9 thoughts on “Negative publicity”

1. Exactly, which is why all the people shouting CENSORSHIP!!!!! in the Dixie Chicks thread below are just being tools.
   In the old days you tried to get banned by the Legion of Decency, today it’s this.

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2. It’s sad to see that guy who directed Death of a President get so much press attention, when so many more deserving artists get zero.

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3. It’s a ridiculous strategy anyway. The people who are going to see “Shut Up and Sing” were going to see it anyway, and the people who weren’t, weren’t. Half the people see the Dixie Chicks as blessed martyrs, half see them as cowardly idiots. And never the ‘twain shall meet.

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4. Exactly, which is why all the people shouting CENSORSHIP!!!!! in the Dixie Chicks thread below are just being tools.

   In the old days you tried to get banned by the Legion of Decency, today it’s this.

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5. While it’s true that many of their alienated fans may see them now as “idiots,” the Dixie Chicks have done nothing to suggest that they’re “cowards.” The cowardly thing would have been for them to back down–to shut up and sing, as it were. Instead, they dug in their boot heels, pissed off people in the red states, and cancelled half of their tour dates. Brassy? Yes. Stubborn? Yes. Self-important? Sure. Foolish? Perhaps. But cowardly? No.

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6. Sorry, Nate. I have to disagree. The first cowardly act was making the original statement in front of a sympathetic crowd in another country. (Although I understand the comment may have been intended to be taken tongue-in-cheek.)
   Then, when it became apparent that the comment had touched off a shitstorm among their fans, Maines did not “dig in her bootheels.” She issued this apology on March 14, 2003 (Source:CNN):
   “As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful. I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect[.]”
   It was only after that apology didn’t work that Maines retracted it and went to Plan B, which was to essentially retract the apology and use the media row as publicity to expand the fan base. Does that March 2003 comment sound like she’s “not ready to make nice?” This has all been calculated media manipulation from the get-go.

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7. laughs…They didn’t “cancel” half their tour dates.
   Those shows were on the schedule, but the ticket sales were terrible. This prompted them to HAVE to cancel their dates.
   And yes, making a statement that she KNOWS will totally alienate her from the large part of her fanbase is fine – but do it to them, not in England. Say it in Texas, not at some ravenous den of Bush-hatred in London.
   It WAS cowardly, and they never intended for people back home to actually find out about it. When the people DID find out about it, Natalie issued an apology. When that didn’t work, she decided to go the other route, and portray herself as some free-speech martyr (leftists mindlessly start to drool at that thought) to the blue-state media.
   It’s all a big act, and when Bush blows over in a few years, they’ll have lost both of their fan bases. Smart girl.

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8. “Half the people see the Dixie Chicks as blessed martyrs, half see them as cowardly idiots.”
   What about the people who generally agree with their politics, but loathe their music*, and would rather endure water torture for 90 minutes than watch a documentary about them?
   I can’t really be the *only* one, can I?
   *Not a prejudice against country music, just against Natalie Maines’s voice.

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9. After seeing how bad the Dixie Chick movie is I dont think anyone that doesnt like them was trying to stop the movie.

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