Movie: Good Hair

[Lebiya]

Chuckles to those who say the movie wasn't demeaning or offensive. I personally was embarrased and offended. Black women do not even seem to realize that we are being CLOWNED. HARD. We don't even know that we look like fools for doing the stuff we do to our hair just for the sake of not having "nappy" (our own) hair.

It's kind of like when someone makes a cruel joke about another person, and that other person laughs and hollers along with everyone else but doesn't actually realize that they are the butt of the joke.

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

..Its kinda like were use to it. I just hear don the radio tonight that It's coming Toronto soon and I'm NOT looking forward to it at all!!

 

[LoveisYou]

$1,000 on weave? The average black woman isn't paying that.

- messed up edges, but "proud" of long hair....give me a break
-not touching hair during sex? - umm.....is that typical? or only when you just got it done?
-$1,000 for that crappy hair that woman was selling at her salon? RIDICULOUS
-The teenagers "oh your fro is cute and all but..." - um there are other ways to wear natural hair, she doesn't have to roll up at the office with a fro
Her (natural teenager's) hair looked the healthiest of the group

 

[winnettag]

I guess I have to wait for it to come out on DVD because the nearest thater playing it is 70 miles away. erplexed I guess there are more black people in Irvine than San Diego

 

[beans4reezy]

Chuckles to those who say the movie wasn't demeaning or offensive. I personally was embarrased and offended. Black women do not even seem to realize that we are being CLOWNED. HARD. We don't even know that we look like fools for doing the stuff we do to our hair just for the sake of not having "nappy" (our own) hair.

It's kind of like when someone makes a cruel joke about another person, and that other person laughs and hollers along with everyone else but doesn't actually realize that they are the butt of the joke.

Jennboo, I think you put it perfectly here.

 

[Lucky's Mom]

I saw it tonight, and my original opinion still stands: there was nothing new in this movie. I didn't learn a single thing. My SO learned a lot, though, so that's good.

What irritated me was that there were absolutely NO solutions presented. His main focus seemed to be complaining about the crazy amount of money we spend on our hair.

I only saw two naturals in the film, and I didn't particularly care for their hair. If Chris cares enough to spend almost 2 hours complaining about relaxers and weaves, why not show the alternative? Why not show any of the thousands of black women with healthy, long hair?

The sodium hydroxide bit felt dishonest...I didn't really understand what that had to do with hair.

The jokes at black women's expense really irritated me, too. We don't have enough positive images in the media, so all the jokes felt really low to me...it was just piling on all of the negative messages about black women.

The only good parts were Al Sharpton, the Bronner Bros. hair show (I loved seeing it!), and Nia Long's makeup. Her makeup looked really natural and pretty.

Wow!! I am surprized at the critical posts here!! I thought the movie was GREAT. Documentary films do not give you answers. They help you to think of more questions.

Anyway - to respond to your post:

what solutions were you supposed to get from Chris Rock???

why would he show naturals??? 75% of Black women have relaxers.....I don't think he was complaining.. He was exposing.

Lye - and its chemical process - is - just that. Caustic. Not dishonest. Lye, along with calming oil and conditioners.... Still will BURN Your A$$ if it is on too long. Most women here have suffered from this.

Good lord, we need to laugh at ourselves.

The Bonner Bros Show, IMO - is exactly why people laugh at us.

 

[Lucky's Mom]

Chuckles to those who say the movie wasn't demeaning or offensive. I personally was embarrased and offended. Black women do not even seem to realize that we are being CLOWNED. HARD. We don't even know that we look like fools for doing the stuff we do to our hair just for the sake of not having "nappy" (our own) hair.

It's kind of like when someone makes a cruel joke about another person, and that other person laughs and hollers along with everyone else but doesn't actually realize that they are the butt of the joke.

Isn't that the point??? 75% of Black women do not have natural hair......
And most of them would not be caught DEAD with a Napp....Even though - it grows that way out of your head. The whole concept is ludicous!!!! that is what he is showing!!!!! We are the Brunt of the EUROCENTRIC JOKE!!!!!


Like the actress said in the movie - Some how growing your own hair - that is revolutionary, or not so good.

Most of the people we know would NOT be caught dead without STRAIGHT hair.

that is why I don't understand the bash on this film. People are buying relaxers all day every day.... even on this board.

 

[beans4reezy]

what solutions were you supposed to get from Chris Rock???

