Within a nation there are people with different opinions and way of life and that is one of the greatest things of a democratic country. That’s why one can be a liberal, conservative or independent and live freely with no danger, or so we are told.
To many people their opinion of America and Americans forever changed and there was no going back after the invasion of Iraq. But it was so interesting, shocking, and satisfying to see American artists through their work share their opinions of the war and the government. They courageously whether they had ulterior motives or not, went against the norm and their own government. They heavily criticized Bush and his administration, they criticized other citizens who were for the war, and the responsibility that we have as people to avoid such things.
Art has been said to be a form of therapy, a way were people can express themselves, and that’s exactly what numerous artists did. Artists such as the Dixie Chicks, P!nk, Eminem, Green Day and Pearl Jam chose to do so. Everyone is entitled to freedom of speech, and are allowed to speak their minds. However, many of these artists were criticized (some more than others) for being unpatriotic, uneducated, radical, and wrong for believing in what they do.
The Dixie Chicks are one of the most extreme cases that received horrible backlash. In their documentary “Shut up and Sing”, you can see all the obstacles the group had to endure simply because the lead singer Natalia Maines said “Just so you know, we’re ashamed the United States president is from Texas” at a London concert. [1]
Large networks turned on them, politicians spoke out, riots were created, radio stations boycotted their music and articles were being published right and left discussing the Dixie Chicks. The Dixie Chicks became one of the most hated women in America overnight. All their success, contributions and life were disregarded, and everyone jumped on the “hate the Dixie Chicks” band wagon.
Ironically, around the time the chaos around them sprang up they had their single “Travelin’ Soldier” climbing the charts. This song was as patriotic as it gets, there is after all nothing more patriotic than supporting the troops, but in a matter of days the single was wiped off music charts, and sales declined by 42%. [2] Now there are many reasons why people went against the Dixie Chicks the way they did, but there is absolutely no reason for people to make death threats, spoil the concert tour for other people, and for influential networks to attack the way they did.
Artists such as Eminem, Green Day and Pearl Jam have always had a liberal stance, and have been controversial and that’s why I believe there was less chaos surrounding them. However, P!nk has never shied away from controversy herself, but she too did get a negative reaction and was not even allowed to have her song “Dear Mr. President” played. What was different about her is how raw and honest her lyrics was, she never actually mentioned names but it was very blunt. In her song she asked the president who he prays for (a dig at his religious Christian side), how he can hate his own daughters if they were gay and take rights away from them (his stance against gay marriage and lack of support for women’s rights), and how far he’d come from his reckless days of smoking, drugs and alcohol. She continues to paint his wife Barbara as a pushover, and a woman with no stance. At the end, she notes how he has never had to work for anything in his life and gives him several examples of citizens in his own country that face horrible circumstances on a daily basis.
It’s very obvious why that song would not be allowed to play, but where does the role of freedom of speech, that everyone is so proud of come in? How come she was never allowed to have a chance for her song to hit the charts? Fortunately for her, her song did garner a lot of attention in other countries such as Canada, Australia and many other European countries.
To conclude, there are also artists that are as neutral as neutral gets and recently have produced work against the war. Near the end of the 2008 election Carrie Underwood (an artists in a conservative field) revealed in a TV Guide interview that “I lose all respect for celebrities when they back a candidate”. [3] She continues to go on to say “It's saying that the American public isn't smart enough to make their own decisions. Music is where you go to get away from all the BS. Whether it's from politics or just the world around you, music should be an escape”. [4]
I found this very interesting, as I am very much a fan, she has a point. Unfortunately, when the American media is not portraying everything accurately and fairly then we need people to point that out. Music reaches so many different people and is known to reach people differently than any movie, show, or politician ever could. Interestingly, Carrie has released ten singles and all ten have reached number one, making her one of the most accomplished female artists out there. One of those ten hits was her single “Just a Dream”.
“Just a Dream” is about a young couple who gets engaged during their teens and plan to marry, but the man has to go off to war. The man gets killed in the war, and the female talks about how she always dreamed of walking down the aisle in a white dress for her wedding. But instead she is now walking down the aisle in a black dress for her fiancée’s funeral. It’s a great video with great lyrics and it touched many people’s lives, because of the so many people that lost their lives, and the many incomplete families. This song received very little negativity, and she received several awards and standing ovations after every performance.
Freedom of speech is very much a two way street, there are severe consequences if you speak what you think and it’s different from the norm. These consequences frighten many people, and many people think it’s best to keep to themselves. This is an unfortunate solution and really disregards all the rights and freedom we do have in this part of the world.
But it’s important to realize that the people that choose to not share their opinion or are careful on how they do, have every reason too. People have families, lives and need jobs and money to go on, and if we as a society attack those people like artists then less and less of them will produce creative opinionated work as they fear they will have no way to support themselves in the end.
Sources
[1] ‘Shut up and Sing” TV Documentary. 2006. Directed by Barbara Kopple, Cecilia Peck
[2] ‘Shut up and Sing” TV Documentary. 2006. Directed by Barbara Kopple, Cecilia Peck
[3] “Carrie Underwood Talks Hosting the CMAs, Idol and More!” Nov.12.2008. May 23, 2009
[4] “Carrie Underwood Talks Hosting the CMAs, Idol and More!” Nov.12.2008. May 23, 2009
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