that it's effectively just Ballard engaging in some old-fashioned self-aggrandizement. Dude's ego is massive and greedy.

[@sosmooth13]

Church horror stories shouldn’t be happen so much in a place that’s supposed to be morally sound

[@purplepedantry]

Not surprisingly, they're doing worse than the Pharisees their main lad used as a major example of what not to do. Hypocrisy at its finest.

[@roshinvarghese6879]

The left has their own religion yet no one bats an eye.

[@ivanhenderson31]

Focus should have been prayer and serving the organization - the Word should come afterwards and the last thing should be the church name.

[@MrBump0420]

Imagine how many kids would be saved from trafficking if everyone watched this movie in IMAX

[@BL00DYM1SHA]

42?

[@copsuicide]

@@BL00DYM1SHAat least 43

[@MarieJohanna760]

Its 47

[@smokyquartz5817]

The kids would want us to have sour candy.

[@1917yee]

why are you imagining children being trafficked

[@jbone877]

I can definitely relate to what Tim Ballard is saying re: superimposition of my children onto victims. When I worked as a paramedic, this happened to me, with some dead children. My child's face was superimposed onto theirs, and I hallucinated his voice talking to me, as I performed CPR on these dead children. Unfun for me, though obviously less fun for the parents of the children who had actually died. The wails of the mothers of dead and dying children still echoes in my mind, all these years later. The unimaginable agony in those screams

[@themorbidzoo]

Take care of yourself ♥️

[@jbone877]

@@themorbidzoo thank you. I'm quite well, for the most part, these days

[@PropheticShadeZ]

​@jeremydoerksen877 Please remember that you dont have to be ok after seeing stuff like that. Not being ok is the correct response.

[@jackflash8218]

Fuck's sake... if you were having full-blown audio-visual hallucinations, maybe that wasn't the best line of work for you?

[@jo3473]

@@jackflash8218 calm down. it's very intense to see a child's dead body. and we have no idea the state they could have been in. it's one of those things that tends to be a textbook form of trauma... and we know that trauma makes the brain do weird stuff. it's not like they regularly experience psychosis

[@violeth2255]

For the record, Tim is being sued by one Kely Johana Suárez Moya for defaming her by having accused her of trafficking children. By her own account, she (a legal adult) accepted an acquaintance's invitation from Tim's team to a party for minors who would be paid to attend and be paid more if they engaged in explicit deeds. She arrived at the party and pretended to be a minor herself so that she could get paid, and she's not the only adult who was doing this at the party. Whether you accept her explanation or not, the fact still stands that Tim actively increased the demand for trafficked children in Columbia with that party stunt by providing explicit monetary incentive. This is why such strategies aren't used. You may get lucky and rescue a few kids, but this method creates a cascade of consequences that leads to more being trafficked.

[@khakachu7778]

*See, that’s the thing!!* *Because those kids DON’T know that Ballard Is doing a stunt, because there’s MORE than one way to rescue them than that!!* *This Is why I think that Tim needs to be WAY more cautious when It comes to his methods.*

[@asruluveira]

meh. Check out DNC rep Stacie Marie Laughton and her pedo ring that use kindergarten to find their victim. There is a reason why this movie receive a huge push back.. Oh yeah. Her pedo ring are all DNC member.

[@rickconley9660]

​@@khakachu7778he needs to play the part of a sex trafficker to get inside of the others circles . You go to a user or drug dealer for drugs , right ?

[@fran2815]

Maaaaan for a second there I almost felt empathy for Tim considering all he’s seen - until I remembered he has live-streamed rescue missions and offered viewings for like $30,000. He didn’t seem to grasp that this was also…child exploitation.

[@Saibellus]

are you ffr rn? exclusive trafficking rescue streams like its a trashy episode of cops?

[@fran2815]

@user-nz8uy1zm3z whatever you say buddy

[@fran2815]

i'm pretty sure Fundie Fridays mentioned it in their review of Angel Studios@@Saibellus

[@audreybell6773]

@user-nz8uy1zm3z So engaging in child exploitation is okay if you can claim that it's for the sake of stopping child exploitation? That's really the stance that you want take, buddy?

[@goopwithahat7142]

@user-nz8uy1zm3zyeah they can claim moral superiority because money can be raised without exploiting children. He’s making that money so he can make more videos rather than I don’t know….funding therapy for the literal victim?

[@therockbottomcarpets3475]

I have bipolar disorder. What I’m seeing in American society atm is what a typical manic episode for me feels like, but spread out among the average citizen. Everything is frenetic and every new idea or piece of information is the most important piece of information to ever exist. People, albeit out of ignorance rather than maliciousness, buy into the new crop of conspiracy theories with such gusto that they begin to almost *hope* that the horrific and disgusting consequences become a reality. Whether it’s every member of congress having children in their basement or a microchip implanted from a vaccine that turns the inoculated into a zombie democrat, they’d rather be right than be okay. Good vid!

[@themorbidzoo]

I’ve had the same thought 🫠

[@jackflash8218]

Well fk'n said! 👍🏼👍🏼

[@tytro1124]

I know this is completely irrelevant to what you said, and I apologize for that as you truly provide an insightful perspective, but I just gotta say that I love ur profile pic.

[@maefromnitw]

"america is and has been undergoing a large scale manic episode" is not something i ever thought of but makes so much sense and now im never going to stop thinking about it

[@ethernetangel1133]

Saw this blind, didnt even know what it was about, just that my MIL was taking us to see it. Im a CSA survivor. I had to leave after seeing the photos they showed from the pedos stash. I came back and had to leave again at one point for good. My MIL and partner knew my triggers and brought me to see it anyways. Im still upset by that.

[@ethernetangel1133]

Finding out the shady embellishments and propaganda of it all afterwards felt so vindicating, like im glad other people felt something was off about it as well

[@themorbidzoo]

I’m sorry that happened to you, ugh

[@ethernetangel1133]

@@themorbidzoo literally some of the shots looked like softcore Club Penguin it gave me such an ick around who must have been advising on the film

[@hopefulmonsters4407]

That's awful! What a complete lack of empathy?

[@autisticsonicfan]

I'm sorry that happened man. Hey just curious, what's MIL? I tried looking it up and I got 3 different answers on Google.

[@henryfisher2887]

Something I feel is worth mentioning, when it comes to the movie's fans swearing that no celebrity speaks out on child trafficking, is that when conservatives say "how come nobody talks about [topic]", they haven't actually looked to see if that's the case.

[@iambuhlockay8007]

Blake Lively has spoken about it a lot. Same as Ashton Kutcher.

[@GameMageVideos]

This was one of the most obnoxious eras in recent culture. If you dared to question the sincerity of this movie, you were called a pedophile/human trafficker. And the most ridiculous notion was people going "this film is telling us THE TRUTH and you're too blind to see it!!' as if we didn't know human trafficking was a thing???? That was the worst part of it all. Everyone pretended they had no idea this went on until they saw this "life changing" movie.

[@macias7125]

how? lmao there quite literally is nothing to question becuase stating the truth is NOT propaganda like the lady in this video with no life is stating I mean since it's a thing and it's having attention brought to it with a movie and it seems to both you some way, it kinda means you're the problem. This movie was pretty much pointing it out no different to a documentary so why does this movie bother you so much?

[@GameMageVideos]

@@macias7125 because of exactly this. TONS of movies have been about human trafficking before. If you actually watched the video, you'd know the production company realized the best way to make a ton of money is start this marketing campaign where they turned this into some sort of political/religious issue. So now ANYTIME you go "who cares about this movie" you get people like you replying like "well this movie exposes the TRUTH and if you dont like it that must mean something EVIL about you...huh? huh? aren't you on OUR side? aren't you gonna #payitforward and buy a bunch of people tickets for this movie?" Like can't you see how you've been manipulated? This is just a random movie twisted into having some sort of greater importance so people like you can market the movie for free

[@macias7125]

@@GameMageVideos yeah but not about child trafficking and none of those movies went to detail like this movie did. They never turned this into a political issue lmao are you dumb? WHEN??? They simply made this movie to bring awareness and to gather enough money to fund programs that stop these sort of things. How is this manipulation? This movie is not political nor has any propaganda in it it’s simply a movie bringing awareness to child trafficking and if it seems to bug you in any way shape or form, then shouldn’t YOU be the one who’s manipulated? Please explain to me how I’m the manipulated one? The only thing twisted here is your brain lol if you have a problem with child trafficking awareness then that’s saying a lot

[@poindextertunes]

@@GameMageVideoswell said

[@adamnesico]

Is there some readon you hate this movie beyond political tribalism? No leftist movie gets so questioned about their true morality and intention.

[@noaaahhhhhh9420]

Imagine if someone made a movie about how murdering is bad, it flopped, no company wanted to make it a movie, and then they claimed that Hollywood supports murdering :)

[@fettypaige4551]

It’s true sometimes though. Black Adam flopped, and Hollywood has a history mistreating blacks

[@erichfiedler1481]

Well, a film was released last year that had one of its character's claim that things like euthanasia, abortion, and the death penalty are considered murder, and also the person stating this is a death row inmate possessed by a demon (who is also the title character of the film), would that count

[@joshraid1550]

@@erichfiedler1481What film is that?

[@erichfiedler1481]

@@joshraid1550 it's called Nefarious, and if you wanna know how bad it is, the directors/writers also wrote God's Not Dead, abs the best way I can describe it is that it's basically if a dollar store version of Exorcist 3 and The Seventh Seal did a Fusion Dance and they botched it and looked like Fat Gotenks

[@ctuk-202]

Don't forget that the creator of that movie will then make the claim that they made the movie because they had some sort of "spiritual awakening" telling them that murder is... actually kinda bad.

