The rare double-post

[rivkat]

Has anyone else seen Chris Rock's documentary Good Hair? I was fascinated, but frustrated that Rock wasn't a very good documentarian, often pushing his own interpretations on his subjects before they could get their own words out. He highlights the huge economic burden of hair extensions on black women, and the way in which they send wealth out of the African-American community even as hairdressing provides a source of wealth for some in the community. And the cross-cutting in the end between men and women on the subject of touching a black woman's hair, especially during sex, is really well done. But I felt that Rock ultimately individualized the problem--his position seemed to be that too many black women have been made to feel they have "bad" hair, and so they waste wealth and human connection, implying that resisting the brainwashing would enable them to reclaim those things. But earlier he'd shown a number of black women (including actresses) make the point that, economically, all this was an investment as well as an emotional matter.  The killer moment of the film for me was when one teenager, who had straightened hair, said to another "I wouldn't hire you" because the latter's natural style didn't look right for a law office. That's what a double bind is: "bad" hair costs money, and so does "good" hair. I love Rock's determination to support his daughter and not pass on those bad/good messages, but even more I want HR departments everywhere forced to view a big chunk of his film.

In other news, the OTW is having a membership drive. If you can, please support the Archive of Our Own and our other fan-run projects!

Comments

[kass]

I went to see this film shortly before Thanksgiving -- it was the last time my sweetie and I went out for dinner & a movie before the baby was born. The moment you identify (where the woman with straightened hair said she wouldn't hire the woman with natural hair) stood out for me, too...

Here Via The Network

[devilc]

I pretty much agree with your points and would like to add that, at a few times in the movie, straightened hair was described mostly by Asians (but IIRC by one Black person) as being/looking "more natural."

Yes. Really. Hair that is straightened with Lye/Hot Comb is "natural".

And these were candid, off the cuff, stream of consciousness remarks ... the implication that there's something unnatural (which is to say "wrong", "corrupted", "tainted" or "perverted") about the intrinsic qualities of African hair is, well, flabbergasting and even a little frightening.

Re: Here Via The Network

[rivkat]

It's so disheartening to see something like SyFy's treatment of Gwen from Merlin, too--the assumptions the writer made about her hair fit in exactly with everything in the film. Nature--as "relaxing" demonstrates--can often be changed a lot more easily than culture, because culture is the stuff we do and think automatically.

[ratcreature]

Arriving here via random network surfing, this reminds me a of a neat painting series an artist whose blog I subscribe to has been doing with portraits focusing on African hair.

[rivkat]

Thanks for the link!