Audiences watching "Shut Up and Sing" are in for an up-close and personal look at the drama that unfolded for three young singers who hardly expected a maelstrom to follow the simple observation that one of them made.
Just for comparison, I recall having a similar sentiment on November 23, 1963, the day President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. I knew that anyone from Texas was likely to be feeling badly if not guilty. A family friend at the time certainly showed that on her face.
Fast forward to 2003 and a young woman reveals that she is embarrassed that President Bush is from her home state. Why? Because of his decision to roll into Iraq at that very time. The remark is picked up by the print press and cable television, and the career of the Dixie Chicks spirals downward.
Even though the remark was made in Shepherds Bush, England, it reverberated around the world, most tellingly through the world of country music.
A triumphant return engagement in Shepherds Bush in 2006 brings the documentary to a rousing close. The years between are fraught with family issues and career plans: just what can the trio, their manager, their family members and all their employees do to cope with the reality that their old familiar audience is never going to be the same for them.
As a social commentary, "Shut Up and Sing" is excellent. It has a speeded up quality that seems to reflect the lives of the extended group. Most of all, media impact and the ill effects of media consolidation permeate this film. Rent it and just see how much your own heart strings will be twanged.
Suggested reading: Eric Klinenberg's Fighting for Air: The Battle to Control America's Media, Metropolitan Books, 2007.
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