... the other Black experience
Good Hair: HBO documentary w/ Chris Rock & Nelson George
I am anxious to see this: the picture reminded me of various scalp and hairline chemical burns and how it feels to have the blowdryer and hairbrush and bonnet dryer on those. Ouch!
From the rockandrap@aol.com email newsletter:
Good Hair
(Documentary) An HBO Films presentation of a Zahrlo production, an Urban Romances production. Produced by Chris Rock, Kevin O’Donnell, Jenny Hunter. Executive producer, Nelson George. Directed by Jeff Stilson. Written by Chris Rock, Stilson, Lance Crouther, Chuck Sklar.
With: Chris Rock, Maya Angelou, Warren Berry, Eric Bias, Sheila Bridges, Marvet Britto, A’Lelia Bundles, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Elgin Charles, Rhonda Cowan, Joe Dudley, Eunice Dudley, Eve, Veronica Forbes, Melyssa Ford, Meagan Good, Vijay Madupali Gupta, Andre Harrell, Ice-T, Sarah Jones, Scott Julion, KRS-One, Lauren London, Nia Long, Melanye MacLin-Carroll, Jailyn Minor, Paul Mooney, Willie Morrow, Valerie Price, Salli Richardson, Salt-n-Pepa, Al Sharpton, Raven Symone, Tracie Thoms, T-Pain.
By JUSTIN CHANG
Proving that no subject is too thin to yield a good documentary, "Good Hair" is a raucous and rigorous inquiry into the subject of African-American hair -- the stigmas, the secrets, the shocking price of maintenance -- that gets at universal but rarely discussed truths about black femininity. Chris Rock is in typically sharp but unusually sensitive form in this fresh, funny and altogether fascinating HBO project, which could prove a mildly provocative crowd-pleaser in theatrical release. Black audiences will wig out, but pic should also gel with viewers who have never even heard of a relaxer.
Rock set out to make the film in response to a question from one of his two young daughters -- "Daddy, how come I don't have good hair?" -- only to find that she's hardly the first one to pose the question. Working with comedian and first-time director Jeff Stilson (a scribe and co-producer on HBO's "The Chris Rock Show"), Rock interviews multiple subjects in an attempt to get to the root of the matter: the burden of being born with hair that, in its natural state, is considered "nappy" and unattractive by society at large.
Celebrities ranging from actresses Nia Long, Tracie Thoms and Raven Symone to writer Maya Angelou speak with remarkable candor about their hair and their willingness (or unwillingness) to conform to American standards of beauty. For legions of women, the use of a relaxer -- a thick lotion that straightens the natural curls -- is a major rite of passage, but also a potentially harmful one, a chemist explains, as relaxers contain a fair amount of scalp-burning, follicle-damaging sodium hydroxide.
Less dangerous but much more expensive is the weave -- the braiding of extensions into one's hair -- which can cost as much as $1,000. This fact provokes Rock to query his distaff subjects on all kinds of delicate hair-related issues: the degree to which a black woman views her hair as a major investment; her expectations that her significant other will fund her hair care; her sensitivity about having her hair touched, even as a sign of intimacy. Some of the answers are surprising, even revelatory.
It's telling that, with the exception of the Rev. Al Sharpton, who proudly flaunts his perm, Rock's subjects acknowledge that hair vanity is an almost exclusively female attribute. But to the comedian's credit, he doesn't let the guys off the hook, either, and an uproarious series of interviews with black male patrons at a barbershop brings the docu's battle-of-the-sexes subtext to the fore. There's something of a barbershop quality to "Good Hair," in the way Rock creates a lively public forum for people to riff with delightful frankness on subjects that seem more taboo than they should be.
Who knew hair could be such an inexhaustibly fertile topic? Rock visits the Atlanta-based Dudley family's hair-products empire, one of the foundations of the $9 billion black-hair-care industry. He jets to India, where Hindu women shave their heads as a form of sacrifice, only to have their shorn locks shipped overseas and turned into extensions for weave-hungry women.
He also spends a lot of time at the Bronner Bros. Intl. Hair Show, an annual hair-care convention in Atlanta. These segments, which bookend the pic, are a bit overextended, but an outrageous contest, pitting four leading stylists of black hair against each other, must be seen to be believed.
Camera (color, HD-to-35mm), Cliff Charles; editors, Paul Marchand, Greg Nash; music, Marcus Miller; music supervisor, P.J. Bloom; sound (Dolby Digital), Michael Haines, Brett Lofthus, Michael Prichard, Adam Jones, Don McCampbell, Desiree Ortiz, Brandt Clark, Glen Kantziper, Subramanian, James Machowski, Dave McJunkin; associate producer, Doug Miller. Reviewed at Sundance Film Festival (competing), Jan. 18, 2009. Running time: 95 MIN.
