Agree. The Ditsy Chicks have not in any way had their careers terminated like Anita's was when she spoke out for the Christian Biblical interpretation of homosexuality.
CedarDave: Agree. The Ditsy Chicks have not in any way had their careers terminated like Anita's was when she spoke out for the Christian Biblical interpretation of homosexuality.
Thanks for your kind words. In my post to the movie's blog, I wrote:
Kristinn -- as the only one who has seen the final product, tell us: was there any mention of Anita Bryant in Shut Up & Sing, or was I dead wrong?
The fall of the Dixie Chicks has nothing to do with repression of free speech, it has to do with the consequences of expressing it. There is no Constitutional guarantee that your free speech won’t come back to haunt you.I'll bet you dollars to donuts that neither in Barbara Kopple’s film nor in the sure-to-be fawning appearance on Oprah will there be any discussion of another popular singer who expressed her free speech — someone named Anita Bryant. Bryant, a former beauty queen, pop singer (”Paper Roses”) and TV performer in the 1950s and ’60s was in the ’70s mainly known for her commercials for the Florida Orange Juice Commission. A very [devout] Christian, she spoke out on a pressing social and political issue just like the Dixie Chicks did; she led a movement to repeal a gay rights ordinance in her home of Dade County, Florida, which allowed homosexuals to be hired as school teachers. Her fight was successful, but it made her radioactive. Her Bible-based condemnation of homosexuality (tempered by her love for those who suffered from it, she said) set off a boycott of Florida Orange Juice and a shunning of her throughout the entertainment industry. Popular performers of that era such as Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, and Jane Fonda publicly slammed her. Eventually, she lost her job as Florida Juice’s pitchwoman, and she was essentially abandoned by everyone who made her a star. She has since filed for bankruptcy twice.
The Dixie Chicks have not suffered a sliver of what Anita Bryant has for expressing her right to free speech. Even though the Chicks are kaput as a force in country music, they still have sold over a million CDs of Taking the Long Way. They still sell well on iTunes. While the buying public has spoken and their tour was considerably shortened, they didn’t have to cancel their entire tour, whereas Bryant will never draw a broad audience ever again. And the Chicks’ story will be told in theaters later this week. I would advise the ladies not to hold their breaths until a filmmaker of Kopple’s caliber tries to rehabilitate Bryant’s career by making her out to be a victim of censorship.