The Dixie Chicks: Shut Up And Sing

"I'm ashamed that the President is from Texas"



Directed by: Barbara Kopple & Cecilia Peck

Starring: The Dixie Chicks

My Rating: 4/5

A documentary about three loud, big-haired country music sensations may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but don’t let your feelings on The Dixie Chicks deter you from this riveting documentary. In 2003, Natalie Maines, outspoken lead singer of America’s biggest selling female group of all-time, commented at a London gig that she was “ashamed that the President is from Texas”. News quickly spread from a small blurb in the British press to a big issue in the American press and quickly became the biggest scandal to hit country music. Because of America’s insecurity over its war against Iraq at the time, but the unwavering trust in their democracy, the U.S. public took this comment as unpatriotic and unsupportive of their troops and the former media darlings soon become known as “Saddam’s Angels” and “The Dixie Sluts”. Radio stations banned their songs from the airwaves and communities organised public CD burnings. The outrage even culminated in a death threat against Maines.

The documentary’s broken narrative focuses on the time between the incident and the release of their subsequent album. Most of the time spent in the studio sees the girls struggling with how they need to react to this huge career setback and although they have their moments of doubt, they bravely take a stand and refuse to apologise for something they feel they had every right to say. Far from being a propaganda project for the band, it takes the audience through the self-doubt and the tantrums and the very un-rock n roll financial concerns that the incident caused. However, it does show the heroic stand that the girls took in sticking together and not giving in to the enormous pressure to crawl back to the public and beg for forgiveness.

What is so great about this documentary is that it is interesting on so many levels. It works as an interesting behind-the-music style documentary about a very popular band, it works as a Michael Moore-ish comment on the redneck delusion that seems to grip certain parts of the United States, but it also works as an interesting look at the music industry. It shows the commercial issues and how they are worked through but it is also a refreshingly frank look at a band crawling back to the top from rock bottom by doing exactly the opposite of what they should have: they released an angry album full of songs about how they refuse to forgive their detractors for their judgement.

Perhaps its biggest flaw is the focus on how sweet and wholesome the girls are. Of course, some empathy is necessary but there’s slightly too much indulgence in the “mommy” part of their lives, and how cuddly they all are. However, having said that, it is refreshing to see a music documentary which features morally heroic musicians instead of drug-addled rock stars and focuses on the very human struggle between commercial success and dignity.

Overall, this documentary is a pleasure to watch. Entertaining, frightening and uplifting; if you’re a fan of The Dixie Chicks, you’ll find the soundtrack an aural delight, if you’re not, you’ll tolerate it for the quality of the subject matter. Highly recommended!

- Charlene Lydon 12/07/07