The same way Chris Rock went out of his way to find these chicks who spend excessive amounts of money on weaving their hair, is the same way he could have gone out of his way to find representations of black women with long, healthy hair. I, along with other critics of his documentary, just want to see another side of Black Hair care represented, that's all. There may not be MANY Black women with BSL/MBL/WL hair who acheived this through healthy hair care practices, but the few that are out there, had every bit a right to be represented as well.


You may have enjoyed the documentary, that's great, but yes, I felt there was an opportunity for educating here that was missed.

I am all for a good laugh , but not at my expense.

 

[laurend]

The same way Chris Rock went out of his way to find these chicks who spend excessive amounts of money on weaving their hair, is the same way he could have gone out of his way to find representations of black women with long, healthy hair. I, along with other critics of his documentary, just want to see another side of Black Hair care represented, that's all. There may not be MANY Black women with BSL/MBL/WL hair who acheived this through healthy hair care practices, but the few that are out there, had every bit a right to be represented as well.


You may have enjoyed the documentary, that's great, but yes, I felt there was an opportunity for educating here that was missed.

I am all for a good laugh , but not at my expense.

Maybe Chris Rock doesn't know that we exist especially if he is surrounded by weaves 24/7. I can see naturals but longhaired AA women, nah.

 

[beans4reezy]

Maybe Chris Rock doesn't know that we exist especially if he is surrounded by weaves 24/7. I can see naturals but longhaired AA women, nah.

Thanks Laurend, that thought occured to me too ...but even a very basic internet search would have steered him here or to any other black hair care forum from which he could see another side.

 

[anon123]

Actually, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I even enjoyed it. Though I agree with a lot of the other comments here but don't feel like listing them. The main disappointments were his making black women seem like the only enforcers of the straight hair love while black men were victims of black women's obsession. Also that he didn't really say how it came about that we have this straight hair obsession. I also wish there could have been more naturals voiced. And there were a few moments that got the rolling eye smiley.

But other than that, I really don't think it was clowning black women. I think a lot of the opinions voiced were mainstream. They were not responses scripted by him, they were responses recorded by him. And they seemed honest. I thought the scene where he tried to sell black people's hair was poignant. I think it got the point across when he interviewed the Asian store owner and his black female asst about why they didn't want to buy black hair.

 

[jamaraa]

Actually, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I even enjoyed it. Though I agree with a lot of the other comments here but don't feel like listing them. The main disappointments were his making black women seem like the only enforcers of the straight hair love while black men were victims of black women's obsession. Also that he didn't really say how it came about that we have this straight hair obsession. I also wish there could have been more naturals voiced. And there were a few moments that got the rolling eye smiley.

But other than that, I really don't think it was clowning black women. I think a lot of the opinions voiced were mainstream. They were not responses scripted by him, they were responses recorded by him. And they seemed honest. I thought the scene where he tried to sell black people's hair was poignant. I think it got the point across when he interviewed the Asian store owner and his black female asst about why they didn't want to buy black hair.

Interesting he asked this. Did he also mention that in the Victorian era BW's hair was bought by WW to prop up pompadours?

 

[anon123]

Interesting he asked this. Did he also mention that in the Victorian era BW's hair was bought by WW to prop up pompadours?

No, he didn't. I didn't know that. No, he didn't look at anything before any currently alive person's lifetime. Really not much before the jheri curl.

 

[nathansgirl1908]

I just saw it this evening. It was good. I felt pleased. I was concerned that Chris was making a mockery out of Black women with their hair care practices, but I don't think so now.

However, I was most annoyed when my suspicions about Asians in the hair market were confirmed. When they stated that the Koreans won't sell to AA retailers...

I suspected something like this was going on, but to have it confirmed was another thing entirely. At that point I can't lie, I really desired that every Black woman who wears weave would boycott for a long enough period of time to make a difference. It makes absolutely no sense that these people are raking in billions of dollars from the pockets of Black women, but because they know how profitable it is, they refuse to sell to AA retailers. They need to be stopped.

Also, after seeing the effect of the chemicals on the soda can, I am SO happy that I decided to go natural.

Loved watching the battle of the stylists though. Thought Jason should have won. And I loved how Jason's clients had such healthy looking hair.

Finally, I was perplexed at how the stylist with the purple hair was starting her weave at $1,000 when it looked like that. It was matted and tangled and dry looking. WTF

 

[nathansgirl1908]

-The teenagers "oh your fro is cute and all but..." - um there are other ways to wear natural hair, she doesn't have to roll up at the office with a fro
Her (natural teenager's) hair looked the healthiest of the group

Okay I was annoyed by that scene. And I was waiting for her to say something in rebuttal. You are right...her hair looked the healthiest.

