Review of Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing (2006) by Stacy M — 12 Jan 2008

The controversy that the Dixie Chicks went through when Natalie Maines made her famous comments about George Bush in front of a London audience on the eve of the war in Iraq makes for a compelling story. Unfortunately, this documentary seems to only skim the surface of those events.

The documentary does not seem to have a focus as it jumps back and forth in time between 2003, when the comments were made, and 2005 when the band was recording its new record. There is some great behind the scenes footage such as when the band came off the stage in London, just after the comment was made and their manager commented, â??mission accomplishedâ??. He was referring to a strong musical performance that night which should have been a good kick off to that leg of the tour. Little did he know what would follow. The filmâ??s audience will no doubt appreciate the irony that George Bush would famously appear on an aircraft carrier under a banner bearing that slogan a few months later.

The documentary is a basic retelling of events without enough new insight. There are instances, such as a scene in Rick Rubinâ??s house during the making of the new record, that are fascinating, but the film does not explore this direction further.

I think that history will see this whole ordeal as a tempest in a teapot. Time has already shown that early criticisms of the war were valid. The people that were whipped into a frenzy remind me of an Albert Einstein quote, â??Heroism at command, senseless brutality, deplorable love-of-country stance, how violently I hate all this, how despicable an ignorable war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so base an action!â?? Hopefully, in the end, they will have learned something from how this war turned out and they will be able to open their minds to the voice of a critic.