[@SpoopySquid]

I remember when _American Sniper_ came out and the right tried to convince everyone that watching it was a patriotic duty. Seeing it all happen again with _Sound of Freedom_ gave me serious deja vu

[@thislycantomboy7087]

god, yeah! I was really young when that came out and I still got deja-vu hearing about sound of freedom. felt like a bizarre, confused childhood dream

[@Kaipyro67ALT]

I was one of the few people who saw American Sniper because I was a moviegoer and just wanted to see it in theatres! Big mistake. Theatre was jam-packed with church group people-- I was sitting next to this group of 5 middle-aged ladies who COULD NOT stop gasping whenever something intense happened on screen-- which is the whole goddamn movie. Worst movie viewing experience of my life.

[@teslashark]

I always ask people "how did he get into a shooting argument then"

[@adambazso9207]

That movie is the antithesis of human moral and spiritual responsibility. It's disgusting, like every other war-marketing of Hollywood. I had the impression that you had to have something wrong with your head if you felt inspired by that piece of military-industrial propaganda.

[@amysteriousstranger1221]

The more things change the more they stay the same

[@YorrickSmit-eq7by]

The biggest clickbait of this movie is they loudly promoted and said that it would expose all the elites and dark secrets of celebrities. Im still waiting

[@macias7125]

when did they say they would? lmao the elites are exposing themselves

[@erenjaeger1738]

It doesXD. Cia is involved with child trafficking

[@BirdsandGhibliFan]

@@macias7125 Conservative influencers and AI bots making clickbait videos on KZbin and TikTok? Those are the ones claiming that the movie was exposing something. Or, you mean to tell me you haven’t seen those videos?

[@gr-8166]

Idk what you’re talking about, the movie was advertised by the actor Jim Caviezel as an awareness flick. I’m from Bolivia where many children from families we know of were also kidnapped, something this movie subliminally shows the first minutes into the flick. It’s a large issue that once Trump mentioned the term Coyotes people mocked the idea and said how stupid it is to blame the animals for transporting children…. If anything it actually made South American human trafficking more noticeable for Americans who otherwise only think of Mexico…

[@johnchenthebest4495]

I mean, it did expose the dark secrets of SOMEBODY(albeit that somebody was one of the investors for the movie)

[@DarkArt888]

I'm not a victim of human trafficking, but I am a victim of the proxy issue of CSA, and I found this video extremely cathartic to watch. The conservative narratives around CSA, why it happens, where and who does it has always been to be a constant reminder that despite performance people put on, they're more concerned with how uncomfortable the reality I actually dealt with makes them than me. They don't care why what happened to me did or what they can do to stop it from happening to others, they care about how upset the idea of it makes them. So man it is everything to just see people willing to talk straight about it. Be pragmatic about what really needs to happen for it to change. Holy shit how little I care at this point how much it upsets people on a personal level--- it needs to start upsetting people on a systemic level for it to stop.

[@djangofett4879]

i think if you look at the last few years, the main driver of their indignance over CSA is that they're always looking to demonize "the left" and this movie gave them another reason to call everyone left of tim pool a groomer. that is the main motivation. its all about team sports mentality and the other team is always bunch of groomers or NPCs or whatever other buzzword is popular. you need to wrap your head around just how dumb and petty this movement is.

[@rowanmurphy4986]

Also a victim of CSA and online grooming+exploitation when I was a minor. This video was also extremely cathartic. No one cared why it happened to me, I was often even blamed for it. You know being a queer, vulnerable child, with a physical disability and undiagnosed AuADHD does make you more vulnerable to abuse yet no one seemed interested in why. Only the moral vindication of kicking down the door for punitive punishment rather than a complex understanding of trauma and need for a nearly inhuman amount of empathy for them.

[@allthenewsordeath5772]

@@rowanmurphy4986 I don’t want to belittle your experience, but in the defense of morons, the Internet thrives on outrage, and it thrives on people being outraged at other peoples outrage, media on the whole follows this model and the thing about outrage is that it either burns out, or needs to be very constructively channeled, and the second thing is basically impossible to do when we’re always moving onto the next thing.

[@ravendreaming3966]

Survivor of grooming here, and yeah-- victims are treated like they're evidence of the crime. Uncomfortable to be around. They want to be heroes. They can't deal with a situation where there's nobody to save.

[@MissSeaShell]

​@@rowanmurphy4986I was a homeless runaway drug addict from the ages of 11-16. Queer and undiagnosed AuDHD too! Before running away I was used for CSA material (what are we calling it now since they don't call it child p*rn anymore?) and the man who did it to me was on America's most wanted. I was a victim of a guy who was on AMW yet the only help I ever received was a few sessions with an art therapist who came to my school in 1st grade. I was left with my abusive parents who allowed it to happen, and later when I ran away, the first time I was caught they didn't care why, they just made me go back home. I tried to kms and then ran away again. IDK if what happened to me would be considered trafficking since I wasn't taken across state lines, although I almost was... But, kids like me/us are the primary victims of these crimes. Vulnerable youth who conservatives sure AF don't care about. You think they have any sympathy for a kid doing sex work to pay for meth and heroin? Or LGBTQ youth who run away from horrible Christian parents? (I'm bi too and yes, my parents are conservative Christians). What really baffles me is how little people seem to know about how it works, because I literally understood it at 12/13 years old. I wanted to die, and I knew I could find men who would give me drugs and use me until either one of them k*lled me or I overdosed. I don't know what my point really is other than, I understand you and I agree. This video was very cathartic and this movie and all of the people who think watching it makes them heroes just annoy the f out of me.

[@vampires-from-mars]

"...because the kinds of conservatives that produced and enthusiastically consumed this movie are people for whom the word 'freedom' means the right to abandon reality; that you should be allowed to say whatever you want about anything, and when whatever you're talking about becomes too difficult to understand, when it requires action that might be inconvenient for you or doesn't really fit in with the character arc you've got planned for yourself, your responsibility for your own words is over." That is so unbelievably on point. That whole last part of the video really. Add this one to the list of GOAT video essays.

[@plasticjesus444]

fr. her pen was on fire

[@metaldude4563]

Listening to Jordan Peterson describe basic storytelling building blocks like they're some Profound Insight that he discovered is peak comedy. "I've found that when you have a main character facing a problem it makes it easier for audiences to understand that problem" no fucking way Kermit the Fraud

[@stotab8700]

Kermit the Fraud 😂 did you make that up or did you read it somewhere else?

[@metaldude4563]

@@stotab8700 I can proudly say I came up with that one, although I wouldn't be surprised if somebody else thought of it as well

[@HyperkalemiaSineWave]

@user-ll3kc4kq2dI don’t like Kermit but lots of good people have been addicted to drugs at some point in their life.

[@cosmicmuffin322]

​@@metaldude4563that is fantastic, I'm going to use it

[@passiveaggresivesquirrel2052]

@@HyperkalemiaSineWave it was to point out his hypocrisy. he is not any of the things he talks about.

[@FTZPLTC]

Holy shit, I'd say that someone who says describes pornography like a gateway drug to CP needs watching very closely. That absolutely blows my mind, that someone can not only say that but say it publicly, without any awareness of how bad it sounds.

[@BlessedWarriorOfGod]

@@ethanstyant9704 Evidence? We get it, you're a pdf. Quit crying.

[@ethanstyant9704]

@@BlessedWarriorOfGod actually double checked, I was confusing it with a different movie. My bad

[@BlessedWarriorOfGod]

@@ethanstyant9704 Yeah. Smart deleting your comment.

[@Thunderous333]

​@@BlessedWarriorOfGodlmfao wat happebed

[@HalasterBlackCloak-u2w]

Maybe, it definitely has some addictive qualities to it and people's fantasies can get really intense. I think the problem with the right, the part they don't want you to think about is that often pornography is a gateway drug to.....being trans. Furthermore as children develop it's very easy for them to access pornography and if they have any kinks, they can explore them safely through porn. These people think that gay people should go to hell remember and also certainly hate it when women explore their sexuality. conservatives tend to be people that express lots of disgust at lots of things and porn is something that kind of trends towards doing, well, gross things kind of on purpose. I don't think that most conservatives are really interested in exploring feelings, relationships and consent. They are scared of pornography because it weakens their narrow view of sexuality, relationships, identity and sexuality. They like to pretend they are protecting children while attacking trans and gay kids- that's the reality.

[@bigbluebuttonman1137]

Attacking poverty (whatever that ultimately means) would solve a whole host of societal ills, beyond child sex trafficking. Unfortunately, America is the land of "Fear the stranger in raggedy clothes" to an extremely unhealthy degree, and views them overwhelmingly as a potential threat. America is more interested in punishing bad guys, whoever that it is, than actually helping anybody. The idea that maybe someone gets help that "doesn't deserve it" destroys their willingness to actually help the other people that *do* need it.

[@epictoenails]

Couldn't have said it better myself.

[@jackflash8218]

"Attacking poverty" should probably start with people not breeding out of control like wild, mindless Monkeys. 8 billion is way, waaaaay too many. And it's only gonna get worse. Seems like there's real efforts being made to "cull the herd", but I don't know if anything short of a global/celestial event is going to make a dent.

[@John-bravooo]

US has spent trillions in the "war on poverty."

[@bigbluebuttonman1137]

@user-nz8uy1zm3z Really now? Don’t ask about all the rapey shit rich people get up to or the financial laws they break every Tuesday. That’s not a mugging on a sidewalk, so it doesn’t count, I guess.

[@bigbluebuttonman1137]

@user-nz8uy1zm3z Citation needed.

[@BayaRae]

"There are no solutions, there are only trade-offs." The human condition requires an unobtainable catharsis.

[@themorbidzoo]

Nice

[@suezcontours6653]

@@themorbidzoo I just don't believe in "white saviorism". The West is the most organised group of nations in the world yet they can't solve human trafficking? They fund wars which creates instability therefore opportunity to traffic humans seeking refuge. Most sex tourists anywhere are Western men. Brazil, Ghana, Thailand - who do you see? Western men taking advantage of poor people who can't make ends meet. Passport Bros came bit late but same idea.

[@mirror8519]

Sounds like something Mussolini would say.

