On Stage at a 2003 London concert, Natalie Maines, the lead singer of the dixie chicks stated an uprising statement that will remain in music history. Maines shouted " We're ashamed that the president of the United states is from Texas". This comment was said just days before the American invasion of Iraq and was the beginning of a long battle the Dixie Chicks were faced to fight. Over the next three years after the comment being said, The top selling female band was faced with many obstacles interferring with their career. The girls were being boycotted by a right wing effort to lose their concert appearances and radio play. They were not being played on any radio stations for weeks at a time. Two fans states: " All these radio stations pretend to support them, but they wont play them. We've called and asked, and they wont". They went from being "the girls next door", to "the ditsy twits" in a matter of months. But what surprosed me most was how someone could go so far, and write a death threat to Natalie. I never knew something a celebrity said, could make someone threaten such a harsh action. And the fact that the girls continued to play, on the day that they were threated to be shot, is just so brave. I find their journey of this incident so inspiring, and im sure many others feel the same way. They are now known as mothers, wives,entertainers, and polital heroes.
In additon,Kanye west and Pink also used their power of stardom to also make a politcal statement. In pinks hit song " Dear mr.president", she speaks her opinion on the ways president bush has dealt with the recent problems that have occured. In one part of her song she says" how do you walk with your head held high". This is one of many lyrcis that pink is implying that the actions he has taken are not someing to be proud of. I feel that pink is a person that i, and others can look up to. Just like the dixie chicks, she was not afraid to speak her voice and use her power to make an impact on the country. Although her song was not as powerful as the Dixie chicks statement, it does show that freedom of speech is something that we need to be proud of and not hide. Now on the other hand, Kanye wests rant, was a little less inspireing than that of pink and the dixie chicks. While contributeing to a Hurricane Katrina telethon, Kanye stated a very off topic accusation. In the middle of the telethon Kanye blurted "George Bush doesnt care about black people", and was quickley cut off. This kind of assumption is a very big deal, and is not something you should say without having reasoning. After Kanyes comment, many people began questioning if president bush really did not care about black people. Statistics said that 62 percentsay he does care about black people, and 31 people say he does not. But in reading these stats, you must think of the audience. It is quite clear that the 62 percent is mostly white people, and the other 31 percent mostly black. I am sure that the people of color tend to notice these things more then others. Which is probably why Kanye siad this comment, because he seeks the amount of attention that black people get, in contrast to the white.
Overall, i think that the reactions to each of these incidents was look at differently, in the case of timing. The dixie chicks stated their opinion before many accusations were placed against george bush. Which overal, makes a large impact on the way americans feel about him. Both pink and kanye said their statements after Bush's popularity had dropped, which was most likley the reason that the incidents were treated differenty, and taken to different levels of importance.
A clip of the Award winning documentary "Shut Up And Sing". This documentary follows the Dixie Chicks throughout their battle against America.
"Dixie Chicks". No Date. Online Image. FlapsBlog. 23 Dec. 2007
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