(Take from my blog, www.chocobites.net)
A lot of people laugh at me when I tell them that Chris Rock has been responsible for two of the most important films of the past 10 years. Good Hair is one of them.
Like Chris, I have two daughters and I want them to grow up in a world where they can let their nappy hair out and be happy and proud about it. Unfortunately, that simply isn’t the world we live in.
Good Hair is a conversation starter. It’s the beginning of the road to a civilised conversation about a very nuanced and complicated issue. I’m so grateful that this film exists because, as many black men know, the issue of a black woman’s hair has been as off limits to us as it has been to white folks. And maybe that’s ok, maybe I don’t deserve a voice in the conversation considering I married a white woman.
Growing up in a house full of beautiful strong black women, it was always a sight to see when hair relaxing time came around. Ice T doesn’t lie in Good Hair when he describes the process of black folks relaxing their hair as a ‘torture session’. There is a lot of pain involved, pain that in the long-term permanently damages the hair, and the question that has haunted me for years is: what is all this for?
Things are slowly changing for the better; It feels like Alek Wek and Lupita Nyong’o have played a huge part in that shift. I’ve got family members sporting the short cut look and it fills me with joy and hope.
Not enough people have seen Good Hair and it’s well worth your time regardless of your gender or race.
@biteschoco
Just a normal everyday bloke writing about films.