Rating of
3.5/4
ShutUp and Sing
filmfan09 - wrote on 01/21/09
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." A boycott of their music threatened their career. Maines, Martie Maguire, and Emily Robison took on the controversy as a means to defend "free speech." They spoke against majority opinion, which supported the invasion of Iraq. Cutting back and forth in time, Shut Up & Sing includes concert footage, reactions to a death threat made against Maines, recording sessions for their ablum 'Taking the Long Way' , and discussions with manager Simon Renshaw as he and the Chicks figure what to do, as the fallout begins to build.
I personally liked the documentary, I find it odd how those who profess the greatest love for this country find it so easy to hate those who exercise its most valued principles.
Also since the film was completed, the Dixie Chicks have won 5 Grammys for the album the controversy gave birth to, and that their careers and energy appear to have been reinvigorated.
