When art and celebrity collide

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.