Think of the Dixie Chicks and you should be reminded of their extraordinary musical talent and best-selling CDs. Instead, thanks to “Shut Up & Sing” — a new documentary about the group’s foray into politics — the Chicks will likely be famous for flying their self-proclaimed victim banner once again.
The documentary accurately and intimately portrays the Chicks’ tumultuous battle with angry Americans since lead singer Natalie Maines proclaimed from a London stage that she was ashamed that President George W. Bush hailed from her home state of Texas.
The conservative blog Free Republic first focused attention — and criticism — on Maine’s comment. Free Republic spokesman Kristin Taylor, who viewed the new film at theCenter for American Progress’ Oct. 17 screening, said she believes that Maine’s choice of London for her anti-Bush comment was no accident. “If she had said it to a concert audience in Dallas, people would have walked out. She said it over there because she felt safe,” Taylor told The Examiner.
The screening was followed by a panel of commentators, including Academy Award-winning director Barbara Kopple, who gushed: “They are great role models, not daunted by anything, talented. … These women taught me so much about courage, hope, and adversity.” Author and Democratic strategist Dave “Mudcat” Saunders called them “heroes” and “patriots.” But if these ladies are heroes, what shall we call our soldiers fighting in Iraq?
Kopple classified the film as “a fantastic journey about incredible people who were targeted with an unprecedented campaign to silence their freedom of speech.” Silenced they were not, as it turned out. Indeed, liberal heroes are rarely if ever silenced, even though they often equate disagreement with their views as attempted suppression.
“They had a very elitist and condescending attitude toward a large segment of their fan base,” Taylor said, referring to the Chicks refusal to even consider the interests of those who propelled them to stardom.
“Just as the Dixie Chicks have their right to speak. … I have the right not to buy their CDs,” wrote one blogger. “Free speech goes both ways … it has its consequences, and in the free market, the consumer has the freedom of choice.”
The Chicks weren’t keen to suffer those consequences three years ago, and NBC’s recent refusal to air a promotional ad for the documentary means the backlash isn’t over yet. Alan Wurtzel, head of standards and practices at NBC, justified his network’s action by telling Fox News: “There are times when some advertisers get more publicity for having their ad rejected.”
He might be right because it’s hard to see how the singing group has suffered from their notoriety.
“While the Dixie Chicks would love to position themselves as underdogs, the truth is that they have probably never been more beloved by the mainstream media,” New York Times columnist Kelefa Sanneh pointed out. “It’s hard to complain about your musical career when you’re plastered on the front of Time.”
The film, which attempts to extract profound truth and relevance from the Chicks’ political outburst, relies on out-of-context news clips and preaches to a well-behaved choir. The impression is created that the singers’ personal struggles and the supposed oppression of their freedom to speak are as or even more important than the actual war being fought in Iraq.
The Dixie Chicks received a death threat? News flash: Controversial public figures get those all the time. When they decided to enter a whole new celebrity arena, they obviously weren’t prepared for what came with the limelight. And the Chicks certainly aren’t the first to experience public ostracism.
“When people engage in boycotts against conservatives, you don’t get sympathetic documentaries,” said Taylor, referring to highly criticized public figures like Dr. Laura Schlessinger and the Rev. Jerry Falwell.
People can and do say whatever they want, and sometimes the public reacts strongly. But most do not ask the nation to sulk with them while they cry about something they brought upon themselves.
Then again, it’s hard to take seriously a celebrity who uses her musical success as a political platform to jokingly tell shock jock Howard Stern that she won’t wear panties until after the war is over.
The Dixie Chicks used to make great music and perhaps they still do, but after demonstrating their immaturity and shallowness during this three-year debacle, they’ve certainly become annoying.
Ericka Andersen is an intern with The Washington Examiner.
