Beige World editor in chief David Burnett offers his thoughts on the Chris Rock documentary Good Hair.
David Burnett, Beige World Editor In Chief:
Chris Rock's documentary, Good Hair, provides a window into the world of black hair care - from chemical relaxers to weaves - and the lengths to which African-American women will go to achieve beauty.
Rock effectively uses his unique brand of irreverent humor to artfully deal with this rather touchy subject, through conversations with various celebrities (Lauren London, Meagan Good, Salt-N-Pepa, Melyssa Ford, Al Sharpton, etc.), hair care experts, doctors, chemists, and other representatives within the black hair care industry. In addition, Rock profiles hairdressers participating in the hair styling competition at the Bronner Brothers Annual Hair Show in Atlanta, GA.
After watching Good Hair, you'll realize just how much of an impact hair has on the African-American community - economically, culturally, and socially. Actually, there were times during the documentary when even I was taken aback by its impact. And I'm an African-American male!
One fact revealed in Good Hair that I found both shocking and disappointing is that few African-Americans actually have an ownership stake in the $9 billion dollar black hair care industry. Most of this industry is controlled by Europeans and Asians.
I'm a particular fan of documentaries that are both educational AND entertaining - the so-called "edutainment" category. Good Hair is definitely on par with other such documentaries of this genre (e.g., Bill Maher's Religulous, and Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story).
I STRONGLY urge everyone - especially those outside the African-American community - to check out Good Hair while it's still in theaters, so that you can be informed AND get a good laugh in the process.
By the way, I also recommend checking out the short film Bi-Racial Hair, which was featured here at Beige World last month. It's the perfect complement to Good Hair.
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