Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that most teens probably won't be all that interested in this politically charged documentary, which is too bad, since it deals intelligently with mature themes like the debates over free speech and patriotism. That said, it also features repeated uses of "f--k" and other language (someone calls President Bush a "dumb f--k"). The Dixie Chicks face a death threat in Texas, as well as ugly language in protests (on the radio, in on-camera interviews, and spelled out on signs and T-shirts). The women appear in towels as they prepare for a photo shoot in which they pose naked (nothing graphic is shown) except for the words written on their bodies. Overall, the film offers a very sympathetic look at the Chicks, who are by turns funny, passionate, and determined to say what they mean, even when they're told to shut up. Some viewers might see this sympathy as political -- with a liberal slant.
Families can talk about the meaning of free speech, and whether that concept changes during wartime. Is it "unpatriotic" to criticize a president or a policy? How do the protests against the Dixie Chicks become personal? Is that fair, considering that they were the ones who made their personal opinions public? Since this movie is a documentary, should it be objective about the subject it's covering? Is it? Why or why not?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Cynthia Fuchs
SHUT UP & SING is an impassioned, politically informed documentary about the Dixie Chicks' run-in with country music radio and fans. The film traces the backlash against the Chicks following singer Natalie Maines' now-infamous declaration at a London concert on March 10, 2003: "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."
While many fans in England and elsewhere shared Maines' anti-war sentiment, the comment almost immediately generated outrage on U.S. conservative and country radio stations. As these groups raised questions about the Chicks' patriotism, a boycott of their music threatened their career. The artists -- Maines, Martie Maguire, and Emily Robison -- took on the controversy as a means to defend "free speech." At the time, they spoke against majority opinion, which supported the invasion of Iraq.
Barbara Kopple and Cecelia Peck's film shows the Chicks to be wives of supportive husbands and mothers of young children (Robison is pregnant during part of the film), as well as long-time collaborators (Maguire and Robison are sisters). On its face, this focus makes the Chicks look especially likable, as if the movie means to recuperate them into the fold of domestic conservatism. But, in fact, it argues against labeling the Chicks as either "good" country western artists or "bad" unpatriotic bigmouths.
Cutting back and forth in time, Shut Up & Sing includes concert footage, reactions to a death threat made against Maines, recording sessions for Taking the Long Way, and discussions with manager Simon Renshaw as he and the Chicks figure what to do. When, at the start, Renshaw laughs, "Wouldn't it be great if [outraged fans] started burning CDs?", he has no idea of how prolonged or difficult the fallout will be.
The Chicks are asked repeatedly whether they "have regrets," but, after the first worries, they embrace their new status and working conditions. The whole situation reveals the ways that the music industry manages its business; the movie shows footage from a July 2003 Senate Commerce Committee hearing on radio ownership in which the "ban on the Dixie Chicks" was investigated. As reported in Freepress, the senators (including John McCain) sought to discover, among other things, "whether or not the radio ban on the Dixie Chicks during the Iraq war constitutes a concern related to concentration of ownership." One witness, Cumulus Media's Lewis Dickey says that the decision to boycott the Chicks' songs "was a collaborative decision-making process. Everybody fell in line."
As the film ends, the Chicks' anti-war stance has become popular, even as they remain "not ready to make nice." The changes in their career and fan base may not alter the way the music industry works -- still, the Chicks will not shut up.
Fans might also like Kopple's Academy Award-winning documentary Harlan County USA, about a Kentucky coal miners' strike, Michael Moore's anti-war documentary Farehnheit 9/11, and Martin Scorcese's No Direction Home: Bob Dylan.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentFootage is shown from a photo shoot for the Chicks' Entertainment Weekly cover, for which they appeared naked with controversial words painted on their bodies, indicating their sense of being censored by former fans and conservative radio hosts/callers. |
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ViolenceDeath threats against the Chicks, including a specific date when Maines is threatened with being shot; film shows increased security provisions and the women's conversations about their fears. |
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LanguageSeveral uses of "f--k" (about 12+), plus other language ("suck," "ass," "blow job," "s--t"); several shots of T-shirts reading "FUTK," which wearers explain variously. |
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Social BehaviorThe Dixie Chicks demonstrate that they're dedicated friends/sisters, wives, and mothers; they stand up for their right to free speech, even as music icons; some protesters are rude, and Maines responds with humor, anger, and foul language. |
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CommercialismThe movie's thematic focus is on the band as a "brand," and on the commercial consequences of their changed status (e.g., Lipton tea wants to pull out of sponsoring their tour); images of and allusions to NPR, CNN, CBS, Guardian newspaper, Lipton tea, Heineken, Burberry, Superbowl, Shepherd's Bush Stadium, Entertainment Weekly, Us Weekly, Starbucks, VH-1, Sony. |
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