Mike’s Musings: Controversial movie, music video popular despite cancellation attempts

We tried to cancel but we failed. A movie and a video have been the subject of much controversy for the past few weeks and attempts to cancel them have only fueled the fire to make them more popular.
I went to see Sound of Freedom because I wanted to see firsthand what was so controversial about the movie. Disney had owned the rights for the movie for five years and chose not to release it. Amazon and Netflix passed on it as well. So I thought there must be something terribly wrong with this production.
Those opposed to its release pointed to lead actor Jim Caviezel, who supposedly was a guest speaker at a Q-anon convention some time ago. They also discredited him for playing the role of Jesus in The Passion of the Christ. A movie starring Caviezel, so said critics, could only spew far right venom.
Then there was the topic of the movie- enslaved children. Critics claim Q-anon, and therefore movie producers by association, were going to spread lies about Hollywood and elite sex trafficking rings, therefore any movie about this forbidden subject could not be released.
Well a small studio, Angel, purchased the rights and through funding obtained by crowd sourcing, released it. Unbeknownst to the big studios, on the first day of release it crushed the much-ballyhooed latest version of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
That weekend I wandered into my local theatre and was amazed at the crowd. The theatre room was probably 75 percent full. I had never seen it close to 50 percent capacity, let alone 75 percent.
The movie championed the cause of Tim Ballard, a DEA agent who quit his lucrative position to rescue enslaved children. In particular it is centered around the harrowing rescue of a Mexican girl, whisked away to the jungles of Colombia. Ballard must outfox the elements and guerillas to get her back to her family.
Oddly enough there is not a political bone in this movie. After all I had read, I expected the movie to talk about the child sex trafficking in the United States and how we must close our southern border. It was never mentioned. It was simply a compelling story about a girl that had been enslaved by Colombian guerrillas.
To date, the movie, which cost $14 million to make and market has grossed over $100 million. Imagine being an investor. Your return has been other worldly. Imagine being Bob Iger, president of Disney. He can’t sleep at night after his management team wouldn’t release the blockbuster.
THEN THERE IS this latest from country superstar Jason Aldean, Try this in a Small Town. The song and corresponding video have sparked outrage from some. Supposedly the video, filmed in front of a Tennessee courthouse, that was the scene of a lynching a century ago, is racist because of its location and the fact that the video laced with actual footage from the riots in 2020.
The courthouse lynching did occur, and Aldean probably should have picked a different location. However, the same site has been used over and over for videos and movies. Heck Miley Cyrus’s Hannah Montana movie has scenes at this very same courthouse, and nary a peep was heard from protestors.
The video and imagery and Aldean’s lyrics, seem mild to me, compared to rappers like Cardi B and her disgusting lyrics in the popular song, WAP. But no one protested. And Sam Smith, portrayed the devil with scantily clad dancers parading around him at The Grammys, and again no one complained.
But Jason Aldean. It’s different. It’s country and its about small town America. Nothing makes big city folk angrier than the values of ordinary folk. Aldean’s video has been banned by Country Music Television, but despite has risen to the top of the charts and is selling better than any tune across all music genres, including Taylor Swift.
I encourage you to see Sound of Freedom and view Jason Aldean’s video. I think you’ll conclude like many, that neither deserve to be cancelled.