Good Hair

Often, I will ridicule girls I know about their natural hair showing at the roots of their long, peroxide locks. But, as Chris Rock explores in ‘Good Hair’, it seems the mocking of a white woman’s vanity in the UK pales in comparison to the hair situation of Afro-American women.

               

‘Good Hair’ has grown to mean straight hair, and so chemical ‘relaxants’ and weaves have grown into a multibillion dollar industry in the US. Women, and some men, seem more than willing to put dangerous chemicals on their person, spending thousands of dollars; all in the name of vanity. And it is this financial aspect that is a large part of the focus for Rock.

Concentrating on how few of the companies supplying black hair products are black-owned, a sense of some modern day exploitation by white and Asian-owned businesses is created.

But sadly, this is not the real tragedy present. While touched upon, ‘Good Hair’ fails to fully explore as to why women go to such lengths to straighten their hair, rather than remain natural. Those spoken to are largely pro ‘good’ hair, and so provide a mainly one-sided argument, avoiding any politics they may arise.

From ‘Good Hair’, you would be forgiven for assuming that all women are driven by vanity, most doing what they do to be ‘normal’ rather than different. This is exemplified by Nia Long, a woman proudly discussing her weave, stating that ‘you have to work with what you’ve got.’ Before Rock interjects ‘or what you can weave in,’ showing the level of contradiction shown by those discussing the topic.

The lack of a counter argument here disappoints, but Rock is a comedian, not a social scientist, and so it is understandable that context and questions of identity are left out in exchange for entertainment the documentarian’s natural wit and charm.

While not answering any of society’s questions, ‘Good Hair’ certainly entertains and raises some interesting discussions, and it doesn’t require any chemical substances or someone else’s extensions to do so.