Shut Up and Sing (2006)

Dixie Chicks vs. Knuckleheads, by Griz Bear Man

"Shut Up and Sing" is more than about the political backlash in response to Natalie Maines off-the-cuff comment about President Bush between songs at a London concert in 2003 during the days leading up to the Iraq War. It is a fascinating look into the complex business and artistic decisions the band makes as they try to respond to the situation. In short, the film is a more complex treatment of the Dixie Chicks than one would expect--you get insights into the tension between the need to market a product, to preserve artistic integrity, and to respond to the political backlash from Natalie's statement. The film provides some behind the scenes looks at the personal lives of the band members, and the process of putting together what turns out to be a hit albumn, "Taking the Long Way." Meanwhile you are treated to a lot of good music and gain a great deal of respect for these three women for their courage, their determination to stick together and stick it out, and their sucess in breaking new ground with their new albumn under the direction of producer Rick Rubin, who has produced albumns by no less than Johnny Cash and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
For all that, the politics still dominates and I came away thoroughly disgusted by a vile display of latent American fascism in the movie, namely, how a bunch of knuckleheads can orchestrate a blacklisting and derail the careers of these three supremely talented women. Personally, I am a political independent and have little time for ideologues, right or left. But the Right has acheived a new low (and here I thought it was not possible for them to sink any lower) with this shameful blacklisting of the Dixie Chicks in this here supposed Land of the Free. The bullying and cowardice of these knuckleheads provides a stark contrast to the courage and integirty of especially Natalie Maines. A lot of credit also goes to the other two band members who chose to stand by her rather than disown her. Basically, what happened was that a right wing knucklehead gang misnamed freerepublic.com published the e-mail addresses of every disc jockey at every country music station and whipped up hate and hysteria among the rednecks and chowderheads who listen to country music, urging these listeners to boycott the Dixie Chicks. Garbage cans were set up for fans to deposit their Dixie Chicks CDs into them. These neo-fascist tactics were wildly successful. Stations stopped playing their music, sales plummeted, and a death threat issued. For all this, nothing is more shameful than how these stations and the country music industry, including other country music musicians, turned their back on the Dixie Chicks, even though this band had done more to promote country music and account for the phenomenal success of country music than any other musician. This level of cowardice and betrayal makes me want to puke. By the end of the movie, I said three cheers for the Dixie Chicks, because they are the true freedom fighters, standing up for the greatest of all human rights, freedom of speech and religion (from which ALL other rights extend).