The Sound Of Freedom Controversy And Conspiracy Theories Explained
Even though the summer of 2023 release schedule has already blown well past nearly any competing summer of the 21st century, there's still room for surprise contenders to make their mark amid the likes of "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," "Fast X," "Barbie," and "Oppenheimer."
"Sound of Freedom" is based on the true story of Tim Ballard (Jim Caviezel), a Homeland Security agent who quits his job to try and rescue victims of child sex trafficking after his boss tells him that there is no funding for his mission. Naturally, with this typical Hollywood moment of the officer or agent slamming down their badge on the desk and saying, "I quit," at the heart of the story, the movie is taking off in certain parts of America.
If you're barely aware of "Sound of Freedom," it's probably because it pretty much came out of nowhere. Still, it has blown up into something of a social movement and has gained the endorsement of polarizing right-wing figures like Donald Trump, Mel Gibson, Elon Musk, and Ben Shapiro.
Unfortunately, this fervor has overflowed into absurd allegations, like viewers accusing AMC theaters of trying to tank the movie by turning the lights on during screenings or turning off the air conditioning. These are just a few of the many conspiracy theories surrounding "Sound of Freedom."
Sound of Freedom is attached to many fringe belief systems
The first red flag that many viewers will see with regard to "Sound of Freedom" is in the trailer itself. Not only does the trailer begin with a slowed-down, horror movie-style reverb version of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," but it also has someone saying, "You hear that? That's the sound of freedom." Meanwhile, a child choir sings, "Let freedom ring!"
While that should give you some idea of what kind of movie this is if you've been lucky enough to dodge the press hurricane surrounding it, this is just the beginning of how weird and wild the discourse behind "Sound of Freedom" really is. This factor is only further substantiated by the words of its star, Jim Caviezel.
As reported by Forbes, during an appearance on "The Charlie Kirk Show," Caviezel defended a conspiracy theory that a substance called adrenochrome is being harvested from children and used to extend the lives of those who consume it as part of an international black market being run by a bloodthirsty cabal of pedophiles. Feel free to read that again if you want to actually feel your brain cells dying in real time.
However, it isn't just the whirlwind of chaos surrounding "Sound of Freedom" that has cinema-goers wondering what's going on with this movie, but also the subject of the film itself, Tim Ballard.
Ballard is distancing himself from certain arms of the movement
Tim Ballard founded Operation Underground Railroad back in 2017 and has been affiliated with Glenn Beck as part of both that organization and The Nazarene Project. Both organizations are centered around helping to stop child sex trafficking. Strangely, though, despite promoting "Sound of Freedom" publicly, Ballard has recently stepped away from both groups, making the firestorm around the movie even more confounding.
As if this weren't enough, tickets for "Sound of Freedom" are being sold directly through the Angel Studios website, with a counter on the left listing who is buying tickets where and the distributor encouraging fans to pay it forward and purchase tickets for other prospective viewers. This might help to explain yet another conspiracy theory surrounding the film, that despite theaters being sold out, many seats remain empty all the same. You know, being that just because someone buys you a crummy gift, that doesn't mean that you have to use it.
While notions like these are almost certainly just the tip of the iceberg for the absolute cavalcade of misinformation and pointless discourse surrounding "Sound of Freedom," hopefully, the introduction of these baseless ideas into your life (sorry about that) will help you to understand why the new movie is such a polarizing topic of conversation in the first place.