If I had seen the actual preview
for the film before going to see it, I might have been prepared for
what I was about to see. But I didn't see the preview, which has a very
lighthearted, comedic edge. Going into the film, I had only read
bloggers' reviews and overheard conversations about the Oprah episode
and the backlash from women who where not pleased with the film. So I went in expecting too much, I think.
The documentary, Good Hair, was supposed to be a look into the black woman's quest for "good hair", but it should have been promoted as a look into everything you never thought you ever wanted to know about The Annual Bronner Brothers Hair Show, with a few segments about chemical relaxers and the hair weave industry in India. It's a good documentary for what it is--a Chris Rock comedy. Not sure I agree with the rave reviews. After watching it, I'm just annoyed. I guess you can visit a couple of hair salons in a couple of cities and interview a few Hollywood actresses and claim to have lifted the veil of mystery behind back women and their hair issues. Whatever, if that's what you want to claim--free country and all that, but it's just annoying.
There is so much talk in the film about black women being high-maintenance because of their weaves and nobody in the film ever disagrees! What defines high-maintenance in the film can apply to any woman who wears artificial hair, which, for the record, is not just black women. At one point, inevitably, the conversation in the film turns to black women vs. white women, and again, I was just annoyed. So black women are high-maintenance and lack intimacy with black men because they won't go swimming or let their man run his fingers through their hair during sex. These are things that non-black, apparently do. Really. Really? I submit, Your Honor, that any man would be hard-pressed to find any woman of any race who would spend hours in a hair salon getting a blowout, and weave, or a flat iron taken to her curls or whatever and then turn around and go swimming, or running in the rain, let somebody rub their hands through their hair, or do any of the things that black women are accused of not doing because they are quote-unquote high-maintenance. <--I don't know why I just wrote out "quote-unquote" instead of just putting quotes, but I'm going to leave it in there because it tickles me.
On a lighter note, I enjoyed Ice-T's Pimpology 101. He dropped knowledge on the different levels of gangsta for pimps as it relates to the size and color of roller sets worm out in public. Mhm. He was serious.
I'm black and have a lot of black women in my family, and know a lot of black women in general. One maybe two of them wear weaves. So I couldn't really relate to the Hollywood actresses who live in weaves and the regular women who put thousand dollar weaves on layaway. Mhm. I said layaway. I get that Chris Rock couldn't go too deep into the why's of chemical relaxers among black women, but didn't expect the surface to be skimmed so hard. Yes, the film started a conversation, but if the conversation is based on what is in the documentary, which unfortunately for many non-black folk will serve as Black Women and Their Hair 101, it is an uninformed conversation.
Um...It was Chris Rock. He's smart and all, but he's a comedian. Did you really have high expectations?
As someone whose hair is generally available for touching (except for the tightness immediately following a twist but it passes quickly), I don't understand relaxers and weaves and whatnot. I don't even know why I used to have relaxers and braids (fake hair in my natural hair), but I'm glad I got over it. It has saved me thousands of dollars. At the same time, if folks can afford it, it's their heads. I just wish they'd stop relaxing little girls' hair and let them decide when they are adults what they want to do.
I can understand your frustration with the essentialist nature of the film and the one-sidedness considering the fact that this may, as you say, be Black Hair 101 for non-blacks.
I haven't seen the film yet, but I sat in on a class where body image came up. I pointed out that black women have demonstrated persistent (but weakening) resistance to body image pressures over the centuries, except for hair. Someone immediately tossed in "the Chris Rock film" as support. That makes me a little nervous.
Posted by: Adriane | October 26, 2009 at 03:37 PM
Very well said. I'm not a Chris Rock fan and have no comment but I guess I will say this-I had no expectations considering it was a film by him. It's just Chris being Chris and I'm not impressed.
Posted by: Dee@CWM | October 27, 2009 at 01:33 PM
Yes, you guys, I went in with expectations. Kicking myself.
There's was a nice discussion in the comments about this post on my Facebook Fan page! Check it.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/HomeGirl/136278074758
Posted by: Quel | October 30, 2009 at 10:33 PM
I just saw it and wished he would've talked to MORE natural women to have a healthy balance and a different viewpoint. I did learn a lot though. Glad I'm natural. There's NO WAY I'm paying over $1,000 for some hair!!
Posted by: Jennifer | October 31, 2009 at 11:34 PM