[@epileptictrees5213]

@@mirror8519 what the fuck are you talking about

[@mirror8519]

@@epileptictrees5213 In the fascist manifesto it says something like "we don't aim to fix the problems in the world and create an utopia, because that's impossible. we just aim to make the lives of the prople better within our limits", idk it reminded me of that lol

[@greetingsmars]

My dad and step mom accused me of being a pedophile because I saw Barbie instead of this movie lmao

[@speckbacon9881]

Your dad and step mom are in the comment section 😏

[@someguy7819]

You should watch Schindler's List right this instance or youre literally Hitler

[@Overseer2579]

That’s already an insane thing to accuse someone of because they watched Barbie, but even more so from your own family. Shame on your dad and step mom

[@ngotemna8875]

​@@someguy7819 Me, reading this comment and not watching Schindler's List this very moment: Ah sheeet, here we go again

[@cosmicmuffin322]

That is not only a despicable thing to say to your own child, but completely deranged as well.

[@zaidlacksalastname4905]

1:06:45 Amazing how his first response to hearing something that doesn't align with his own personal worldview is "they're just being silly, they don't know what they're talking about"

[@themorbidzoo]

Very glad you noticed that, it’s such an incredible blend of childish naivety and well-fed arrogance

[@ChaosRaych]

Imagine filming a child alone in a PUBLIC BATHROOM & then putting that child's face on the Internet (without their parents' knowledge or consent) all while acknowledging the child is vulnerable & claiming to be woke to child trafficking. The irony is astounding!!

[@BirdsandGhibliFan]

I know, right? What she should’ve done is ask the parent or guardian of the child to be more watchful. But, no, she had to post a video on TikTok and expose the child for all the world to see without the child’s and parent’s/guardian’s consent just so she can go viral. 🙄

[@KaelWrit]

@@BirdsandGhibliFanthe kid wasnt alone they were standing right outside the stall while their carer peed. That's normal. I personally as a babysitter don't take the kids in the stall with me because it's inappropriate. They know how to wait outside the stall and that they are not to leave and can call for me if needed.

[@BirdsandGhibliFan]

@@KaelWrit Yeah, that’s understandable. The lady who posted the TikTok video made it seem like the child was straying away from his parent or guardian in a crowded place, which poses more of a risk of a potential kidnapping than this scenario in which the child was just simply waiting outside the stall for their adult caregiver to finish using the bathroom that was otherwise mostly empty.

[@notbutz9737]

Why does this sound like Cuties on crack?

[@dibblemcbibble2787]

I like how the Daily Wire tried so hard to prove they aren't sexist that they got a contingent of their own fans to think they were going woke.

[@lazuruswolf6668]

Reminds me of what happened when they made that western film with Gina Carano, Daily Wire spent years hating female characters in movies calling them mary sues then they ended up making one for their own movie. You should see the reviews for it a lot of DW fans called it woke.

[@John-bravooo]

​@lazuruswolf6668 i mean star wars is terribly woke and full of mary sues.

[@airplanes_aren.t_real]

It's kind of funny that they spent so much time complaining about superficial female empowerment that they never learned how to make meaningful characters

[@Overseer2579]

@@John-bravoooyeah no it’s not

[@John-bravooo]

@Overseer2579 good argument. Kathleen kennedy ADMITTED to forcing "girl strong" identity politics.

[@creekman86]

It’s the movie THEY don’t want you to see. Whoever THEY are they must be incompetent because this movie was readily accessible

[@Rossoneri2]

By "they", they probably meant audiences given how nobody talked about it a week after release.

[@Blandy0487]

The movie didn't claim to expose anything, it was a mediocre and liberal retelling of true events, it was the reaction from the mainstream media to this movie that raised eyebrows

[@BirdsandGhibliFan]

@@Blandy0487 There were lots of conservative influencers on KZbin, Twitter, and TikTok that claimed that the movie was exposing something, though. Also, the video creator acknowledges that some of the response from mainstream media to the movie wasn’t very helpful and that some of their reviews might’ve been self-indulgent and used to prop their own political bias, but let’s not pretend that the discourse from the defenders of the film were any better.

[@Blandy0487]

@@BirdsandGhibliFan I'm saying conservative influences claimed that because of the way it was covered in the mainstream media and its backlash to the movie. Therefore the mainstream media and the establishment might be complicit in the trade, the movie itself didn't try to make that connection

[@BirdsandGhibliFan]

@@Blandy0487 That’s not evidence that the mainstream media or establishment was complicit in anything. Whether or not the movie itself made the connection is irrelevant and has nothing to do with my point. It’s just an obfuscation of the fact that many conservatives have made bold and outlandish claims that people were trying to censor or ban the movie, which there’s barely any evidence for. From personal experience, “Sound Of Freedom” was heavily advertised on movie theater apps around the time of its release, so I don’t know where conservatives are coming from that the movie was being sabotaged by AMC because the air conditioning in a theater stopped working or because seats were empty. Also, you admit yourself that the film is mediocre, so it begs the question of should it be worth anyone’s time and money to see it in the first place. It’s weird seeing people twist themselves in knots and say, “It’s a mediocre movie, but it’s telling an important story, and that’s all it matters, and anyone who says otherwise must be complicit.” To me, that’s not having a cinematic experience. That’s a virtue-signaling exercise, and I have no interest in that, whether if it comes from the left or the right.

[@barclaybehie7787]

God can’t stop child trafficking, but he can give you inside tips on when to release your movie. Got it!

[@KRobinson-ko1ne]

This is the Trump Prophecy all over again 😔

[@sudonim7552]

Well of course the eternal and omniscient providence of God dictated that he must release your movie on July 4th, the most famous national holiday. Surely that is not just his own internal bias. 😂

[@matildamarmaduke1096]

​@@KRobinson-ko1neWTF are you talking about

[@KRobinson-ko1ne]

The Movie: Trump Prophecy It’s this guy who has a hallucination or something and he took it as a prophecy that trump would take office…or needs to…or something like that It was really fucked up

[@KRobinson-ko1ne]

Any way it’s not too far from that other “prophecy” that the movie needs to come out on the 4th

[@madeleinesherer7615]

“Because the kinds of conservatives who produced and enthusiastically consumed this movie are people for whom the word ‘freedom’ means the right to abandon reality.” 😤😤😤

[@TheCommanderFluffy]

Holy shit, the unabashed "we boldly let you spend your money on our movie again by buying another ticket for someone" was bonkers

[@jordanholt9170]

The fact that they end the movie with a call to action to buy more tickets instead of a list of other organizations that deal with human trafficking is one of the things that makes the film seem hollow.

[@d3nza482]

@@jordanholt9170 Seem hollow?

[@ArbitraryOutcome]

@@d3nza482 Performative might be an apt term, too.

[@demetriam2408]

​@@d3nza482like they're using the messaging in their movie for making money for themselves instead of to actually help solve the problem they're talking about. If someone makes a video on Palestine, they usually link to charities that support their message and also send their profits from the video there, whereas with this movie they are only asking people to give them more money.

[@HarryDirtay]

​were they trying to fight child abuse or sell tickets? Really simple question

[@headoverheels88]

Political scientist here, and your linking to our previous bout with the last revolution in communication (mass media) to our current (social media) was spot on. It's something I constantly worry about, especially as bad actors like authoritarian states, non-state actors (terrorist organizations, global organized crime), and multi-national corporations continue to exploit it to a startlingly effective degree. As the kids say, it's my "Roman empire". The fact that social media is interactive in ways that traditional mass media could never have been only adds more variables to humanity's ultimate calculation. On a more upbeat note, this goes both ways; good actors still exist (excellent video btw), and the body politic is far from flat-lining. And who knows: maybe we'll skip the world war and mass genocide this go around?

[@themorbidzoo]

Oof I worry too. It feels like the kind of social fever that won’t break without some kind of large-scale calamity, that’s exactly what happened last time we did this about a hundred years ago. Maybe if we recognize and talk about it it won’t happen? That’s my hope

[@blaiseywaiseyriot]

no, clearly we haven't skipped the mass genocide and emerging conditions for war. this is a startling comment after nearing six months of the Israeli regime bombing and massacring palestinians; war crimes that the ICJ is pursuing the Israeli regime for and the war crimes america has assisted and been in unequivocal support for so much so that they passed a law to stop all aid if palestinian authority sought justice in the ICJ. what about the israeli regime's bombings of south lebanon, yemen, syria with american weaponry? whole events literal shifting the tectonics of the global world order. is it only a large-scale calamity if it's not the global south? i am sincerely confused

[@1michelemichele1]

@@themorbidzoo My mother grew up in 1930s Germany, so when I noticed a rise in authoritarianism around the world in around 2005, I had kittens. Had em every since, it isn't fun. I'm 58 now (I'll never get used to this ever-advancing #), & I've put my faith in younger generations, partly because I have to, partly because they are so much aware than we were. My mother passed in the summer of 2016, thank god, she'd been unaware of Trump's rise in polls. Part of me feels, deep down, that the only resolution to all this will be a calamity on par with WW2. I hope to christ it isn't so, that my age is evident in the state of anxiety I'm almost always in -- that''s how it goes as we get older, we get more delicate, & I really do put some hope in that fact. **Thank you for this brilliant essay* -- and the sources you've provided about human trafficking. You rock & stuff.

[@taliaroses]

If you want to watch an actually good film about child trafficking, watch Lilya 4-Ever. It's loosely based on the true story of a girl who was trafficked to Sweden from Lithuania in the late 1990s, being told she was going there for a job as a berry picker. It's an extremely tough watch and doesn't pull many punches, but it portrays the reality of how people and especially how children fall victim to trafficking. Hint: it's nowhere near as simple as Sound of Freedom portrays it.

[@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δ]

Would you mind telling me? Because I want to know the complexities of the situation, but I'm not in the mood to watch something as dark and painful as that.

[@elainavolkov]

@@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δ the film is very grainy and dark in a way completely different to sound of freedom. lilya's mom leaves with her partner to live in the usa, leaving lilya alone. lilya then goes into prostitution to earn money and meets a guy who she thinks is good at heart as he is able to offer her a job in sweden. its revealed that lilya has been tricked into being sold for sex once she arrives in sweden. the film ends with her suicide. there's a lot more that happens but that's the general plot.

