Chris Rocks gets to the root in"Good Hair"
Kenya Vaughn /Special to the NNPA from The St. Louis American
Issue date: 10/11/09 Section: Cover
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But the actor/comedian/filmmaker/producer takes an idea inspired by his little girl and transforms her insecurity into a film that is as eye-opening as it is compelling.
"Daddy, why don't I have good hair?" Rock quoted his three-year-old daughter as the introductory credits roll. And so the film - and a historical overview of Black woman's love-hate hair relationship - begins.
Although it starts with the historical concept of texture, "Good Hair" quickly unravels into several aspects of the cosmetic practices that come with the territory of Black hair.
"Good Hair" goes from relaxers, the business of Black hair care, to weave - including the thoughts from the women who wear them and the men who hate, deal with or love them.
The candid film is an unlikely offering by Rock, but he makes the most of his wit as he enlists everyone from women considered to be the standard for Black beauty to ordinary Black women attempting to feel beautiful by any means necessary.
Rock presents a balanced and surprisingly extensive study of the ups and downs as Black women attempting to feel pretty from head to toe - starting with the head.
Video model Melyssa Ford; Black actresses Nia Long, Lauren London, Raven Simon, Salli Richardson-Whitfield; Black community heroes Dr. Maya Angelou and Rev. Al Sharpton, and rap group Salt-n-Pepa are among those who offer opinions that are blended together to discuss Black hair from every perspective.
Rock interviews women and men from all regions, age groups, walks of life, from esteemed to ordinary, getting perspectives and delivering laughs and "a ha!" moments along the way.
The topic of good hair has been an ongoing debate within the Black community for generations. A symbol of status for some, a source of resentment for others and the unattainable aspirations for those in between - like Rock's daughter.
But in an ingenious expansion of the concept, Rock goes beyond the surface of the age-old "good hair" vs. "happy to be nappy" debate.
What is probably most refreshing about the film is that "Good Hair" doesn't point any fingers or take sides.
The film manages to be radical and inspiring by successfully illustrating the fact that the elaborate (and, in some cases, unhealthy) hair practices are a symptom of the systematic inferiority complex imposed on black people for so long that somewhere along the way it was eventually embraced. It also exposes the lengths (pun intended) Black women impose upon themselves in an effort to camouflage and conform to Eurocentric standards for beauty.
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tigerlilly
posted 10/18/09 @ 7:53 PM EST
How does Kenya Vaughn writes an article stating that Chris Rock presents a balance in his documentary when he does not once speak with black women that wears their hair natural and proud of that fact or black natural salon who take care of natural hair. (Continued…)
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