Dixie Chicks’ film causes controversy
Privilege of free speech is questioned in new documentary
By Jess Novak, staff writer
Posted on November 6, 2006

Love them or hate them. Disrespect or admire them. But no one can claim that the Dixie Chicks aren’t brilliant for the performance they’ve put on following that fateful comment by lead singer Natalie Maines at a concert in England where she declared she was “ashamed the President of the United States was from Texas.” With that, the best-selling recording female act in history was not only banned from various country radio stations, but the three women had their lives threatened by angry fans.

But that’s the old news. By now I’m sure we’ve all debated the magnitude of the comment and whether it rightfully deserved the uproar that ensued. The aim of this article is to analyze the genius of the trio in their reaction and response to the shock waves following the comment through the Friday, Oct. 27 release of their documentary “Shut up and Sing.” 

Was the comment really  terrible enough to provoke death threats and the ice-cold shoulder of the country music community? And what is happening to that little American privilege we like to call freedom of speech? With other bands, for example the Rolling Stones, shouting lyrics like “It’s liberty for all/ ‘Cause democracy’s our style/ Unless you are against us/ Then it’s prison without trial,” one could question why Maines’ off-the-cuff comment caused such a stir compared to songs obviously incorporating such controversial topics and opinions. (The Stones later denied the track “Sweet Neo-Con” had anything to do specifically with Bush, but upon careful examination of the lyrics and the timing of the release, it’s questionable).

After struggling through weak ticket sales and dealing with lack of airtime due to country music stations’ bitter and determined attempt to keep the Chicks’ music from reaching the ears of listeners, the girls have taken a disaster and turned it into a money-making revolution.

The brilliance in the campaign is the swing of opinion the Chicks’ are generating. Though many polarized, country-loving, Bush-supporting fans will ignore the existence of the documentary — or choose to acknowledge it with more death threats — reviews are already praising the group for their work. And regardless of whether you see the film or not, the real genius is in the exposure and image the trio is projecting. Rather than backing down, they’re making noise. And whether you agree or disagree, everyone now knows who the Dixie Chicks are and what they stand for.

Perhaps this catastrophe is what the music industry needs. While other artists are slipping through the scandal cracks, the Dixie Chicks’ are facing the Man head on. With their faces all over magazines (including some very provocative photo shoots and interviews as seen in Time and upcoming in Entertainment Weekly), television and the Internet, they may come across as milking as much out of the incident as possible, or, as genuinely trying to break some of the country music stigmas about what kind of opinions are acceptable and which are not.

The entire ordeal could be seen as an over-zealous attempt to generate publicity and finances after a discouraging few months of touring and lack of airtime through a continuing exaggeration of a single comment. Or, a refreshing political step for the music industry to attempt to break down some more barriers between the acceptable and the scandalous. Music is an art form  in which the shared opinions and emotions of the artists are expected. The trio’s opinion on a political subject expressed to an audience there to listen is simple freedom of speech, and their fight to protect that right is admirable. Now we’ll just have to see if the 99-minute film “Shut Up and Sing” causes as much of a stir as a five-second comment.