Good Hair

"Good Hair" manages to both entertain and educate. As someone who has little interest in the culture of hair care among African Americans, I was intrigued by this film because it was written, narrated and executive produced by Chris Rock, a very intelligent, perceptive, and entertaining comedian. In addition, it examines the cultural aspects of the care and treatment of hair among black women as well as its importance as a mark of beauty. Black women endure the potential of physical injury from the chemicals used to straighten their hair, hours upon hours of treatment in order to achieve the precise look they desire, and costs well into the thousands—yes thousands—of dollars to purchase a weave. I was particularly fascinated by the bi-annual competition among hairdressers that take place at the industry trade shows—a combination of skill, spectacle, and outlandish creativity, these competitions must be seen to be believed.

...this was a missed opportunity. All the facts (most of which I was unaware of) are there, but the filmmakers step back from exploring many of questions raised: the importance of racial identity, economic oppression by other minorities/majorities, health risk of fashion, etc.

It would seem like Chris Rock would be the perfect individual to guide us through this movie, but he seems harnessed. And whether it's because the people in the frame with him are fragile and therefore undeserving of outrage or he's following someone else's script, it's surprising that the only rage expressed comes in the final few moments (by no one less than the "self-proclaimed inventor" of Jheri Curl), and it's such an over the top rant, that we laugh it off.

While there are a number of very appealing people throughout, we're told that people are damaging their health as well as their children's health, outlandish prices are paid by people who appear or say they can't afford it, foreign nationals are being exploited and shorn against their will to satisfy "looking like something you're not." I kept waiting for the anger to burst through, but there was only good natured joshing and giggles. (And a long section on touching the hair of black women that crosses over into sexism.)

I was more shocked by the lack of stance by the filmmakers than the practices of hair care in the African American community. But if you're not clued into the huge industry around these practices, give this movie a look, and then go tell someone who hasn't processed or "woven" their hair how beautiful they look. (Becauase they DO look beautiful without all this nonsense.)

While this is not the greatest movie ever or even the last word about (mainly) black women's hair, it's well worth seeing, and strikes a nice balance between being entertaining and informative. Chris Rock is basically learning as he goes, and he sort of functions as a surrogate for us viewers. It's definitely an Obama-era movie: whenever it starts to get critical, it backs off a little and is careful not to offend any group. His style of questioning can be a bit cheeky but he's always engaging. The film keeps focus on the creative/fashion side, rightly so, I think. If you're up for something different, interesting but certainly not heavy, I recommend it.

People are crazy, but some are crazier than others. We spend billions of dollars on pets, on sports, on cigarettes, booze and drugs, on video games, on movies and TV, all to fill our need for companionship, excitement, entertainment, to look good and to feel good. For some people, it's clothes. For others, it's the gym. For black women, it seems to be all about the hair. A good friend of mine adopted two little black girls. Being white herself, she keenly felt the scrutiny of black women, who judge other black women on how they keep their daughter's hair. She would drive three hours to a neighboring city and spend two nights in a motel with her daughters so that each could have a day to get their hair done with a specialist. My friend later paid $1,000 to learn how to do her daughters' hair, and now she does it professionally on the side. The hair money was better spent than the money spent on her law degree. But getting back to the movie, it's fascinating, and, like many movies about obsessions, somewhat sickening. Rock shows the lengths black women go to in order to have silky hair and the costs paid in dollars, pain, even lack of intimacy with their lovers. It's nuts, but that's what makes humans such interesting creatures. You won't believe your eyes when you see the wrestlemania-type, hair stylist smackdown which ends the movie. The subject may not be as universally relatable as chowing down on fast food, but it's just as good a documentary, and in its way, just as disturbing.

I enjoyed the movie Good Hair, because I felt it raised all of the issues regarding the African-American community and the thought process behind "good hair". This movie wasn't a preachy movie and introduced many concepts in a very subtle way ( the psyche of good hair, media images of black hair and acceptance/rejection of black hair in its natural state (the scene with high school girls, who tell the one girl with natural hair, she wouldn't be hired for a job and that she didn't look "together" was jarring.

I felt the film did a good job of covering who controls the economics behind black hair (hardly any blacks, mainly whites and Asians) and the staggering amount of revenue ($9 billion annually) in the industry, generated by people who own less than a percent of the industry. The film looked at everyday people who get weaves, and pay serious money (the lay-away plan was sad, funny, and ingenious at the same time) and the reason they feel weaves are necessary. Calling relaxers "creamy crack"was funny and alarming at the same time. The health risks, the thought of lye and the discussion of scalp burns was right on target.

The message regarding the impact of celebrity in our culture is so deep, that every day women will spend beyond their means to look like a Beyonce or Rhianna, though they don't have either of these women's financial means. The idea that straight "white" looking hair is equated with beauty and self worth was a undercurrent theme in this movie.

The male point of view is represented by the rich and famous (Andre Harrell, Paul Mooney) and the barbershop. No matter what a black man's economic status is, they all were catching the same type of hell regarding not being able to touch a woman's weaved head. Rev. Al Sharpton was the exception to this dilemma, but didn't mention the limitations of having relaxed hair. Yet he did point out hair shouldn't sabotage a black woman's economic situation, but often does. Money spent on a weave could be spend on education or a 401K plan instead. Black men also feel the economic pinch the weave provides, because they often have to provide money for weave upkeep and to keep their relationship.

The limitations of having a weave (no swimming, no touching the hair, can also be examined in the movie "Something New" which is also an examination of the weave culture in addition to interracial relationships between black women and white men. The question was posed do some black men deal with white women exclusively, because they can go swimming, and have their hair touched, opened up another can of worms. This movie can't explore all of the psyche behind the phrase "good hair" but does a good job of opening up the conversation.

One thing the movie does is make the audience look at the children who looked too young to be putting chemicals in their tender scalps,and who seemed to be indoctrinated with the message that their hair needed to be straight in order for them to be considered pretty. That was just sad, because the people sending them those messages were their own mothers,grandmothers, and society at large. As a black woman with relaxed hair, I really have to think about the ideology, society, and the culture that has influenced the choice I've made regarding the hair choice I am making. These women are making a choice, but if they knew of the insidious nature that feeds the beast, would they or I consider a different reality, which is our natural hair?