“Good Hair”

Ladies,

I have a confession to make. This evening, I did something that I said I would never do- I went to see “Good Hair,” the newish Chris Rock movie documentary comumentary (comedy masking itself as a documentary).

After I saw this trailer, I surmised that this film was not what it initially advertised itself to be (an informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking look into his why long, straight hair is considered “good” by many, particularly in the black community, which would help answer his daughter’s (and countless others’) question as to why her hair was not “good.” Instead, I got the distinct impression that the film would be more mocumentary (meaning, in this instance, a film mocking weave-wearing black women). So I decided that my $12.50 would be much better spent elsewhere. Then I heard a clip from a radio interview where Chris Rock was discussing the backlash the movie has received and he said that most people who were criticizing it, hadn’t even seen it. Fair enough, so I went to see it for the same reason I finally went to see a Tyler Perry film in the theaters- so that I can speak intelligently and factually about it. And here’s what I have to say.

Chris is a commedian…he might awant to stay in that lane. If I had paid to see this movie, I’d want my money back, but since I knew better, and I can’t retrieve the time spent watching it, I’ll take away an important lesson- trust your instincts. More specifically, I really disliked the wild and inaccurate generalizations made (by Chris) in the film, such as: you can’t (and better not) touch a black woman’s hair, black women are high maintenance because of the price of maintaining a weave, the cost of maintaining one may create some animosity between black women (who wear the weave) and black men (who help pay for it), black women’s hair (and its untouchability) may contribute to the breakdown in black relationships because it prevents black men from really getting close to black women and- my fav- may be a reason why black men are attracted to white women…because they can touch their hair and therefore, get closer to them….gtfoh with that.

Throughout the movie Chris seemed to imply that a) all black women wear weaves, b) reinforce every stereotype imaginable about black women and hair (i.e. they will pay to get their hair done with money they don’t have, they don’t swim or get it wet) without providing any counterbalance, c) that all black women have one texture of hair- nappy- and that if a black woman has long, straight hair, it’s a weave, d) natural hair doesn’t cost money to maintain; and he seemed to forget that d) that some women with natural hair also wear weaves, or hair extensions. Where was the nuance? Where were celebs like India Aire, Chilli from TLC, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott or Solange (although I think her hair cut was more recent) in this film? They weren’t.

And how do you have a movie about “good hair,” featuring only one celeb with natural hair and maybe a couple (literally 2) of other women with natural hair in the whole thing? I’ll tell you how…you can’t. That’s why the title, and the movie, is so fraudulent. The film was not about “good hair,” it was about weaves and the Bronner Bros. hair show. That’s what Chris really wanted to make a movie about all along and he should have kept it honest and stuck to that.

That said, I did learn a few things from watching the movie- 1) the circumstances under which Al Sharpton permed his hair (James Brown advised him to do so for cosmetic reasons before a visit to the Reagan White House to try to gain support for making Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a holiday) 2) Maya Angelou got her first perm at 70 ?!? Seriously. 3) Where a l ot of the human hair comes from- India- and the process by which weaves are made. That was extremely interesting. The rest, not so much. Sure, I had a couple of laughs (far fewer than most of my fellow movie-goers) but I was far from impressed. Don’t get me wrong,  I’m no natural hair fanatic. Yes, I do have natural hair and yes I have had a perm and a press. But, I also agree with what  Andre 3000 said, “Now question, is every nigga with dreads for the cause? Is every nigga with golds for the fall? Naw So don’t get caught in appearance.” And we shouldn’t.

However, Chris’ belief that telling his daughter that what’s in her head is more important that what’s on it is faulty because at the heart of her question was why she is not good enough, why her hair is not good enough, as is. (Btw, I wonder what his wife had to say to her daughter or about her own weave.) And this movie, sadly, will no more help her figure that out than the film will make any real difference.  But maybe it wasn’t supposed to. Maybe getting the conversation started was his contribution.

So, talk to me.