Posted on 09/14/2006 4:41:58 AM PDT by kristinn
Edited on 09/14/2006 3:04:35 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
After facing a barrage of insults, death threats and all kinds of broken records in the face of an offhand remark about the U.S. president, the Dixie Chicks are no longer chicks.
"It turned us into women," says Natalie Maines, speaking about the past three years in near media exile, facing one of the largest pop culture controversies in recent history.
On the eve of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Maines made an offhand comment about being against violence, and being embarrassed that the U.S. president, George W. Bush was from Texas, her home state. Despite their being a top-selling act, they soon faced fans who had turned into haters. Record sales plummeted. Some radio stations excluded them from their playlists. People said their career at the top of country was over.
The conflict was so rich in scope and meaning, it attracted the attention of two-time Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple and her colleague, Cecilia Peck (Gregory's daughter).
The result is Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing! - one of the hottest documentary titles of this year's Toronto International Film Festival.
Beginning the voyage with the actual comment of the title recorded in a London amphitheatre, Kopple and Peck take a full immersion tour through the post-Bush-slag landscape, and follow the Chicks - Maines, Martie Maguire and Emily Robison - as they attempt to understand what happened, and how to move forward without their sturdy net of a solid fan base.
"In watching this movie, it felt like I was watching myself mature," Maines says.
Robison echoes the sentiment. "I think, for the most part, when your career is going great, you don't really have the opportunity to soul search ... but we did. And we do think it happened for a reason."
At a Shut Up and Sing! press conference, the Chicks say they have absolutely no regrets about speaking their mind. If anything, the experience made them realize just how vulnerable to censorship we are in the world of consolidated media ownership and nationally uniform radio playlists.
"Consolidation means one guy at the top decides everything ... and I don't think the media has been successful in pointing out why it's so dangerous," Robison says.
"People don't understand why this is so important," Maines says. "But if you live in Lubbock, Texas, where I'm from - you just have one paper and one radio station and unless you're savvy on the Internet, that's it for you. If Bush said get a gun and kill an Arab, they would do that."
Maguire says if it had been just one - or even several - DJs who felt it was just too much of a hassle to spin Dixie Chicks singles, they would have been fine with the boycott. The problem was how the whole anti-Chicks campaign was orchestrated by a select few through a right-wing Internet site called the Free Republic.
According to the research done by Kopple and the Chicks themselves, the Free Republic sent out form letters to their 30,000-thick subscription list with market-specific information, saying if the station did not stop playing their music, people would cease listening to the station.
The campaign worked, and the Chicks' current tour for their new album is being booked at venues half the size of their previous tour. "What was wrong was that (the decision to not play Dixie Chicks records) was coming from the top ... and that (DJs) were not allowed to play the records, even if they wanted to. ... I think that kind of censorship is dangerous," says Maguire.
Kopple says what happened to the Dixie Chicks really struck a chord because it spoke to the changing times.
"In the ... '60s, there was a sense of a cultural movement that happened, and you really felt a sense of belonging to a community. They (Dixie Chicks) were on their own, and our hope is that people who see this film ... will become part of their community so the Chicks no longer have to stand alone," Kopple says.
Maines, who says she always felt the support of her bandmates and family, says she's still a little surprised by the whole journey. Though she's learned to really think hard about what she says to the press these days, she says she may well have said the very same thing - even with a little reflection. "Even if I had thought about what I wanted to say, I don't think I ever could have imagined what happened. What I said was just so lame."
Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing! is slated for a fall /winter theatrical release.
"Sometimes, I think there should be a sub-section of FR for the "under 10 mentality" crowd."
you being the first in line?
Because why?? Simply because I think it's juvenile to call someone "a whore" - because you don't like their politics???
Natalie is a High School DROP OUT!
Its not her politics that makes her a whore, its the act of whoring out her art for notoriety and monitary compestation that makes her a whore. You not being able to see that makes you the "under 10 mentality corwd" that you are so qucik to label others.
These women went on Howard Stern and talked on the air about having orgies with multiple partners, how they shave their crotches bald, and who among is them has a dry one and who has the wet one, how natalie doesnt wear panties etc, for the sake of making a buck. Thats a whore. If you cant see that, than you have bigger issues than I am qualified to address.
Yeah!?
I didn't get to send out any form letters!
You guys left me out!
Maguire, Koppel, and Maines have confused censorship with the right of association. Or, at least they're trying to confuse the sheepies.
We're not? Drat!
That was the cover story.
Now, if one wants to discuss "whoring her art for notoriety and monetary compensation", that could be a good, long discussion about where the line is drawn (like "Paul is Dead", or "Margaritaville Shrimp Scampi", or "Dancing with the Stars"). But, it still doesn't need the sniping.
And, don't worry, I'm not in any way buying any of that "you're one too" non-logic. Unless I'm supposed to say
I'm rubber, you're glue
What bounces off me, sticks to you
That should put it in terms you'll understand.
Oh I undestand perfeclty. I understand that you are the type that likes to stick their nose into things and make comments about things you nothing about.
You sure described me .... not!!
No, I'm just the kind of guy who likes to civilly discuss politics and news articles posted on this forum without resorting to name calling like they do over at DU
But, I'll forgive your misunderstanding since living in California can cause liberal "bad habits" to creep into even a normally good persons list of "civil" behavior.
ok :)
I didn't get a letter either. Did anyone get a letter?
Ill make sure to send out a bulletin notifying everyone to make sure they dumb down their posts for you as to not cause you any more confusion than this thread has apparently caused.
~sigh~ I never got a letter.
So, you listened to that show, did you? Could you give me the date of that show? I hadn't heard about that. I'd just like some verification.
I did! Loosers!
Agreed. I've countered the left on several occasions. That's all they have (emotion and anger). I know the Chix etc. do all sorts of infuriating things and understand the desire to 'give 'em a piece of you mind'. However, our greatest strength is that we have facts backing us. By just spitting out insults, we don't use our most effective weapon.
FR is a great resource for gaining factual information etc for arguments/tactics to counter the left's propaganda. If we only post insults we're taking time from developing the crushing arguments the left so despises.
Trust me, if you want to drive the left nuts, hit them with facts and an unflinching matter-of-fact attitude. They just don't know what to do with that - other than yell several four letter words and give you various hand gestures (occasionally, they'll just stare at you in a stupor ala deer in the headlights).
This is from an apparent fan. Yikes!
beansox, what they said (assuming they're truthful) would easily qualify them as 'whores'.
Nevertheless, if you were to argue that in public, no one will know the background and may not trust the Stern show (you would be perceived as just an angry Dixie Chicks hater). IMO, if you wanted to convince folks that the Chicks are pointless, facts (be it Maines' off the wall statements etc or facts refuting the hyperbole they spout) will be much more effective.
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