Priceless – The Movie; Spoiler Alert
Priceless is a faith-based movie about a story of sex trafficking, aimed to bring awareness to this tragedy. The main character agrees to make a delivery in a truck to earn some money, without knowing what See was delivering. He finds out there are two young women in the back of the truck and seeks to save them from being captured and sold.
I saw this movie when it aired at the Campus Theatre back in December, and I left with mixed feelings. I am super glad people are working to bring awareness to this tragic issue, and I hope it continues. The awareness surrounding human trafficking has increased tremendously over the last several years. For pure entertainment’s sake, it was a great movie. However, as a professional working in a victims’ service field with a special interest in human trafficking, I had a couple concerns.
My first concern deals with the portrayal of police. In the movie, the main character approaches a police officer for help, but the officer does not take him seriously and does not offer much help. While I recognize that police officers like the one in the movie do exist and that many are still going after victims instead of the perpetrators and that some police officers are even found guilty of buying sex, I think it does a disservice to portray police in this regard with this issue. Law enforcement is essential to rescuing victims and prosecuting traffickers, and we need strong partnerships with them, which does not happen through portraying them as unhelpful and uncaring.
Due to the lack of police involvement, the main character and his friend intervene in the situation. They enter a house where they think the girls and the traffickers are staying, but they had moved on to another location. At the end of the movie, they plan a meet-up with the trafficker to make an exchange of the captured friend for the girl. This provides my second concern. Again, I recognize this was a movie, but I think the messages portrayed in our entertainment are important. Intervening in a trafficking situation without the proper authorities and safety nets is never a good idea. If you know a victim or suspect someone is a victim of trafficking, please call the National Human Trafficking Hotline (1-888-373-7888) and give them the information you have. They will pass it onto the law enforcement in your area and make the proper steps to investigate and rescue. I keep this number saved in my phone, so it is easily accessible. Do not try to investigate or intervene on your own. Making the call to the hotline is a heroic act in itself.
I’ll stop there. See the movie, just keep these thoughts in mind). Most importantly, continue to educate yourself on this issue, know how to recognize a victim and call law enforcement or the National Hotline if you suspect a situation of trafficking.
Written by: Missy H., Union County Legal Advocate
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