---Variety [Posted: Tue., Jan. 20, 2009, 12:54pm PT]
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by LesYpersound on -
"Who knew hair could be such an inexhaustibly fertile topic?"
any and pretty much all black ppl? :p
yeah read about it earlier today. it was entered into sundance... glad it'll be released on HBO soonish.
i wonder how much time they'll spend on women who choose to go natural and the transitioning.
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Permalink Reply by Matthew on -
I saw this just before Christmas, really enjoyed it. Nelson is actually an AP member.
Matthew
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Permalink Reply by V on -
I want to see this.
Very interesting topic....
P.S. That interviewer should be slapped. He seemed to not know wtf he was talking about....ugh *rolls eyes*
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Permalink Reply by Dumeha Vernice on -
I can't wait to see this documentary. There is so much wrapped into and up with black women and our hair. I am so glad it is being examined from black father's perspective and that he is actually following the money - who is making it!
Black women face a particular challenge regarding our identity and our relationship with our beauty - we have been informed to reject rather than embrace who we are and how we look - constantly comparing oursleves to other standards and principles. I saw a bunch of black women on the Tyra Banks Show who routinely bleach their skin and their children's skin! I was traumatized that the deepth of our self-rejection could reach such health treatening proportions.
Anyway I can go on and on about this ... so glad Chris Rock has brought this issue up via this vehicle to ignate dialogue.
Matthew said:I saw this just before Christmas, really enjoyed it. Nelson is actually an AP member.
Matthew
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Permalink Reply by Dumeha Vernice on
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Thanks 4 this post. Indeed informative. Buying & seeking Kizure products and all other black owned hair care products. Question I'm about to get my hair braided again. Anybody know of any places in Brooklyn that have extention hair that is black owned and/or a black owned store????
CaliforniaAfrican said:Ibrotha, thank you for the YouTube post. Here's part 2. Very informative!!
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Permalink Reply by Nadira_Akila on -
Hi Rosie!!!!!! I really want to see this documentary. It never ceases to amaze me what us as women not just women of color have gone through to get hair deemed "acceptable".
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Permalink Reply by Rosenda on -
GRRRRL tell me about it. How you been dear. Mwah Mwah Mwah kiss kiss hug hug pinch pinch bear hug! I missed you!!
You know, about the whole black women's hair thing: the biggest bar to more of us doing the natural hair thing is SUPPORT SYSTEM and EDUCATION and natural hair product AVAILABILITY.
I could blindfold myself and walk in any direction in practically any neighborhood where black people live in Los Angeles County and within a mile I will easily find hair salon that WILL be able to professionally straighten my hair either chemically or with extreme heat. Inside that hair salon would be at least 2-8 trained hairdressers to not only style my hair but give me style suggestions, info on how to care for the straightened hair, etc etc. I could also within that same mile easily find TONS of hair products designed for use with straightened hair or straight hair period.
But go natural hair and it will take you a LOT longer and a LOT farther to find even one or two stylists who are trained in styling and caring for natural hair and that have style ideas for you and info on how to care for your natural hair at home.
You will also have to go a LOT farther, if anywhere, to find more than 3 or 4 brands, if they carry any, of hair products made to use with natural black woman's hair. It's a little better but not nearly as fair as the support system and ease of product placement for straightened hair.
Your best bet is to go online and do your research and get information and buy your products. But even then, if you want a local stylist to do something other than braids and one or two types of twists, you gotta really look long and hard.
You'll find more info just stopping a natural hair sista on the street in any neighborhood and ASKING HER for info and suggestions. That just ain't right, you know?
Nadira_Akila said:Hi Rosie!!!!!! I really want to see this documentary. It never ceases to amaze me what us as women not just women of color have gone through to get hair deemed "acceptable".
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Permalink Reply by nubiankey on -
Hey Ro and Nadira!
I am looking forward to this. My sister used to spend big money every week to get her relaxed hair taken care of. She didn't even own shampoo or conditioner because she went every week. She went natural over the summer and still goes but maybe once or twice a month now. I went to her beautician a couple of times and spent 75-90 bucks to get my hair did back in the day when I had a relaxer. I've been natural since 05. I hate to see how much it would be now!
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Permalink Reply by Junie on -
oh i want to see this...it seems so intense...his little girl asked him..."Daddy, how come I don't have good hair?"...to me there's so such thing as good hair...but for a little girl to ask something like that, makes you wonder, "damn is this really how beauty is portrayed...the good...the bad..."...sad
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Permalink Reply by Christopher Irving on -
I REALLLY WANT TO SEE THIS DOCUMENTARY!!! And I want to share this with some of my female family members who are indeed bonafied hair stylists!
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