I watched "Shut Up & Sing" today and was wowed by the strength and courage that the Dixie Chicks showed in the face of adversity. If you are unfamiliar, the documentary details the point at which the Chicks' lead singer, Natalie Maines, spoke out on tour in London (2003) against the war, saying "I am ashamed that President Bush comes from Texas." And it ends when "Taking the Long Way" was released in 2006 featuring the song "I'm Not Ready to Make Nice."
The story of the subsequent firestorm over words in media and the country radio world includes the revelation of a death threat on Maines. I thought that the documentarians did a fantastic job of showing that The Dixie Chicks is a group of relatable women with families who were frustrated and dissatisfied with the direction that the administration took after 9/11. The backlash that took place and the fear and fight that they had in them was palpable because the film showed the women's intimate struggles and family relationships. If you haven't seen it yet, I would recommend it.
Now, unrelated...Normally I shy away from Oprah's book club selections because they tend to be very depressing and I feel that it's similar to watching Lifetime (which I hate) because even though they claim to be all about women power every female lead on in their programming is undergoing cancer treatment, raped, anorexic, divorced, or somehow battered by life. Yet something about The Pillars of the Earth struck me as interesting so I picked it up anyway and began to read.
Though the book is slightly over 950 pgs. and weighs more than a paperweight, it reads like a summer novel. The story hooked me right away when a poor man gets strung up in the village square and his wife and/or mother of his child looks upon him with terror and curses three men for his death. At that point, you want to know who the men are and why they might share such a terrrible fate but you will have to wait and learn about three or four core groups of characters whose interactions dictate the events of the novel and determine the weight of the curse. I would recommend this one to people want a little adventure, Medieval style.
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