Oppression of the Crowning Glory!. Review on Good Hair Movie

Good Hair (2009)

My first introduction to this documentary was through the Oprah Winfrey show last year in September, when Chris Rock (the narrator) was being interviewed by a visibly uncomfortable and defensive Oprah Winfrey. I thought..hmmm...if the great Oprah can be so discomfitted by what this documentary has to say, I have to watch it...and boy, was I glad I did. Read on to know what it is about.

Director: Jeff Stilson (written material for the Oscars, Da Ali G show etc)

Cast (all playing themselves): Chris Rock, Maya Angelou, Nia Long, Rev Al Sharpton, Ice T, Eve

Plot:

Chris Rock (narrator and the main thread through the docu feature) embarks on the quest to understand African-American hairstyles when his 5 year old daughter takes issue with her "nappy" hair and asks her father, "Daddy, why dont I have good hair"? So he goes about interviewing people from the African- Amercian community, regular people and celebrities, about their hair. Its a given that African-American hair is different from other kinds of hair. Yet, we see a lot of people from their community with straightened hair, and a style that fits in with the norm. The "Afro" hairstyle from the 70's is a thing of the past. Nowadays almost all the black celebrities we see on television have hair pretty much like ours (or is it indeed our hair?!)

Getting back to the journey Chris Rock takes,( to answer his daughters question), his quest takes him from beauty parlours all over America, to Hollywood and its black celebrities, to a hair styling competition in Atlanta, to Chennai (why Chennai you ask?), to Thirupati (ah, you are catching on I think!), to a scientists laboratory, and ultimately back to the roots of the docu feature...the everyday african-american man,woman, child on the street. Watch this fascinating documentary to see what Chris Rock uncovers.

My Take:

Captivating, intelligent, and undeniably humourous...that is my take on "Good Hair". Even before watching it, I assumed it would be entertaining...how could it not be, with Chris Rock at the helm! But what caught me off guard was how thought provoking it was. On the surface the documentary looks at the lengths African- American women (and men) go to have their hair looking "good" (i.e. like everyone else's!). At a deeper level, it examines how centuries of racism STILL affects the psyche of the African Amercian individual. Having "good hair" is very much a symbol of oppression continuing from centuries past till this day. Not unlike the obsession we Indians have with a fair complexion, and how we feel pressured to buy into the "fair and lovely" and skin lighter in a week propoganda!

"Good Hair" is also incredibly informative. Have you ever thought of the number of chemicals we put in our hair when we use "products"? It also looks at the market there is with regards to hair products, and what a prosperous business it is. The irony is that where the black consumer is shelling out millions in order to get this hair, there are very few black entrepreneurs who have tapped into the market. So who profits from this big industry? That is one of the questions raised and answered.

After watching the documentary, I realised why Good Hair has been involved in so much controversy, and why Oprah Winfrey seemed so defensive. It really puts the African-American people in a vulnerable position, especially the celebrities that we see on a daily basis on television. If Oprah thought it necessary to ANNOUNCE on HER show that all of her hair was her own, you can perhaps estimate how powerful a documentary it is. That is my only concern about this documentary..that it might hurt the sentiments of a community, because it unmasks vulnerabilities.

Still, my verdict is...watch "Good Hair", be educated, and form your own opinion :)