Good Hair: Review

Good Hair
Directed by Jeff Stilson
Produced, Narrated and Generally Made Funny by Chris Rock

I saw this movie right after Crude, and you feel like you see nearly as much toxic goo in this movie as in the former.

Chris Rock takes us through the lucrative hair industry, and how remarkably important it is within the African-American (and I assume Canadian) community. What makes Rock’s story even more interesting is the dilemma of his little girls’ desire to have “good hair” and how he knows he will have to face this battle soon enough.

Rock interviews celebrities, politicians and “normal” people alike, and they all have the same passion for hair that’s not nappy, not natural, and looks European, or at the least, Indian.

Rock even goes to India to see the religious ceremony that produces much of the hair used in extensions. It turns out that India is the world’s largest exporter of hair and indeed, hair is a multi-billion dollar industry in India.

What’s frustrating to Rock and to many in the African-American community is that the vast majority of hair products made for African-Americans are not owned by said community. Like so many industries, they are controlled by Asian powers.

What makes Good Hair an interesting, enjoyable, and funny film is that Rock tackles subjects like foreign ownership with biting humour and exasperation.

His main focus, however, is on the desire of the people of his community (mostly, but not all, women) to have hair that doesn’t look black. He seems amazed, and sometimes a little angry, that very few of these people want to grow their hair naturally. And that, from a very young age (there’s a 4 year old getting a perm) Africa-American girls want to have their hair straightened. To do this, they endure a great amount of pain, placing dangerously toxic chemicals on their heads to take out the curl.

The film is funny, but still asks some tough questions about the lengths we can go to achieve “ideal” beauty.

Point of interest: At one point, the film discusses hair extensions that are so intricately weaved into the woman’s hair that you can’t tell by looking at it that it’s not their own hair; however, you also can’t touch the hair or it’s ruined. The ultimate in vanity, “doesn’t this look good? —don’t fucking touch it.”