I AM JANE DOE is assaulting to any viewer. It revolts and disgusts any average audience, and it does so intentionally. Just look at the subject matter, and you can see why so many people seem to have a problem with accepting this film. The repeated rape and sale of children is a disgusting notion, one that cuts a person to the core. When I used to think about human trafficking, I always thought of it like in the movie "Taken". It happens to "dumb" people over seas. It doesn't effect me, or my life, at all. Watching this documentary rips apart that false assumption. Any American child, no matter their race, gender, sexuality, or socioeconomic status is at risk to be repeatedly raped and sold. That is abhorrent in every sense. It is the destruction of innocence, the eradication of futures. And it could happen to anyone. That is a terrifying concept.
What I AM JANE DOE does so well is aim those natural human emotions of confusion and disgust and rage on the broken system that allows for the insane profit off of the sale of children. There seems to be many comments so far about how viewers were disappointed that there was no happy ending in this film. That there wasn't a "fix" that was found to child sex trafficking. And it seems that those same people were also upset over the specific targeting of Backpage.com. I couldn't disagree with these comments more, as I thought the film handled this tactfully. It carefully and clearly exposed not only the injustice in our legal system for allowing Backpage.com to continue to profit off of the sale of children, but also carefully handled the horrific experiences these children went through, giving their trauma justice without spinning off down the rabbit hole to a depressing story about each different graphic instance of a child being sold for sex. Instead, I AM JANE DOE specifically focuses on the legal efforts to take away the ease in ability to profit off of the sale of children with the goal of a unification of efforts. Instead of having a single lawyer stand up for three girls in Seattle, and a law firm in Boston mounting its own case- I AM JANE DOE has encouraged the combination of efforts and collaboration between lawyers and activists and every day Americans in a universal call for change. Yes, this film does not offer a permanent solution to prostitution- because there is no magic pill to fix this- instead, the film offers a route to take for the ordinary citizen who is motivated to fight this, and exposes the lack of morals present in far too many technology companies that are willing to write off the sale of thousands of American children every year as collateral damage in their search for higher profits.
I AM JANE DOE calls for a change in the way we treat the internet. It demands a revolution against these companies that have so little regard for human life. It is already proving to be a catalyst, creating an avenue for true bipartisan politics, in both the House of Representatives and in the Senate (led by Senators McCain, Portman, Heitkamp, and McCaskill - outspoken leaders in both the Democratic and Republican parties), to amend the loophole that allows websites to profit off of rape with impunity.
Starting this documentary, I was angry. I was disgusted. I was revolted. I felt sick to my stomach knowing that one day this could happen to my children. This could happen to my best friend, my family, my neighbors. That knowledge made me full of sadness and rage. By the end of the film however, my thoughts had changed. I am now motivated. I have seen the power of a single voice standing up to massive corporations and unfair laws. Imagine what all our voices could do? I am determined to stand up for the hundreds of thousands of children who cannot stand up for themselves. I will Speak Out. I will Fight Back. Will You?
