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The Dixie Chicks:
Shut Up and Sing!
will be released on DVD on February 20, 2007.
Full Disclosure: I hate country music. I once did a long project in
Amarillo, Texas and the radio options (or lack thereof) made me nuts.
But I knew I had great respect for two-time Oscar-winning documentary
film director
Barbara Kopple, so when I saw her new film about The Dixie Chicks
on my Chicago International Film Festival schedule last September, I
immediately ordered tickets.
“I've always been interested in how people think, how they react to
challenges in their lives--what makes people tick. I've also always
been passionate about social issues and causes, and I wanted to make
films that addressed important issues in very human terms.”
-- Director
Barbara Kopple
I’ve now seen “Shut Up and Sing” three times, and the
more I know, the better it gets. This is by design. Kopple and her
co-director Cecilia Peck set themselves a difficult task: they wanted
to make a film that would satisfy the thousands (and probably millions
of people) who have been and continue to be consistent fans, but they
also wanted their film to appeal to those of us with no knowledge of,
or even interest in, the “controversy.”
In brief, here’s what happened: Martie Maguire, Natalie Maines, and
Emily Robison (The Dixie Chicks) were at the peak of success (with
multiple Grammy awards, platinum & diamond record sales, and highly
successful worldwide tours) when they arrived in London to kick-off
their “Top of the World Tour” on March 10, 2003. The invasion of Iraq
was imminent and protesters were marching in London (and in many other
cities as well).
Buoyed by the spirited crowd and apprehensive on her own account as a
mother, Maines, the lead singer, made a spontaneous remark that echoed
all around the world: “Just so you know, we're ashamed the President
of the United States is from Texas." By the time the invasion began
ten days later, the Dixie Chicks were considered traitors by a large
portion of their historic fan base and blacklisted by the radio
stations most responsible for their continued revenue stream.
Kopple and Peck were not formally on board at this point, although
they had connected with the group prior to the tour. But as ripples
from Maines offhand remark spread though the media, interest in having
their story told by a filmmaker of Kopple’s stature grew, and Kopple
and Peck were given access to all the footage shot in London and
immediately afterwards. Kopple and Peck then brought their own team
into the mix, filming Maguire, Maines, and Robison as they took
tentative next steps which eventually lead to the creation of a whole
new professional identity.
“I like to approach my films with
an open mind. I don't go into a film with any particular agenda--I
rarely know how a film will end when I start filming. But [I] often do
have a point of view on the subject--in other words, I know that I
support free speech, and that I respect the Dixie Chicks for not
backing down in the face of intimidation and threats.”
-- Director
Barbara Kopple
Photo Credits: The Weinstein Company. All Rights Reserved.
The main arc of the story is spread over three years,
but Kopple and Peck choose to tell it as a spiral rather than a
straight line. The film keeps circling around critical events, so that
at each point the viewer knows more than before and therefore has more
understanding of what’s really at stake. “Fly on the wall” scenes
capture intimate moments which are juxtaposed with “talking head”
interviews and frenetic concert scenes. Watching “Shut Up and Sing”
the third time, I was frankly amazed by how much detail Kopple and
Peck were able to capture in the brief 93 minute runtime. I now feel I
really understand why Maines’ remark triggered such a huge outcry, and
why this event became the catalyst for artistic transformation.
Ultimately the great accomplishment of Shut Up and Sing” is to expand
our notion of courage, and define new ways in which women can be
genuinely courageous. Despite what this year’s Oscar candidates “The
Departed” and “Letters from Iwo Jima” would have you believe, genuine
courage requires more than carrying a gun. For Maines, courage means
refusing to back down after saying something she believed, even though
she apparently neither planned her remark nor anticipated the
onslaught. For Maguire and Robison, courage means facing the outrage
of friends and fans, and believing in the future of their group as
well as its past.
There’s one sequence that mesmerized me the first time, and it grows
more intense every time I see it: The Dixie Chicks are in Dallas
getting ready to perform in the face of death threats. But this is
Dallas, and they know and everyone knows, that someone in this town
once had the determination to shoot a president, so no matter how much
police protection they have, no, they do not feel safe. Nevertheless,
they get ready and they go on stage and they do their show. John F.
Kennedy, the author of “Profiles
in Courage,” was watching over them that night, and I know he was
impressed.
“Like so many nonfiction films,
the story really came together in the edit room. We had an amazing
edit staff, and we were able to weave the two time periods (2003 and
2005) in a way that I think really highlights both the Dixie Chicks'
personal experiences and the political significance of their story… we
did our best to satisfy people new to the Dixie Chicks and long time
fans as well.”
-- Director
Barbara Kopple
© Jan Lisa Huttner, February 2007.
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Jan Lisa Huttner is the managing editor of
Films for Two: The Online Guide for
Busy Couples. In addition to freelance work for a variety of print
and online publications, Jan writes regular columns for the
JUF News, Chicago's
Jewish community monthly, and
Chicago Woman, a
bi-monthly published by The Woman's Newspapers. She is an active
member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Illinois
Woman's Press Association.
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