CNN Tonight host Abby Phillip decided to do something different for Friday’s show by doing a movie review. Specifically, Sound of Freedom starring Jim Caviezel who stars as Tim Ballard, a real-life former DHS agent who works to bust child sex trafficking rings. For Phillip and The Storm is Upon Us author Mike Rothschild, the film focuses on a real issue, but is nevertheless a “moral panic” and a plot to get QAnon conspiracy theorists to feel good about themselves.
After noting the film is battling Indiana Jones “for the top spot at the box office,” Phillip also noted “the film and its star are raising eyebrows among critics. Some say that it bends the truth about child exploitation, and it caters to QAnon conspiracy theorists. Its distributor, Angel Studios, denies those accusations. Jim Caviezel, the star of the film, is also known for openly embracing QAnon theories.”
After introducing Rothschild, Phillip led him with more of a statement than a question, “the star of this film, Jim Caviezel is coming under a lot of scrutiny for his embrace of QAnon conspiracy theories. And you seem pretty familiar with him because he doesn't really hide his association with this real wild plot that involves, you know, drinking the blood of children and things like that.”
Rothschild elaborated on that idea, “he is openly embracing and he's openly using its catchphrases and its concepts. He's speaking at QAnon conventions. And this film is being marketed to either specific QAnon believers or to people who believe all of the same tenets as QAnon, but claim they don't know what it is.”
Phillip added, “And the Sound of Freedom does focus on a real issue of sex trafficking. But that theme, it's sort of like that kernel of truth that feeds the QAnon conspiracy theory. Tell us how those two things work together.”
Rothschild concurred, “the most durable and the most believable conspiracy theories are not entirely false. There's something in them that is true and the rest of it is false, but the believers point to the one true thing and they say, oh, you don't believe that this particular thing is true. In terms of child trafficking, we know trafficking is real.”
However:
These films are created out of moral panics. They're created out of bogus statistics. They're created out of fear. And with something like Sound of Freedom, it specifically is looking at QAnon concepts of these child trafficking rings that are run by the high-level elites and only people like Tim Ballard and only people like Jim Caviezel, and by extension, only people like the ticket buyer can help bring these trafficking rings down. So, there's a very participatory element. You're not just going to see a movie, you're just killing two hours on a hot day. You are helping bring down these pedophile rings and save children. Now, it's not true, but it's a very comforting and it's a very warm feeling to have.
CNN is reviewing Caviezel’s personal life and not the actual movie. The not-at-all conservative Owen Gleiberman put it better in his review in Variety, “you needn’t hold extreme beliefs to experience ‘Sound of Freedom’ as a compelling movie that shines an authentic light on one of the crucial criminal horrors of our time, one that Hollywood has mostly shied away from… A closing title states — accurately — that there are more people enslaved now, by sex trafficking, than there were when slavery was legal.”
Exactly. If you want fewer QAnon conspiracy theorists then do not associate movies about fighting sex trafficking with QAnon.
This segment was sponsored by DoorDash.
Here is a transcript for the July 7 show:
CNN Tonight
7/7/2023
10:29 PM ET
ABBY PHILLIP: A surprise movie battling Indiana Jones for the top spot at the box office, and it stars a QAnon promoter. The Sound of Freedom is based on the life of real-life former homeland security agent who staged sting operations to catch child sex traffickers. But the film and its star are raising eyebrows among critics. Some say that it bends the truth about child exploitation, and it caters to QAnon conspiracy theorists. Its distributor, Angel Studios, denies those accusations. Jim Caviezel, the star of the film, is also known for openly embracing QAnon theories.
For more on this, I wanna bring in a journalist, an author of The Storm is Upon Us, Mike Rothschild. So, Mike, the star of this film, Jim Caviezel is coming under a lot of scrutiny for his embrace of QAnon conspiracy theories. And you seem pretty familiar with him because he doesn't really hide his association with this real wild plot that involves, you know, drinking the blood of children and things like that.
MIKE ROTHSCHILD: No, he doesn't hide it at all. And you have a lot of people who are in this world of QAnon who say, oh, they don't know what that is. They've never heard of it. They're just asking questions. With somebody like Jim Caviezel, he is openly embracing and he's openly using its catchphrases and its concepts. He's speaking at QAnon conventions. And this film is being marketed to either specific QAnon believers or to people who believe all of the same tenets as QAnon, but claim they don't know what it is.
PHILLIP: And the Sound of Freedom does focus on a real issue of sex trafficking. But that theme, it's sort of like that kernel of truth that feeds the QAnon conspiracy theory. Tell us how those two things work together.
ROTHSCHILD: Sure, and the most durable and the most believable conspiracy theories are not entirely false. There's something in them that is true and the rest of it is false, but the believers point to the one true thing and they say, oh, you don't believe that this particular thing is true. In terms of child trafficking, we know trafficking is real.
We know it has real victims. No one is denying that, but these films are created out of moral panics. They're created out of bogus statistics. They're created out of fear. And with something like Sound of Freedom, it specifically is looking at QAnon concepts of these child trafficking rings that are run by the high-level elites and only people like Tim Ballard and only people like Jim Caviezel, and by extension, only people like the ticket buyer can help bring these trafficking rings down.
So, there's a very participatory element. You're not just going to see a movie, you're just killing two hours on a hot day. You are helping bring down these pedophile rings and save children. Now, it's not true, but it's a very comforting and it's a very warm feeling to have.