 

[nathansgirl1908]

And Jason the white hairdresser, the only reason he did not win was because the judges at the hair show especially with the film crew did not want to reinforce the stereotypes that white people can style our hair better than the black man even the white man has perfected how to do a black woman's hair and many black women and our black hairdressers still do not. Sad!!!!!!

Thanks for saying this. I see I'm not the only one who felt this way.

I personally liked him the best. Didn't really like what Derek had to offer at the show.

The thing that I found interesting was that Jason's clients were the ones who had the most healthy looking hair. The other stylists had clients whose hair looked damaged or something.

 

[JFemme]

I'm finally taking my tail to see it the morning...

 

[ladysaraii]

It really bothered me when those girls told the one natural girl that if they were hiring people they wouldnt hire her due to her hair. The Natural girl looked a little saddened to me after hearing that. I hope she stays strong and keeps her hair as is. I guess since I'm transitioning I am kinda sensitive about things like this.

That broke my heart, you could see her face falling fast.

But surprisingly, I enjoyed all of the comments from IceT!

He was very funny and honest!

$1,000 on weave? The average black woman isn't paying that.

-$1,000 for that crappy hair that woman was selling at her salon? RIDICULOUS

I need to be her b/c she must be rolling in it, but her customers were dumb to pay that much, esp for the HAM pieces I saw

I thought the scene where he tried to sell black people's hair was poignant. I think it got the point across when he interviewed the Asian store owner and his black female asst about why they didn't want to buy black hair.

yes

I just saw it this evening. It was good. I felt pleased. I was concerned that Chris was making a mockery out of Black women with their hair care practices, but I don't think so now.

However, I was most annoyed when my suspicions about Asians in the hair market were confirmed. When they stated that the Koreans won't sell to AA retailers...

I suspected something like this was going on, but to have it confirmed was another thing entirely. At that point I can't lie, I really desired that every Black woman who wears weave would boycott for a long enough period of time to make a difference. It makes absolutely no sense that these people are raking in billions of dollars from the pockets of Black women, but because they know how profitable it is, they refuse to sell to AA retailers. They need to be stopped.

Also, after seeing the effect of the chemicals on the soda can, I am SO happy that I decided to go natural.

Loved watching the battle of the stylists though. Thought Jason should have won. And I loved how Jason's clients had such healthy looking hair.

Finally, I was perplexed at how the stylist with the purple hair was starting her weave at $1,000 when it looked like that. It was matted and tangled and dry looking. WTF

I thought Jason had better styles, but I liked Derek's show better. Jason's was boring to me.

As to the red, I'm in total agreement. Al Sharpton made a good point. It's ridiculous that we arent profiting off of something that caters to us.

 

[almond eyes]

Because the movie is opening up nationally this week, they of course had to do a piece on CNN which was shown today, Saturday. If you ladies watch CNN you can catch the piece today. Chris Rock's tone was a lot less funny on the subject as he had been when he first was on Oprah. He seemed to take the topic more serious and tried to talk about embracement of all hair textures which was positive (I am sure he got a lash back that made him change his approach towards the interviews). Though I know he is a comedian, I guess he realises that hair can sometimes be no joking matter and has many implications whether one chooses to realise that or not.

But even the CNN anchor who was Latina said that she thought Chris Rock was making fun of black women (especially in the scene where Chris tells the Indian woman that if he sees a black woman she should run) and that women are very sensitive about their hair. So go figure!!!!!!

Best,
Almond Eyes

 

[Nicole1976]

I saw it...

I only wished that they showed black women with long beautiful hair (without the weave)...

I mean there are plenty of us

 

[RockCreak]

I had so many mixed emotions and feelings about the movie... I thought it was mainly comedy... then got sad when the derm was talking about a child being relaxed at a year and a half.. and then that other child was like 3 or something when she got her first relaxer... sad... truly sad.

Ahh shucks.. yall done said it all. The movie has a lot of valid points tho... and maybe, just maybe it'll open some eyes out there...

 

[Mizz Diamonds]

Because the movie is opening up nationally this week, they of course had to do a piece on CNN which was shown today, Saturday. If you ladies watch CNN you can catch the piece today. Chris Rock's tone was a lot less funny on the subject as he had been when he first was on Oprah. He seemed to take the topic more serious and tried to talk about embracement of all hair textures which was positive (I am sure he got a lash back that made him change his approach towards the interviews). Though I know he is a comedian, I guess he realises that hair can sometimes be no joking matter and has many implications whether one chooses to realise that or not.

