DISCLAIMER: If you’ve yet to see the movie and don’t want to know details, STOP READING NOW. Consider yourself warned.
Taken was a great movie. You can see the trailer here. I was fully invested in the movie from the start. It certainly has the capacity to raise awareness of human trafficking. The action scenes were great. Corruption in government is exposed. There’s a feel-good ending. It almost feels like justice is served. Almost.
The problem that I have with the movie is the ending. There are few happy endings. Very few girls who are kidnapped and sold are retrieved and brought home. Very few girls are not brutally raped, beaten and drugged. Even fewer have parents who have the resources and knowledge/ability to track them down within 96 hours of abduction and rescue them before they are beaten/raped/drugged. Our criminal justice system won’t even recognize that someone is missing until 48 hours after they are missing.
My problem with Taken is that while it raises awareness of human trafficking and of one of the many lures that traffickers have for girls, it also glamorizes/trivializes the reality of what girls experience.
I was the first person out of the theatre. People were applauding the movie and all I could think was, “That’s not how it really ends.” I babbled that, driving around crying for a good ten minutes.
The fight against human trafficking and the sex trade is an uphill battle. Are you willing to do your part?
Deneen White 
Yes. I’m connected to CyberAngels.
I don’t know what that means, but it sounds interesting?
~D