[@daniboy4153]

I remember someone talking about that movie and god... It's just pure depression. I'd say it's more a psychological drama.

[@Avg-Usr]

LGBT people are about 7 percent of American population, but LGBT youth is 40 percent of homeless youth. Homeless youth is one of the most vulnerable populations for trafficking, but I will bet actual money that Tim and his cohorts would turn a blind eye on these kids.

[@223Drone]

They do so due to their homophobia/transphobia.

[@yungmuney5903]

Conservatives don't actually give a shit about children, shocker

[@undercookedtoast1479]

The “perfect victim” narrative many of these people live by exposes that you care more about being a morally righteous person than you do about helping actual victims.

[@InChristWeTrust999]

Why would he turn a blind eye to those kids? Just because Christianity doesn’t affirm your behaviour doesn’t mean we hate you.

[@CEWIII9873]

Don't worry: They can seek help with the John Wayne Gacy Foundation...

[@calebpeterson3117]

That trump interview is so funny he sounds like a kid in school that didn’t read the book being put on the spot to talk about it.

[@justins1484]

TBH he sounds like that on most things he talks about. Guy is the ultimate bullshitter

[@navonmyhand7999]

This is also why it's extremely funny whenever Trump is asked about the Bible.

[@gunkulator1]

Trump's life is pretty much just him "wingin' it" through one situation after another.

[@evanrutledge-sz4yo]

“The rising action followed by the falling action was really, it was really just, wow.”

[@sw3aty_forte]

LOL

[@Bloodybradmusic]

BEN SHAPIRO WANTED TO FORCE FEMME A SPORTS TEAM?!?

[@johntaylorson7769]

If it were attributed to anyone else, this might sound weird.

[@madeofmeats]

Ben Shapiro likes sissification confirmed

[@llynxfyremusic]

Lol the fact that he couldn't find anyone willing to try it and admitted it on air and no one cares what this means for his argument

[@LucieDeRocheclaire]

Holy shit based

[@michellegodwin6567]

This woman is way too level-headed for KZbin

[@MarkWampler]

I love how this was the last comment before the platform shut down comments for almost a whole day.

[@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δ]

​@@MarkWamplerWhat.

[@Justjandy]

For me, the start, the ending, and maybe the result of this video essay might be what I love so much about it.

[@EmmaAndEmmaAndEmma]

I see what you did there 🤣

[@EmmaAndEmmaAndEmma]

I see what you did there. 🤣

[@saturn_v42]

This dude needed GOD to tell him to release his conservative propaganda film on July 4th?

[@insolencestar]

not the brightest

[@evanrutledge-sz4yo]

I find it very interesting how God told him to release the movie on July 4th in particular. Like seriously, people like this make me groan, they’ve mistaken God for a telemarketer.

[@zaidlacksalastname4905]

​@@evanrutledge-sz4yoI wish the Mormon god gave me tips in my math exams :c

[@evanrutledge-sz4yo]

@@zaidlacksalastname4905 I wish God sent down a piece of scratch paper and a pencil, you know, because I ain’t always gonna have a calculator.

[@erenjaeger1738]

So child trafficking is now "conservatives propaganda" XD? Bruh this what moist critical got confused at his stream saying "how a movie about child trafficking is right wing propaganda?" At his chat XD. Jeez you people get so brainwashed by both systems groups

[@SAN-pn1cs]

So good. An hour and a half+ essay with an actually tight script that doesn't lose focus throughout is impossible to come by. Real academic level shit

[@themorbidzoo]

Thanks 😊

[@Sm0k3turt]

@@themorbidzooit’s true!!!

[@user-uv2cp1qd1j]

And it’s not like those long for the sake of length videos. Where it’s like Part One : History of Cinema

[@willfinck1267]

@@user-uv2cp1qd1jAgreed. One of my favorite parts of this channel is how she treats the audience as relatively intelligent people who don't need every tiny connection drawn out for them and that she always assumes everyone is arguing in good faith even when they aren't

[@AlexReynard]

An hour and a half script about child trafficking and Hollywood, that doesn't mention how none of Epstein's clients have been brought to justice. Gosh, that's interesting.

[@mattsmith1859]

The thing about this movie got me was one, apparently millions of people had no idea this was going on. And two, the same people crying about 'our children' are the same people that throw a fit about migrants trying to escape the kinds of situations that lead to this.

[@fablecouvrette5334]

In short: people get trafficked because they're POOR. So make them not poor.

[@alfsmith4936]

Be nice, wouldn't it?

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

There's more poor than traffickers.

[@surfacematter2098]

Well, that's never been the correct reply, has it? I mean, when you cut down to the base of most societal problems... But their worlds find that worse than the actual issue. To help your fellow neighbor for the good of all just doesn't sell.. so here we are in a world where "greed is good" is even better. Inequality everywhere

[@alfsmith4936]

@@surfacematter2098 Oh well. I'm off to watch Made in Chelsea.. Good English values!

[@idontwantahandlethough]

@@ChucksSEADnDEAD ok... so what? That doesn't mean that what they said isn't true. What you said is true and what they said is true simultaneously. It's easy to see the world as black and white when you're not the one that has to deal with this crap 🤷‍♂

[@StudiousMaiden]

I thought i was having a stroke the length of time harmon took recalling hearing voices ahem i mean spoken to by god

[@chrisbudmelman]

I want to say, as a former Mormon, that this is a particular type of speaking is quite common in the faith. You start to recount an experience with God, then -- as you approach the actual statement or experience-- there is a looooonnng pregnant pause. And then, always, the first words that spoken after the pause are teary and shaken, usually coming out in short phrases. I saw it coming as soon as he started recounting the story. This isn't to say that he wasn't sincere, but just that he certainly grew up hearing this type of speech pattern.

[@Countraccoonula]

He claimed he also got emails from God. I wonder if God is more of a Gmail dude or an office suite dude.

[@hookedonphoenix3112]

19:00; it’s amazing!

[@d3nza482]

@@chrisbudmelman Yeah. Kinda like how shouting "OH GOD! OH GOD! OH MY GOD!" while orgasming might be considered strange to an atheist or Buddhist - but to someone raised as a christian it is perfectly innocuous. It's a culture thing.

[@help4343]

@@d3nza482 What? An atheist saying that is innocuos, a Christian saying that commiting blasphemy

[@kingcynic5669]

Judging from that pause it wasn't God, it was a stroke

[@evanrutledge-sz4yo]

He got that demonic interference.

[@halcyon63]

[alien conspiracy theorist voice] he was receiving orders from the mothership

[@iris_ofthestorm4260]

Bro was getting a software update

[@zephyr8072]

Guy was remembering that he left his computer on playing his collection of CP at home.

[@saylemayoub]

it's insane how they really can't understand that child trafficking should be stopped by minimising the criteria traffickers look for in these children, and that is inherently politcal

[@QBG]

This essay is _wayyy_ too smart to hold the attention of the average Sound of Freedom fan for longer than a few minutes.

[@cheesezee86]

If they could read, they would be very upset.

[@adambazso9207]

​@@cheesezee86😂😂😂😂

[@paigekutz8539]

I know this is tongue in cheek but you'd be surprised sometimes who believes what and why. 😊 worth trying to share with people who liked it imo!

[@xenn4985]

​@@paigekutz8539no it isnt. These people are war brained fanatics. They cannot help but form entire ideologies based entirely around contradicting whatever their enemy is doing.

[@erikschwartz1214]

If a movie helps bring to light atrocities, does it really matter if its good or bad?

[@indicev]

Hiiii! Mexicana here! Just to inform you that Eduardo Verástegui didn’t even got to try to run for president 🤭 didn’t get the minimum amount of support to even be a candidate, loved the video ❤❤❤❤❤

[@themorbidzoo]

Eyyyyy fuck yeah best news I’ve heard all day 🇲🇽❤️🇲🇽❤️

[@indicev]

@@themorbidzoo hahahahhaa it was soooo good on twitter he was like “there will be consequences” and people were like “what ur gonna do? Pray the rosary?” I was gagging

[@themorbidzoo]

@@indicev 😂😂😂

[@d3nza482]

@@indicev God will smite them for not appeasing his favorite boy.

[@ElevatorEleven]

"A simple world, where reality is exactly what it looks like through their eyes: devoid of complexity, devoid of change, where they are right, and their enemies are silent. They are trying to build a flat Earth." ~Dan Olsen, In Search of a Flat Earth If I could bring a modern invention back in time, it would be a bottom-up view of the universe. Humans are complex things, and we create complex things, so when we look at the complex world around us, we reasonably assume that the complexity probably came about from some other complex thing creating it, and therefore that things are the way they are by design. It's a top down view of the universe. But, it's wrong. Complex things are almost never the result of a designer designing something to be complex. From quantum mechanics to astrophysics to economics or sociology, the world is complex because it's made of trillions of ultra tiny things all doing their own thing, bouncing around and into each other. The way they talk about child trafficking like it's an inhuman monster from outer space reminded me a lot of the recent legislation that screwed up in vetro fertilization. The legislators had absolutely no idea what they were talking about, and they had no interest in learning or understanding it. They don't want to think about the icky gradient between human and non-human where gestating fetuses sit, because it's a scary place where philosophy meets biology. But instead of trying to square their beliefs about life with the messy reality that there is no single point at which a thing can be described as Alive, they just shoved the problem away as hard as they could as quickly as they could. There's no James Bond villain responsible for Human Trafficking, like as a concept. You can't end the drug war by beating up all the drug cartel bosses. Killing Osama Bin Laden, while still a good thing, didn't end all terrorism forever. There is no Devil creating evil where there wasn't any before. By insisting that there is, conservatives can pretend the world is flat and simple enough that they never have to lift a finger to make it any better. That's just the way things are. It is what it is. God will provide. Conservatism, and indeed Christianity, are tools of mass self infantilization, as a means of deferring responsibility. And when you tell them they need to make an effort and do something to actually help, they get extremely uncomfortable, not because they're lazy or apathetic, but because it challenges their entire top down view of the universe. Amazing video.

