When the daughter of the popular African American comedian Chris Rock asks him why she does not have “good hair,” he decides to go on a mission. What exactly is “good hair” in the African American community? Why is it so important for black women to have it? What extremes will people go to to get “good hair”? These questions are answered throughout Chris Rock’s documentary Good Hair. This hilarious and well-made interactive documentary shows viewers a whole new side of hair. Once the documentary begins, the viewer quickly realizes that Rock is not just examining black women’s hair styles, but issues of race, beauty, and self-image. Black women want straight and flowing hair, or “white” hair. He examines the different hair styles of black women, the costs and the talents needed to make them, and the forces behind the pressure to have “good hair.” Rock looks at this issue with a wry sense of humor, making difficult topics funny and easy to discuss.
The movie’s main character is Chris Rock, himself. He interviews African American celebrities,
community leaders like Maya Angelou and Al Sharpton, and various women in
beauty salons and men in barber shops, asking them about black women’s hair
styles. The celebrities say that the
media pressures them and other women into having straighter, more flowing and
more “beautiful” hair. A group of
students say that they feel the natural “nappy” hair would be unacceptable and
out of place in a professional office.
The women in beauty salons say it is just something that everyone does
and everyone should do. Interestingly,
black men in the barber shops do not seem to care about the women’s hair, but
are confused by the price and commitment it requires.
The movie’s plot follows the methods of the black hair care industry and various ways in which African Americans style their hair to try to make it conform with what they see in magazines.
Rock first looks at chemical relaxer, which makes hair
temporarily straight. Going to a science
lab, Rock learns that relaxer is made of an extremely poisonous chemical,
sodium hydroxide, which can be blinding and burn the scalp. Despite the pain it causes, women endure it.
Rock then looks at weaves, a method of sewing other
people’s hair into pre-existing hair.
The entire process can take up to six hours and cost upward of $1,000. Hair weaves are typically made from Indian
hair. The hair is shaved off the heads
of Indian women in a religious ceremony called Tensure. There is even a hair black market.
Interspersed through the movie, Rock follows an event
called the Bronner Brothers’ annual hair
competition in Atlanta, Georgia. This trade
show has hundreds of vendors selling various African American hair care
products and features four competitors who each have 15 minutes to do a
performance in which they style hair in a unique way. This shows the money side of the
industry. The movie contends that there
are only one or two black owned black hair care companies. The others are owned by Koreans and Chinese.
The
footage was shot on interview sets, in beauty salons, at the competition in
Atlanta, and in India, where Rock goes to learn about the source of weaves. The shots focus on both the people’s faces,
as well as their hair, or what they are doing to someone else’s hair. This helps to give perspective to the viewer
and makes the viewer care more about what is happening.
Because
of the filming locations, there are usually a lot of people in the shots at
once. This makes the movie very loud and
energetic. The diegetic sounds on busy
streets and at the hair competition is very prominent. The tone of the documentary is also very dynamic. Rock has an upbeat personality and is always
cracking jokes. The music is always very
lively and the film is shot under high-key lighting, making the atmosphere seem
light and positive.
There
are both strengths and weaknesses in Good Hair, mostly strengths
though. Rock tries hard, and succeeds,
at making the documentary funny and engaging.
He also helps the viewer think about serious issues of race and beauty
in a light way that one may. The
weaknesses are that sometimes the number of people on the set and the filming
location make it difficult to hear what the people are saying – whether it have
been because of the excessive background noise, people talking at the same
time, or people talking too loudly or too quietly. Another weakness I found is Rocks treatment
of some of the issues is cursory.
The
ideas of conformity and what it means to be beautiful are displayed well in
this film. It allows the viewer to see
the lengths some people will go to to fit in or be perceived in a certain
way. This movie is definitely worth
seeing. Its lively and light tone helps
Rock get across a serious message about beauty.
Here is the trailer to Good Hair
Good Hair, PG-13, 96 minutes, Chris Rock, 2009
