Black Movie Review: Good Hair
What is good hair exactly? Comedian Chris Rock embarks on a journey to get to the root of it all. Interviewing pioneers in the black hair care industry, celebrities, social activists and dermatologists, Chris Rock leaves no stone unturned in order to answer this puzzling question in the documentary Good Hair. His light hearted approach to a sensitive subject is both entertaining and educational.
From hairstylists competing at the Hair Battle Royale sponsored by Bronner Bros. International Hair Show in Atlanta, Georgia, to the hefty prices women will pay their local hairstylist for top quality human hair for weaves and extensions, Good Hair examines our obsession with hair.
Interested in where all this hair actually comes from, Rock flies to India to observe the supply chain first hand. His trip takes him to a Hindu temple where he witnesses women tonsuring (a religious ceremony where women cut their hair and sacrifice it to God), followed by a one-to-one conversation with hair dealers making large profits trading in hair and back to the shops in Los Angeles “the weave capital of the world.”
Good Hair isn’t just about the superficial aspect of hair, it also looks into the psychological motivations behind relaxing hair and the economic repercussions for spending millions of dollars in an industry dominated by Chinese, Korean and Indian businesses, which Rev. Al Sharpton calls “economic retardation.” The documentary includes firsthand accounts from women and men about how hair is influential even in a woman’s personal life as it can create intimacy issues.
Interior designer Sheila Bridges, who appears in the film, suffers from alopecia and chooses not to wear a wig because she ‘never wanted to feel like [she] was hiding something’ made this observation ‘Hair is so important because our self-esteem is wrapped up in it. It’s like a type of currency even though those standards are completely unrealistic and unattainable, especially for black women.’ Like many aspects of African American culture, hair perceptions and hair care practices stem from a complex historical legacy. With external pressures to look a certain way and embody unrealistic beauty standards, Good Hair is a documentary that sparks discussion without playing the blame game.
Ultimately, as rapper Ice-T puts it “If a woman ain’t happy with herself, she’s going to bring nothing but pain to every [EXPLETIVE]body around her.”
Good Hair is released in cinemas on 25 June.