[@ChineseSpyBal00n]

Extremely well put.

[@aandwdabest]

A rather interesting and insightful comment.

[@crazyeight9]

Uhm science tells us that life begins at conception. No philosophy needed. Of course if your political ideology tells you something different

[@GillfigGarstang]

@@crazyeight9 I could show you a picture of a cow, human and rat embryo and you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

[@crazyeight9]

@@GillfigGarstang again science tells us that human life begins at conception. Clealry you don’t accept this basic science because it goes against your political philosophy. If you are honest you could admit that life begins at conception and argue from there

[@lakibramble]

So, i watched this movie since my grandmother gave me the tickets, and i thought it would be interesting for me to watch as someone who was kidnapped and technically human trafficed (she had money for keeping me in the home, but did not pimp me out or anything like that) and i found it a really... strange story. Mostly because it didnt feel real in the slightest. It made me emotional, sure, but i found myself wondering more about what was actually happening to the children. How they got so many, how they survived their day to day lives. But i didnt get that. The kids in this movie are the most innocent naive things that seemingly do nothing, ask for nothing, and have very few actual opinions on what is happening to them other than the fact it makes them sad. But the strange thing is, a story like this is going to be believed way more than a story like mine. My story isn't someone snatching me up in a van. I didnt have that popertially sad look, i didnt even realize that I should be sad about what was happening to me. And i could tell you a hundred different stories about the abuse i suffered, but they wouldnt feel like the stories shown in the movie. Mine are just much quieter, much more feasible than a big bad child stealer. Every time i talk about it i have at least one person say im lying. And i think i know why. Its because law enforcement didnt do anything about it. I didnt have a white savior, or a good guy with a gun. I didnt have a social worker come and take me home. Me, and the three other children that were there, all fell through the cracks. I was just lucky that my mom could afford a private investigatior and go through the long years of legal battle it took to get me back home. My mom had rich parents to take me home. This is all to say, a story like mine is so much harder to fathom than a story the song of freedom tells. Song of freedom is willing to pat you on the back for watching a film, for tweeting about a film, but not for actually doing anything. It awards you for the basic human instinct of outrage at what happens to these children, and the joy that comes from knowing they are okay. And that is an amazing feeling, its a useful feeling. But only if you let that feeling motivate you to actually do something. To actually write a check. To actually reasurch. To actually join an organization, to actually advocate for a world where children like me dont need to be rescued in the first place. No one is actually ready to do that, no one who watched this movie and came away with the idea that all we need to do is send some agents out of the country and it will be fine is actually willing to do that. It speaks volumes to me, that they'd rather imagine a world where human trafficking is an isolated problem, than to actuality look me in the face and understand that the reason i was kidnapped was not because of evil people wanting to evil things. It was as simple as my mom couldnt afford to have me at the time, so she sent me to live with someone who had ulterior motives. And no amount of good guy with a gun will stop that happening to someone else.

[@khakachu7778]

*Thank you!!* *I feel as a trafficked victim yourself, YOUR experience Is the one that matters the most. After all, people weren’t willing to believe you because they were so naive and foolish to not do research.* *Another Ironic and hypocritical thing some of the Sound Of Freedom fans Is that they’re attacking and harassing ACTUAL gay former trafficked victims online, simply for not agreeing with everything In the movie. Some of them were like “Oh, you’re gay, so there’s a chance that you wanted It!” The fact that people are ACTUALLY saying this Is VERY telling. 😒*

[@lakibramble]

@khakachu7778 yes. I'm also queer, and the idea of 'wanting' abuse is really insidious because it lacks the understanding that most abuse victims who were kidnapped or taken from their homes, don't actually recognize what is happening to them. I was in such an environment that I didn't know pretty much anything about the outside world until was six or seven years old. I went months without leaving the house, and of course I had some kind of bond with my abuser. They positioned themselves as the only person that could allow me to eat, drink, read, or play. Of course I would grow to see them as a 'good' thing in my life because I didn't know of anything else. Of course I would see them as someone who's there to help me, despite how they would physically and emotionally abuse me, as well as starve me and deprive me of water. You could make a case that I 'wanted it' if you wanted to. But it's like saying a starving person WANTS to eat dirt in order to live. It's just not how it works. This movie definitely sparked a lot of conversations. Sadly, only the useless ones.

[@Red_Lion2000]

All due respect. Isnt sending your child away to someone like that evil? and isnt that person evil for wanting to do those things? Maybe I'm misunderstanding you...

[@lakibramble]

@@Red_Lion2000 so, in my case. She didn't know any of this would happen. She had a friend who would do a scam where she'd find women who couldn't afford to house their kids, befriend them, and then offer to take them in. She did this with three other children. My mother at the time had cancer and a new born baby, and she was told she could visit frequently, and I would go to school. Well a few weeks later she was sent a contract and the woman told her that she'd need to sign it for me to go to school. She didn't realize that she was essentially signing her rights away. This was so she could have children to trick the government into giving her money. I wouldn't say my mom was evil. I'd say maybe she should've looked into it a bit more. But she was a cancer patient with a newborn baby, I'm not gonna blame her for being easily manipulated. While my version of human trafficking isn't exactly like the kind you are probably used to hearing, kidnapping children for money is what constitutes human trafficking.

[@lakibramble]

@@Red_Lion2000 also to elaborate. I'm not saying the lady who harmed me wasn't 'evil' or whatever. She was a bad person. But I also understand it isn't as simple as that. If my mother had the resources she needed, I would not have ended up in that situation. I also have to acknowledge the fact that the woman who abused me was also a hard user of drugs and alcohol. I'm not saying she'd be any better to kids if she *wasn't* but that also has a large impact on what happened to me. A large amount of the money she got from housing me and the other kids went to drugs and alcohol, would she have still done what she did if she didn't need the money for the drugs? If she had been off the drugs in the first place? I don't know. But probably not. Whatever you call it. Injustice, evil, what have you. They're systemic issues, and they need systemic solutions

[@JackBurby]

Tim Ballard is an extremely important example when it comes to traumatized individuals buying into the face-value affirmation and vindication of their moral standing/outrage by their immediate and unqualified social circle as a coping mechanism to give their pain & anger a “purpose”. Or rather a pedestal to stand on for self-moral comfort. It’s like taking an injured leg and propping it up on a cushion, just for it to stay that way forever. If you want your outrage to mean something, you need to encourage collectivized efforts to contextualize certain atrocities and brainstorm genuine and tangible ideas of progress. Like mass-rehabilitation programs for children to grow out of their trauma, poverty alleviation to increase living conditions and make kidnappings less likely to slip under the radar, or the decriminalization of sex-work so that the secret black market of human-trafficking can lose its mechanism of manipulation, causing the whole market itself to crumble over time. I tried very hard to not make this a word-salad lol Hopefully you can understand it❤

[@idontwantahandlethough]

"I tried very hard to not make this a word-salad lol" You succeeded with flying colors! I'm drunk as shit and I had no problem whatsoever understanding you.. so I gotta imagine that you're all good 🤗

[@AlexReynard]

What are your qualifications to say you know better how to deal with trafficking than him?

[@ElevatorEleven]

When you see truly horrifying things and your Christian upbringing forces you to think the world is made by a God who loves us, it can be really tough to square that. People in that situation can fight pretty desperately to find some "meaning" in it. The movie is a clumsy, gross, and tasteless attempt to deny the fact that there is no satisfying story in a child abduction. They're not exciting, they're not meaningful, they're not a source of growth, of character, of redemption, or even very much interest. They're just SAD. hm where have I heard that line before

[@chazzwozzio]

What are yours?​@@AlexReynard

[@Zren89]

​@@AlexReynardyou're missing the entire point. This assessment shouldn't flow from a point of authority but from one of examining the reality of who is trafficked and WHY. What material conditions contribute to the issue at large. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

[@kitwhitfield7169]

“We had a bishop this morning, and what do you think he said? "The most beneficent promise made us in the Bible is this, 'The poor ye have always with you.' They were put here in order to keep us charitable." The poor, please observe, being a sort of useful domestic animal.” - Jean Webster, ‘Daddy-Long-Legs’ You know, I hadn’t heard of this movie and came in with no expectations. But seeing just how much those weepy influencers were admiring their own tears, I knew exactly how it would all pan out - and yes, your excellent analysis was exactly what those tears forecast. And they call leftists virtue-signalling.

[@juanlulourido548]

Jean Webster missing the entire point and failing completely at reading comprehension of what the bishop said to make a quippy remark about it has to be peak leftism made manifest

[@gabimartinez8862]

The phrase “admiring their own tears” is such a good one. They like this movie because they feel validated by feeling the appropriate amount of disgust at the subject matter, not because it’s actually effective at countering the issue.

[@vylbird8014]

I've seriously heard some overly-religious types argue that welfare programs are bad because they undermine the intended role of the church in caring for those in need.

[@jbird976]

truth is that every single one of the people who identify with "Right" and the "Left" are mastabatory in the admiration of their own tears and completely asleep at the wheel. They will gobble up whatever opinions are served to them without once questioning the motives of those serving the meals.

[@evanrutledge-sz4yo]

The quote above is the perfect example of how the right has completely bastardized The Bible of Jesus’s teaching. Jesus actively helped the poor, actively helped those who were seen “inferior” to society. This idea that God makes poor people to serve you is nothing but prosperity gospel BS that had poison the American Church. “Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” The church has become a circus of hypocrisy who take more after the people who crucified Jesus, than they do Jesus.

[@Maccycheez]

Trump’s response when asked about his take on the movie is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. It’s the same response I would give my teachers when they’d ask me about the assigned reading that I, “definitely read.” Dude was not paying attention in that theatre. Was on his phone the entire time, I guarantee it.

[@fettypaige4551]

He liked the beginning, the middle, AND he liked the end. We need more reviewers willing to cut the BS

[@d3nza482]

He particularly liked the part when the person, woman, man, camera, TV. And the part with lion, rhinoceros and a camel. Some say there's an elephant. Most people don't know that.

