Good Hair

I recently watched the documentary Good Hair to review for my media class.  I really enjoyed it and I wrote up a review on it, so please, read on.


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