But even the CNN anchor who was Latina said that she thought Chris Rock was making fun of black women (especially in the scene where Chris tells the Indian woman that if he sees a black woman she should run) and that women are very sensitive about their hair. So go figure!!!!!!

Best,
Almond Eyes

Really? does someone have a link where I can watch it

 

[mika vs sasha]

I am so mad this movie is not playing anywhere in Northern California, but every theater under the sun in Southern California is showing it Guess I will have to wait until it comes out in all cities.

it's playing in sf and san jose

 

[Missi]

I heard he was pulling it because he copied his movie from another person. Now I remember some one doing a documentary on the B&B Hair Show...idk if it was from www.ultrablackhair.com website or this youtuber "dwanye??" but I knew i recongized the B&B hair show from somewhere

 

[Smiley79]

I liked the movie...saw it Saturday.

 

[lynnstar]

I just saw it this evening. It was good. I felt pleased. I was concerned that Chris was making a mockery out of Black women with their hair care practices, but I don't think so now.

However, I was most annoyed when my suspicions about Asians in the hair market were confirmed. When they stated that the Koreans won't sell to AA retailers...

I suspected something like this was going on, but to have it confirmed was another thing entirely. At that point I can't lie, I really desired that every Black woman who wears weave would boycott for a long enough period of time to make a difference. It makes absolutely no sense that these people are raking in billions of dollars from the pockets of Black women, but because they know how profitable it is, they refuse to sell to AA retailers. They need to be stopped.

Also, after seeing the effect of the chemicals on the soda can, I am SO happy that I decided to go natural.

Loved watching the battle of the stylists though. Thought Jason should have won. And I loved how Jason's clients had such healthy looking hair.

Finally, I was perplexed at how the stylist with the purple hair was starting her weave at $1,000 when it looked like that. It was matted and tangled and dry looking. WTF

I was also very glad that the Asians' monopoly on selling OUR hair care products to OUR community was presented in the film.

I read a story in a Los Angeles area newspaper several years ago about a Black woman who was trying to open a BSS and the Koreans had basically locked her out of the industry by refusing to sell products to her and threating to boycott vendors who did sell to her.

I make an effort to purchase products from Black-owned BSS but I know that its tough if there aren't any in your area.

 

[Sugar]

I was also very glad that the Asians' monopoly on selling OUR hair care products to OUR community was presented in the film.

I read a story in a Los Angeles area newspaper several years ago about a Black woman who was trying to open a BSS and the Koreans had basically locked her out of the industry by refusing to sell products to her and threating to boycott vendors who did sell to her.

I make an effort to purchase products from Black-owned BSS but I know that its tough if there aren't any in your area.

I guess I'm having a hard time believing manufacturers and vendors would pass up the chance to make some more money.

 

[yellow08]

I saw it on Friday and I enjoyed it!

 

[Solitude]

I saw it tonight, and my original opinion still stands: there was nothing new in this movie. I didn't learn a single thing. My SO learned a lot, though, so that's good.

What irritated me was that there were absolutely NO solutions presented. His main focus seemed to be complaining about the crazy amount of money we spend on our hair.

I only saw two naturals in the film, and I didn't particularly care for their hair. If Chris cares enough to spend almost 2 hours complaining about relaxers and weaves, why not show the alternative? Why not show any of the thousands of black women with healthy, long hair?

The sodium hydroxide bit felt dishonest...I didn't really understand what that had to do with hair.

The jokes at black women's expense really irritated me, too. We don't have enough positive images in the media, so all the jokes felt really low to me...it was just piling on all of the negative messages about black women.

The only good parts were Al Sharpton, the Bronner Bros. hair show (I loved seeing it!), and Nia Long's makeup. Her makeup looked really natural and pretty.

There were NO women with long hair - relaxed or natural in the movie???? Sad.

I wonder how much research was done for this movie. I mean, Chris Rock had to know SOMEBODY black with long hair that is all hers. I mean, really.

 

[shenitab]

I guess I'm having a hard time believing manufacturers and vendors would pass up the chance to make some more money.

It's true. I offer a small variety of hair care items on one of my websites. When I have called asian hair manufactures/distributors I have come across this firsthand. There are ways to try and get around it. They don't want "us" to get it on the 125% to 200% profit that their brothers, sisters, and cousins are making. The major profit for BSS's is hair. Sure they make money off of the products, but the HAIR is the real money maker.

P.S. I saw the movie Friday and I thought it was cool. You can see one of my blog posts for notes.

 

[Ms_Twana]

I wanna see. I don't have any problems with him "airing our dirty laundry" on our hair issues.