[@alfgwahigain5544]

Remember when asked about his favorite bible verses his response was basically "all of them". He really digs deep.

[@davismorgan99]

@@alfgwahigain5544I do not understand how the greater Christian community sees him as this beacon of Christianity. He’s really the opposite of everything that Jesus taught. It’s insane.

[@Maccycheez]

@@davismorgan99 When I recently went into my old small town to visit my parents, there was a big sign up that said “Only Trump and God can save our country!” Yet the Bible in Exodus 20:3, Matthew 4:10, and Luke 4:8 goes against this idea of having a false idol! “Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the Lord your God.” They really do like to contradict themselves, don’t they? I bet they’ve read as much of the Bible as their “savior” has!

[@Gormbauer]

This comment is in reference to the systemic issues with trafficking based on my personal experiences. Back in 2015, I deployed to Central America to take part in humanitarian operations. Honduras was the main country of focus, and we provided aid to areas with food, clothing, medicine, and some infrastructure efforts. One of the main reasons we were there (or at least told) was to combat human trafficking and drug trades while bolstering the Honduran military against MS13. This deployment was a good start and a legitimate effort to improve the immigration issues we see at the border. However, we were absolutely stifled at every turn if we received reports of criminal activities taking place. Much of the deployment devolved into do-gooder cosplay, visiting a new town, village, or community each week. To the point of outright abandoning entire neighborhoods after only one visit for humanitarian aid. We would never visit the same location twice, and our orders prevented us from any significant action against these crimes, despite our reason for being there. Guys like Jim, who say "a few good Marines, that's all we need.", in reference to the border wall, boils my blood. Because we all know what happened just one year later. General Kelly, who was the regions commanding general for these operations, went on to support Trump and now profits off of privitized migrant camps. Deployment rotations have all been halted to Central America. Those people we tried to help in 2015 were likely among the mass of immigrants we separated at the border, and the vulnerable groups suffering across Cental America have been condemned to their squalor. This film is a depraved excuse to propell the lie of American exeptionalism. This video essay puts to words the alienation and contempt I feel for propagandizing systemic tragedy.

[@Sad-Papaya]

Why do so many Christian media personalities look like they're about to cry?

[@De-Nigma]

Well look at where their life and talents have brought them, they have to become Christian media personalities.

[@dougbaer4463]

Why does AOC?

[@lucifersdumpster6283]

It’s like a sermon/ preaching

[@kfitz2711]

@@De-Nigma😂😂😂

[@cosmicmuffin322]

Sermons and religious/political diatribes are performance art. Plus, my theory is that many of them have personality disorders, and for many sociopaths and narcissists, they love to fake normal human emotions in a very exaggerated and theatrical, even histrionic way that can be quite sinister or unnerving. See: Kenneth Copeland

[@baileysparkles]

The way you piece things together is amazing. The level of understanding you reach and the nuance you communicate. It hits bro.

[@themorbidzoo]

Thank you 😊

[@jbone877]

Word!

[@HorrorbleCWalt]

I had to wipe my phone and glasses off….because you, my friend, ARE SPITTIN!!!!!

[@themorbidzoo]

😂

[@kennedycutter3668]

Only 30 minutes in and this blows all the other media critiques I’ve seen of this film out of the water. Good god damn job!

[@themorbidzoo]

Thank you ☺️

[@refitdan]

Getting struck by lightning twice, while pretending to be jesus, really did a number on Jim.

[@JacobHillSBD]

You’d think he would’ve gotten the hint but apparently they’re doing Passion 2!

[@TheLordpeanuts]

lol, lowercase j on Jesus 👃👃👃👃

[@erichfiedler1481]

​@@JacobHillSBD interesting, is it gonna be an action movie co-starring Chris Tucker? The moment I read that, I couldn't help but think of the joke from Family Guy when they were revived

[@idontwantahandlethough]

lol yeah I always figured he took the wrong lesson from that. If *_I_* got struck by lightning while pretending to be Jesus, I'd be VERY careful about what I said about God. But nope.. Jim apparently took getting struck as a sign that he was on the right track 🙃

[@idontwantahandlethough]

@@JacobHillSBD I genuinely cannot tell if "The Passion 2" is a joke or not. Either way thanks for the laugh

[@Gamingpandacat]

the fact that the failed drama kids of the daily weirdos gets dunked on by their own fans for being woke gives me just enough life to see the light of tomorrow and not alleyoop this mortal coil once and for all (after learning fart of freedom is one of the highest grosing movies of all time, playing in nearly empty movie theaters)

[@SomeOne-vf1rs]

Hello. I couldn’t understand a single part of this comment.

[@copsuicide]

@@SomeOne-vf1rsyou're dumb

[@djangofett4879]

if you think the daily wire theater kid dorks are hateable, you should meet their audience.

[@Oldass_Deadass_dumbass_channel]

​@@SomeOne-vf1rssadly, I could understand all of it.

[@samt3412]

​@djangofett4879 It is worrying to see that the DW has drawn in an audience somehow more deep in the conservative goop than themselves

[@mr.bubbles1456]

The discourse with this movie was so exhausting

[@djangofett4879]

there was no discourse. it was just conservatives calling everyone they dont like a groomer.

[@jackflash8218]

Discourse with religious fanatics usually is.

[@neru1584]

​@@djangofett4879so.. the usual?

[@AlexWood57]

I worked at a theater when this movie came out and for one of the showings the film projector stopped working (which happens more than most think) and a horde of angry people came out and called me a satanist and that I supported child-trafficking, its crazy that these people think they are so amazing for watching this movie and so mean a second later to a minimum wage employee

[@MsMcKat-ub4sm]

Should I assume Angel Studios donated the $250 million they made on the movie towards saving children who are trafficked? (lol, that was rhetorical)

[@vixxcelacea2778]

@user-ll3kc4kq2d Which is not necessarily to help prevent and give resources to those who help get people out of trafficking. Which is criminally underfunded and extremely difficult work, because the reality of trauma is that it stays with you long after you are out of the thing that caused the trauma.

[@SegwaeThePromo]

@user-ll3kc4kq2domfg I would cry

[@henrylangham6428]

@user-ll3kc4kq2d ahhh. the ones who are doing the trafficking

[@davidtaylor142]

Every time i see someone who is crying about this movie or describes it as life changing it strikes me that these people dont seem to watch actual movies very often

[@madeofmeats]

They strike me as people who have probably never left their home state let alone town and have a very very very narrow view of the world

[@Lemoncakelover678]

I feel like their only doing that just because it's a movie about child sex trafficking. As if they can't read survivors stories of google.

[@thor30013]

The moment where Caviezel goes, "I played Jesus" and just freezes is... really concerning. Because given what I've read about about his time on Person of Interest, there is a non-zero chance he _actually thinks_ he was/is Jesus. Like, the man is does a weird kind of reverse-method acting - he doesn't try to "become" the character he's playing, he just thinks he _is_ his character.

[@themorbidzoo]

The way he talks about allowing the Holy Spirit to embody him when he takes a role, I do think he absolutely flirts with the idea that he was actually possessed by Jesus Christ in that movie

[@thor30013]

@@themorbidzooProbably doesn't help that he was actually struck by lightning during filming. Personally, I'd take that as a _bad_ sign, but Caviezel is an odd one.

[@juanlulourido548]

​@@themorbidzooNo he doesn't. You are just ignorant of basic theology and dislike the guy lol.

[@themorbidzoo]

@@juanlulourido548 no dude. I’m a confirmed Catholic and the way he speaks in these interviews would be considered blasphemy.

[@juanlulourido548]

@@themorbidzoo I am a catholic myself, what he says is well within what is considered acceptable, it isn't even that weird. American christians being prudes about it doesn't mean everyone is, within what is acceptable. I feel like in general a lot of the issues Americans have with this movie steem from your particular sociopolitical circumstances. I think your video is well researched, by I also think it is missing the point of a movie that makes a very simple point, not a documentary. I genuinely think the movie has good intentions and what has led to this endless social media breakdown is simply people fighting over it pretending it is completely accurate or just cheap propaganda. I stand by the opinion that it is a movie with a simple point: "hey let's be aware child trafficking happens under your noses"

[@somanytakennames]

It’s hilarious that the film’s fans think that they’re shining beacons of morality for taking the stance that child trafficking is bad. Like, being against child trafficking is the default stance for anyone with a shred of decency. You’re not exceptional, you’re normal.

[@dotanuki3371]

Angel Studios dressing up tickets as tithe really is an inspired move. They know their audience.

[@sentientespressomachine]

You just woke me up from the "heroic society" slumber I had no idea I was sleeping in. Absolutely incredible!! Amazing work

[@sarahallegra6239]

You Were Never Really Here is one of my favorite movies and I’m so annoyed that this movie is getting so much attention when that masterpiece is still largely unknown. Speaking of Hollywood blacklisting child trafficking stories 🙄 Thanks for this excellent analysis!

[@jaywhangmakes]

I need to watch that movie. Joaquin Phoenix is always as good as ever (also, see Beau is Afraid as well!).

[@themorbidzoo]

Fuck! How did I forget about that one!!

[@sarahallegra6239]

@@jaywhangmakes I’m dying to see Beau is Afraid! I’ll literally watch anything Phoenix is in at least once 😊

[@sarahallegra6239]

@@themorbidzoo Hey, at least you know about it! That makes me happy 😊

[@madeofmeats]

That movie is far more nuanced and gripping than Sound of Flopdom could ever hope to be, such a good film

[@A-Saxy-Bard]

As a sometimes opera scholar, the pain i felt when the director said the sound of freedom is operatic is indescribable

[@jerrodwendland]

"...oppressive, unceasing present." Absolutely goddamn right! I'm once again reminded of Milan Kundera's comment that "the children are the future" not because the children will grow up to become adults, but because, in the future, adults will become more like children. Thanks for your work!

