When Art and Celebrity Collide Telling the Dixie Chicks to Shut up and Sing 1., Aufl. - used book

Words uttered at a concert by singer Natalie Maines, resulted in the Dixie Chicks' being banned from radio stations, having masses of ex-fans demolish their CD's, and even threats to their lives. What was said to cause such a heated reaction? "Just so you know, we're ashamed that President Bush is from Texas." Due to this expression, the Chicks-stars of country music-were called traitors to their Country and their country music roots. I use this case to uncover the role that popular culture icons play in our self-empowerment. That is, how do messages delivered through popular culture constrain or enable our perceived ability to resist dominant ideals? I use a narrative approach to examine: a) citizen-generated commentary, b) popular news reports, c) the Chicks' own responses, and d) fan's expectations for their celebrated artists. This allowed me to get a sense for how the dominant, public narrative puts the pieces of the story together in order to create a vision of the world and how people should behave in it. The result is: a) the championing of an aggressive, very male patriot, b) the connection between a rough, redneck character and Middle-American values, and c) a 'shut up and sing' attitude which diminishes the agency of celebrity-artists. This book is directed towards Rhetorical, Narrative, Popular Culture and Art Scholars as well as Political and Media Analysts.