In 2003, The Dixie Chicks, were one of the top American recording acts when during a concert in England, Natalie Maines made comments critical of President Bush and the Iraq war. This movie documents the controversy that arose out of what of a singer speaking her mind. Bush's popularity numbers were at record heights as the country at the time was stirred up by the events of 9/11. In addition Karl Rove was very much in charge of White House PR and a spin campaign was on to keep the radical right in charge of all parts of the the government. It was easy to paint the "Chicks" as unpatriotic. As a result, they were basically blacklisted.
The movie shares some down home moments with the Dixie Chicks, and gives a glimpse in their personalities. Without a doubt, the salty Maines is the driving force in the group.
The movie also shows that it was not the original intent of the Chicks to start a controversy. I admired them however for speaking out when no one else in the mainstream really did. The DVD "Shut Up And Sing" is available at Amazon.
2 comments:
I'm not enamored of the Bush administration, but I'm not a great fan of the Dixie Chicks either. I will never understand artists who feel their talent makes them experts on world affairs, or who feel they should be able to air our country's dirty laundry to a foreign audience. The Dixie Chicks have made a large amount of noise about being "martyred" for expressing their views. So be it. I have no interest in anything they are associated with.
Back in the late '90's, we attended a Fourth of July party in the courtyard of an apartment house on the Venice Boardwalk. We were told that Natalie Maines' boyfriend lived in one of the apartments; and that Maines herself was sleeping there during the party. Alas, she never woke up and joined the party. (You could imagine how some of their pro-Bush critics might use the story that she failed to attend an Independence Day celebration.)
Post a Comment