[@jaywhangmakes]

The second half of this video hears out like David Graeber and Alan Moore's critiques on comic book superheroes. Except MZ took real-life examples of a militant man who larps as a superhero and institutions that backed him. Edit 1: And she did mention "heroic society" and deconstruct it.

[@themorbidzoo]

Graeber is kind of an academic idol of mine

[@TheSaltyLibrarian]

honestly when I first heard Tim speak my thought was "this guy thinks he's Batman but he's actually Nite Owl and that's pretty sad." You're right on the money.

[@AlexReynard]

"a militant man who larps as a superhero" "I ignore the documented, real life work he did in order to make fun of a man who's done more good than I have. I am an empty pile of nothing."

[@ElevatorEleven]

@@AlexReynardBro no one's saying he's done no good. He's done amazing things. He rescues enslaved children. That's fuckin incredible. BUT ALSO, it kinda sucks that he and this movie seem to think that the best way to stop child trafficking is to beat up bad guys, and not something like alleviate poverty so there are way fewer poor homeless kids who are really easy to traffic.

[@KRobinson-ko1ne]

More like Rorschach

[@Kokoamaya935]

I've worked in a border town shelter where pretty much everyone we had was a migrant or asylum seeker. Every once in a while we had volunteers from the American diocese (the shelter was ran by Jesuit priests and nuns from some order or other) and the way Ballard and co act reminds me of those American volunteers: Very genuinely wanting to help but incapable of understanding what helping required materially. They were certain that they knew what people needed without even speaking their language, let alone actually sitting down to listen to them or us. This wasn't helped with the fact that some of them believed in building a wall WHILE SUPPOSEDLY WANTING TO HELP MIGRANTS. The cognitive dissonance is and was astounding

[@idontwantahandlethough]

lol oh jesus christ that's ridiculous. "Oh sure, we'll help you! We'd love to help! ..NO OH GOD NO! I MEANT OVER *_THERE_* -- WE WILL HELP YOU OVER THERE!"

[@blixer8384]

Dave Barnhart has a good quote about this kind of phenomenon that’s way to long and specifically about abortion. This kind of performative activism is never actually about uplifting the poor and vulnerable and providing for their needs. It’s about assuaging the guilty conscience of those who participate. So they can feel as if they are meaningfully contributing to a problem while sacrificing nothing to do so.

[@AlexReynard]

"This wasn't helped with the fact that some of them believed in building a wall WHILE SUPPOSEDLY WANTING TO HELP MIGRANTS." I know, right? How insane is it to think that you can help legal migrants and asylum seekers by building a border that makes it more difficult for entry for traffickers, drug smugglers, and illegal immigrants who want to cut in line ahead of legal immigrants?

[@Kokoamaya935]

@@AlexReynard The wall doesn't make entry more difficult for smugglers or traffickers, it just makes it harder for migrants, all of them. Because it's so difficult to cross people actually resort to cutting deals WITH traffickers and smugglers because they already have ways of getting in without issue. Most of the people I met who got in that way (or tried to) were desperate and had no other choice. But thank you for illustrating my point that people think they know what they're talking about without ever even trying to understand what others are telling them.

[@AlexReynard]

@@Kokoamaya935 I didn't have a stance on the border until I started listening to the views of frontline border agents and legal migrants. Also, once I saw the effectiveness of border walls in other countries, and the insane attempts of US politicians to make us believe that something that demonstrably works overseas won't work here because... Reasons. "The wall doesn't make entry more difficult for smugglers or traffickers, it just makes it harder for migrants, all of them." What a great paradox. If it makes it harder for all of them, how does that not also include smugglers and traffickers? "Because it's so difficult to cross people actually resort to cutting deals WITH traffickers and smugglers because they already have ways of getting in without issue" I can't help but see that as, 'There are gaps in our security, and instead of filling those gaps, we should abandon the idea of a security system.' What's the alternative to a border wall that works better?

[@briangronberg6507]

I think I’ve watched this 3 times and every time I have to pause the video to appreciate the brilliance and profundity of: Trafficking isn’t something that happens to children; it’s something that happens to Tim. Absolutely fantastic piece!

[@PlaguedReview]

The amount of research that went into this video is extremely commendable. I think this might be one of the best video essays on this app/website. I went to see The Sound of Freedom with my mom when it came out and my problems with the film and controversies surrounding it were wrapped up perfectly in this video. It’s crazy how people started pointing fingers and saying “So you support child trafficking?” if you gave this film and its crew any sort of criticism. Well done!

[@CEWIII9873]

So... You support child trafficking?

[@LaBlueSkuld]

41:15 The "delightful" irony of someone wanting to protect a child... by secretly filming them in a bathroom without theirs nor their parents' consent.

[@BirdsandGhibliFan]

It’s the equivalent of seeing a fight and instead of trying to break up the fight or calling the authorities, someone takes out a phone and records instead. Or seeing someone fall and taking out a phone to record instead of, you know, helping the person up and making sure he or she needs some urgent care.

[@reaganmarshall9525]

This video actually made me think a lot about how my family, my cultural upbringing, and my own ego have brainwashed me into being obsessed with hero narratives. Mostly my own ego. By this I mean thinking that being percieved as a hero or one of the good guys as more important than the actual, tangible good I could be enacting in the world if I rose above my own narcissism (everyone wants social acceptance, but these hero narratives feed narcissism, not something natural and good to want like social acceptance from loved ones and your community.) But still, thank you for making this, and for bringing attention to individuals seeking to address sociocultural factors rather than retelling their own stories.

[@rhyscooper3693]

That was the clearest deconstruction of conservative thought I've probably ever heard. Defer responsibility, be a good child and obey the church, cops and bosses.

[@rekohart]

Its nice having someone like MZ who can bring everything together and connect the dots for people who are less....cognitively capable. People like me.

[@borneoorangutan]

right, but i also see that her comment on social media making people feel like they think without any of the effort is still exactly what this video is also doing for us.

[@rekohart]

@@borneoorangutan Thats a fair point. I guess I shouldn't speak for others. I put a lot of effort in trying to understand things beyond face value but struggle to do so these days. So, for me at least, she is helping.

[@themorbidzoo]

@@borneoorangutan my intention with that line is to encourage people to realize how these platforms manage and direct conversation and to resist the urge to believe what they see on these hellsites just because they saw it, including my own content. There’s no putting social media back in its box, the only way out is through. All we can do with social media at this point is make our case as honestly and transparently as possible, encourage an unfriendly relationship between users and mass media companies, and tell people where to learn more.

[@borneoorangutan]

​@@themorbidzooi see. like normalising citing legitimate sources, critical thinking (whatever that means, maybe) and things of that nature

[@themorbidzoo]

@@borneoorangutan exactly. Fixing social media requires a cultural change

[@bouncingbuttons7441]

i really admire not only the obvious quality of your research, but the matter-of-fact, no-bullshit air of your delivery. i can get impatient with a lot of the style choices of video essayists that tend to waffle airily around the subject at hand (often to disguise less than comprehensive understanding of the topic they're presenting). your understanding of what is important to include and how to convey it succinctly really elevates your work as an essayist.

[@richardestevez9220]

This was an incredibly illuminating video. Very direct, informative, and empathetic. It really struck a chord with me personally, too. I recall in my own struggles with PTSD and committing to therapy how much I wanted to insert myself into a crisis where I can directly right wrongs and fix problems in order to make my trauma okay, too. But it's such a destructive path that led me to anger, paranoia, and addiction. To see how the methods and institutions of propaganda can weaponize the fears of people in such a way is painful to observe after years of looking inward. Thank you for making this. It must've been so exhausting to research, too. 😅

[@themorbidzoo]

That tracks from what I hear from a lot of people with trauma, especially men for whatever reason. Exhausting but worth it, thank you 😊

[@richardestevez9220]

@themorbidzoo it can be tough to live with. But I've truly benefited from therapy, my kids, and good people in my life. I dont need to seek out things to fix anymore. By taking things a day at a time, I practice patience and allow the world around me to just be. I'm happy to subscribe to your channel and wish you the best. 😊

[@AngelDelRosario-je3el]

One of the producers of that film is Eduardo Verastegui, a Mexican actor and singer. He was quite famous in the 90s and 2000s. It was learned that she had a love relationship with Ricky Martin (who at that time had not yet come out of the closet) After that, he disappeared for a long time. Until he reappeared but he was no longer the same. He converted to Christianity and became the face of Mexican conservatism. He became friends with quite important politicians and religious figures at that time. Including Marcial Maciel, a priest accused of rape and abuse of minors. The man has spent the last few years talking about the dangers of homosexuality on open television and on the internet. At one point two years ago, Eduardo announced that he was going to run as a presidential candidate for the 2024 elections in Mexico. Using the same tactics as the Republicans in the USA. Fear campaigns, attacks on everything that does not represent the Right and a great hatred towards the LGBT community. He promised to return honor to Mexico (sic) and also that he was going to inaugurate a Christian state. The man had a kind of egocentric personality around his campaign and also became quite violent in certain cases. At the beginning of this year, the Mexican electoral institute announced that Eduardo had not obtained enough signatures to be considered as a candidate and had to drop out. After that, he became much more erratic, posting videos using assault rifles (which is illegal here in Mexico), Accusing everyone of sabotaging his campaign and blaming the president for doing nothing. That only ended badly for him, because the authorities summoned him to justify the fact that he had received money from the United States for his campaign (which is also illegal).

[@thoroughsix999]

I find it incredibly sickening that whenever people watch a movie, documentary, or just hear anything involving CSA all they do is get angry and scoff and then ten minutes later they are back to normal and have completely forgot about it. People like these movies because they're only interested in being angry at the subject while not doing ANYTHING to prevent it, like congratulations you're against CSA, want a medal? It's completely OK and normal to get angry about the subject because CSA is probably on the top of the list of some of the most evil things in the world, but don't just sit there angry for a few minutes and then throw it away, how about insaid you sit down and think about why these things happen and how we can prevent them. The two things that contribute the cause of CSA is poor sexual education and the lack of understanding of concent and income inequality. It's much harder for CSA to happen if the child has a good understanding of concent and what is and isn't OK for someone to do to them. And in terms of wealth inequality, children become desperate to help their families financially and get roped into doing things that lead to CSA/trafficking. And lastly I find it incredibly hypocritical conservatives are the loudest when it comes to combating CSA when they themselves are the people literally causing it by upholding child marriage laws and stripping schools ability to teach kids proper sexual education and the concept of concent. Don't just get angry at the action, be part of its solution.

