Good Hair Roots

 A couple of years ago, a little girl casually asked her father why she did not have “good hair.” He did not respond. Not because he did not want to, but because he did not have the answer. The young girl, who happens to be the oldest daughter of comedian, actor, screenwriter and director Chris Rock, brought back an old concept he’s had in his mind for nearly 15 years.

The year was 1994 when Rock had the initial idea to create a documentary. He was selected as talent for a stand-up gig in Atlanta when he observed hundreds of people flooded in the hotel lobby where he was staying for the Bronner Bros. Hair Show, an extravagant showcase of different hairstyles.

“I’ve been around hairdressers my whole life but I’d never seen anything like this— it was just a whole [different] vibe,” says Rock.

So it was only obvious for Rock to create a film on hair when his daughter posed the question. For him, it was a matter of needing to do a documentary, rather than want. “She was only five at the time, and she was already having concerns about her hair— she’s already having hair envy,” he said. “I felt I needed to understand more deeply how African-American women and their hair are related.”

Weaving a Story

Mixed with comedy and consciousness, Good Hair explores the manifestations of female culture with hair as its backdrop. The tone shifts from ebullient to pensive, and challenges women’s psyche by offering laughter infused with deep-rooted truth. Scene after scene, it becomes apparent that hair is important to its beholder— and it is an issue not to be taken lightly.

Executive Producer Nelson George says the subject matter in Good Hair is international. “In our world, the issues of beauty and conformity run very deep— and men don’t always understand how truly deep those issues go for women. It reaches all women: Asian, Hispanic, black and white,” he says.

Societal norms prove he may be correct. In a recently aired episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Rock solidified George’s point to a predominately white audience; most nodded in agreement. Actress and comedian Ali Wentworth, an Oprah regular, admitted she dyed her hair blonde because it was glorified in culture. “I just want to be pretty!” she cried via Skype from her local salon.

But despite hair’s relevance to women of all ethnicities, it’s a problem that plagues black society more than any other, said actress Nia Long, who makes an appearance in the film.

“There’s always this pressure in the black community,” she said in a hotel suite at the Four Seasons in Washington, D.C. “If you have good hair, you’re prettier or better than the brown-skinned girl who wears the Afro or the dreads or the natural hairstyle.

Actress Tracie Thoms, one of the women interviewed in Good Hair, says it’s a challenge staying true to her roots. “There are so many pressures to straighten your hair. To keep my hair the same texture as it grows out of my head is looked at as revolutionary. Why is that?” she questions.

Hair Supply

In the film one woman in India sacrificed her long locks as a ritual in a Hindu temple. She said it’s something she promised to do for God. She failed to realize, however, that her hair was being transported to Los Angeles, CA, where it would be distributed to hair stores across the country.

It is a common practice called tonsuring. More than 10 million people in India sacrifice their hair to show religious devotion. Eighty-five percent of the Indian population— usually impoverished people— have engaged in the ceremony at least twice in their lifetime.

 “The thing that really struck us was the fact that the Hindus who give it away as a gesture to God are actually the backbone of a multi-million dollar business,” says George. “ That was quite ironic to us.”

Rock’s daughter, now seven, is to thank for subconsciously being the brainchild behind “Good Hair.” As for her hair, Rock says she can’t choose between wearing her hair in two Afro puffs or three.