After watching this documentary I looked through some reviews to get a better idea of the intent of this work. In our class we talked about how documentaries can sometimes only exemplify one side. I believe this documentary did only look at one side of things. The review I read discussed how Chris Rock was great with mixing information and humor. I totally agree with this statement. The documentary was a joy to watch because of his humor. Nonetheless there was a point I did not agree with. This review says that the documentary shows a side that makes us feel bad for these women who go through so much to get "perfected" hair. I personally do not agree with this argument. I don't feel bad for these women particularly, I feel bad for all women. African American women make the choice to spend the money and time on their hair. Many Caucasian women do the same to feel better about themselves and I think the film could have expressed more about women in society in a general sense. Feeling bad about your hair or any other part of your body because of society is not just limited to African American women, it fits for all women. Therefore, as much as this documentary was hilarious and informative, it did not make me feel particularly bad for these women making their own choices with their own hair to feel better about themselves.
17 January 2012
Good Hair
The documentary that I took part in watching was Good Hair, a hilarious yet informative documentary by Chris Rock that focuses on African American women and how they feel about their hair. I never realized everything African American women truly go through just because of their hair. Through this documentary I learned that they have issues with feeling as though their hair isn't good enough by societies definitions. Because of feeling as though they do not fit up to societies standards, they go through crazy extremes. To avoid this feeling, these women spend thousands and thousands of dollars monthly on their hair to get it looking the way they want. One way women get their hair the way they like is by relaxing it. This is done chemically which is expensive and very unhealthy. They prefer to avoid the "bigness" of their hair because they think society prefers straight and sleek hair as oppose to curls.
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It's interesting and somewhat saddening that these women determine their self-worth based on how good their hair looks. Being male, my criticism may not have much weight, but beauty is perceived differently by everyone, thus everyone has a different idea of what "good hair" is. That said, I think that women (and men too) should just wear their hair the way they feel looks best, and disregard society's impractical standards of what's good hair and what's not.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you Kassie. I don't think anyone should feel bad for just these women. Every person has troubles, not just a specific group. Being a guy I might not really understand, but I believe you should do what you think is best, or look best. You should not care what other people think. It's your life, not theirs. '
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that it is really absurd, the amount of focus that is placed on an individual's hair, and often that it can determine whether someone is viewed as "attractive" or not. Hair is ever changing, and the styles change faster than hair even grows. I believe that everyone should honestly go through a point in their life with a completely shaved head, purely for the liberating feeling of not depending on your hair to determine how you look.
ReplyDeleteInteresting proposal, Rachel. The film does actually include a woman who has lost all of her hair because of a disorder. She's chosen not to wear a wig or cover her head as she strives to find beauty in what she really looks like. It's interesting that we tend to think of a decision like that as "brave."
ReplyDeleteGus and Patrick, I'd encourage you to consider how men are also influenced by the empire's expectations for how men should look--as Luke points out in a comment on another Good Hair post, men are pressured to be tall, strong, masculine, and according to the ads, they get there by driving the right truck, eating lots of meat, wearing the right shoes, drinking the right sports drink...basically, buy buying stuff. Both men and women have distorted expectations for each other because of these images, which have a powerful way of shaping our attractions.
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