[@Fistbeardthepirate]

"how about insaid you sit down and think about why these things happen and how we can prevent them. The two things that contribute the cause of CSA is poor sexual education and the lack of understanding of concent and income inequality." To boil CSA down to lack of sexual education and income inequality unironically sounds like propaganda. Did you mean to just say 'two things that contribute...'

[@JaniHorvat1]

@@Fistbeardthepirate It isn't only two things, but those two play big roles.

[@Peregrina]

​​Sexual education is not letting a child watch or take part in sexual acts. It means teaching them about puberty, periods, the function of a body, what consent is, about different relationships, how babies are made and born. It's honestly like being taught about an animal's function during biology. If a child learns about sex, consent and where to get help they can easier talk about what happened and can easier get help. It's been proven that places with less sexual education has increased unwanted pregnancies. And yes. People born into a wealthier environment has better resources to take care of a child and can better care for it. People who live in poverty have a harder time to provide for children which can turn into a life of crimes and/or sex work. But it's of course not always how it ends up and every story are different.

[@stevefury90]

Verasteguí tried to be a presidential candidate for the elections in Mexico. He tried to seek support from Catholic people, but was ignored for practical purposes. He failed to meet the basic requirements to be a candidate - without going into too much detail on Mexican electoral laws, he needed about 1 million signatures of support, he achieved approximately 150k -, he proceeded to disqualify the regulatory institutions, and now he is asking to put their names on the ballots, even though those votes will have no value in the count.

[@madeofmeats]

I tend to roll my eyes whenever a movie claims it’s being suppressed and “they don’t want you to see this one!!”, primarily because previous movies that have done that are things like The Hunt (overtly political but within a satirical lens) and House of 1000 Corpses (not political, just hard to market because it’s so niche and crass, I love this movie btw). Sometimes a theater “not wanting to show your movie” just comes down to it not being a movie that will garner a lot of revenue. There are a ton of other bigger production studios paying way more to secure time slots than your rinky dink fringe propaganda film bro. I used to work at a movie theater and once inquired about how this sort of thing works, turns out Disney basically holds theaters at gun point and require their films be played in as many time slots and auditoriums as possible or else they revoke the rights to show their movies. Wild stuff. Edit: I also wanna mention that there is a child character in Lady Ballers that is constantly written to talk about genitals and weird sex stuff as a running joke. It’s really fascinating that a company like Daily Wire, who is constantly crying groomer towards queer people, are they themselves exposing children to mature and vulgar things just for throw away comedy bits.

[@airplanes_aren.t_real]

Is that the daughter of the mc?

[@Hemostat]

The rescue and release model makes me think of when cops groom an angry weirdo online into trying to do a terrorist attack by selling them explosives. Then they go an arrest the guy and claim they stopped a potential threat

[@princekyle4132]

Examples? I mean, I don’t doubt they would do that because that’s completely in-character for the police, but it’s nice to have sound bites 😅

[@pizaclatonddd3081]

@@princekyle4132 I think it was the Michigan Militia trying to kill Gov. Whitmer of Michigan.

[@haley_th]

19:37 the length of this pause made me think the video paused itself.

[@giha.3347]

Genuinely, saying this as a survivor of CSA, who lives in a nation who struggles beneath the thumb of fascist military projects that only react to the end tail of a problem without addressing the underlying material and economic realities that cause that problem, thank you for this video. I hope i can one day speak on this types of issues in such an incisive, thoughtful way as you.

[@AlexReynard]

As a victim of non-sexual child abuse, I don't give a shit about the underlying material and economic realities that caused my abuser to abuse me. I just wanted someone to see what she was doing to me and stop it. Seems to me like that should be the most urgent priority.

[@epileptictrees5213]

@@AlexReynard Well, you should care about them, you want it happen to less people in the future. Like what you just said is, "I don't care about how we actually fix the car. I just want it to drive. Seems like to me that should be first priority."

[@Oldass_Deadass_dumbass_channel]

​@@AlexReynardyou have thirty six comments on this channel. From what I can see, they are all on this video. Get a new fucking hobby.

[@vixxcelacea2778]

@@AlexReynard The idea behind understanding why is the key to preventing victims from the start instead of retroactive response. That said, I don't disagree and fully understand why you felt/feel that way. As a victim myself too. It's terrifying to realize that both parts, prevention and reaction are lacking and people aren't willing to do much unless it's retroactive and allows them to extract vengeance. Which doesn't help future problems nor current ones.

[@AlexReynard]

@@vixxcelacea2778Could not agree more with that last part. It is infuriating seeing how much of our collective response to crimes against children is based around either 'I need to fuel my vengeance' or 'I need to downplay this because I am too fragile to know the reality of what's happening.' Really, my anger in this comments section is not at the idea of prevention through understanding. It's a sense that, most of these people I'm seeing are smug and spiteful, and have no higher understanding of the situation. It looks like it's little more than, 'This movie was made by conservative Christians, and I hate them, so they must be wrong about everything, because I hate them, so therefore whatever way they are handling child sex crimes, they're doing it wrong.'

[@sofiab.8839]

I was essentially forced to see this movie by my parents and when it was over, my sister and I were both collectively concerned by it. There were tiny moments of genuineness but they were all undercut by the fantastical story and the religious right propaganda in there as well. When my dad talked to us after, he was basically saying what the creators were all saying in the interviews, and even after my sister said that a lot of child trafficking prevention and rehabilitation had nothing to do with this, he argued that it was for the purpose of exposing the issue. The only reason this film caught his attention was the fact that it came from a religious source. I guarantee that if this film had been like the other action thrillers on human trafficking that came before it, he wouldn’t have bat an eye. My biggest concern about what this type of media does is that it tries to perpetuate the idea that a moral high ground is only possible through a religious, conservative viewpoint. I’ve seen exactly how my family has changed over the years thanks to religious conservatives, and it’s scary how much they no longer think for themselves. Worse still, they always try to argue that I’m the one being skewed because what I believe no longer aligns with them. Thank you for this video. It was very enlightening as to how it functions as a piece of propaganda and I have a better understanding of what I felt at the time.

[@Mapmoop451]

for me, if i was ever to say i was bi, or trans, or even just not being christian anymore to them, they'd think i was "indoctrinated into the left", but no, that's just where i've ended up, i genuinely hate my old religious conservative self who bottled up his (past tense) true feelings for so long under the guise of "this is so wrong, im not supposed to do this, this is forbidden" when that "forbidden" feeling was really just euphoria that i'd misinterpreted because i'd never actually felt it before, fuck 13 year old me!

[@greggoat6570]

This is hands down one of my favorite videos on this entire site. Masterfully done from start to finish.

[@themorbidzoo]

Thanks for watching ☺️

[@chaoticrabbi2647]

My mom wanted to see this movie, so I took her... I was rolling my eyes while she was holding back tears. At the end of the movie during the credits a man sitting behind us stood up and started shouting " THANKS BIDEN! ALLOWING THIS TO HAPPEN * he then did what I can only describe as a hulk roar* HE WANTS IT TO HAPPEN, THANKS BIDEN!" he then left the theater grunting and flexing/tensing his body like he was about to fight someone.... i kid u not the woman sitting next to my mom leaned over and asked her " u didn't vote for biden, did u?" It truly was a bizarre experience

[@AlexReynard]

Yes, that would definitely seem bizarre without the context of the unknown millions of illegal immigrants from around the world that the Biden administration has allowed in and flown in. Do you think maybe that would have an effect on trafficking, if we're not stopping anyone who wants to come in illegally? Like, remember how the news called Trump a monster for putting "kids in cages", and just utterly failed to acknowledge that, when you take children away from smugglers, you have to put them somewhere until they can be returned?

[@sosmooth13]

Someone totally mislead my friend who was SA’d into thinking this was a John Wick type of movie. It triggered her quite a bit and my heart hurt for her. It makes total sense that conservatives would see this movie that way though.

[@RoguSpanish]

Oh boy, if they're mad about that, they're gonna be REALLY mad after they watch the movie Spotlight, about an actual massive child sex abuse scandal that actually happened in the catholic ch...oh what's that? Cricket sounds? Oh ok.

[@AlexReynard]

@@RoguSpanish Yes, cricket sounds. Because we have already known about the scandal of pedophile priests for a long time now. It's a known issue, and has already resulted in massive losses in the Church's membership numbers. It also came out eight years ago, which might be why it's talked about less than a more recent film. But yes, I've absolutely seen the attempt to pivot away from Epstein's clients by saying, "But Catholic priests!" Gosh, it's almost as if, wherever there are tremendously powerful people, there will be pedophiles. In church, AND in Hollywood, AND in DC.

[@sanic7402]

I don't think I could make up a bigger lie if I tried but good job with this one

[@BumroyV2]

I had forgotten what Sound of Freedom was about when I clicked on this video, so I did not expect the topic of child trafficking. I especially didn't expect it to be handled with such an acerbic profundity. I'm hard-pressed to not think of this as your best video to date, and one of the best video essays I've ever seen.

[@themorbidzoo]

Thanks :)

[@osheroth]

I don't wanna bash Americans too much, but I'm 100% sure the reason why this movie did so well is simply because a blonde blue-eyed super agent saved some uncivilized niños Also the movie has the word "Freedom" in its title so that's huge

[@poindextertunes]

I mean both points are spot on

[@Huskerguy316]

Found the Jew

[@ididntmeantoshootthatvietn5012]

@@Huskerguy316 ben shapiro is a jew

[@stephenvelez9710]

Thanks for not wanting to bash us, but we sooo deserve it

[@ninyaninjabrifsanovichthes45]

@@Huskerguy316 Found the Nazi.