tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post8143872291190263336..comments2023-08-20T06:16:15.362-05:00Comments on Getafilm: Taking It Home: Good HairDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05222052132452709301noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-85533057332125416322010-02-12T10:21:48.972-06:002010-02-12T10:21:48.972-06:00Thanks, Term Papers. Now that the awards have come...Thanks, Term Papers. Now that the awards have come and gone and Good Hair has been all but forgotten, I should clarify that I still think it's a film worth seeing, even for the few insights it provides.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05222052132452709301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-61602651564413533422010-02-12T00:58:13.985-06:002010-02-12T00:58:13.985-06:00This is right that the average person will leave G...This is right that the average person will leave Good Hair knowing a little bit more about black people's hair but next to nothing new about racial identity in American culture.Term Papershttp://www.ghostpapers.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-64665692393258921972009-11-15T20:29:31.187-06:002009-11-15T20:29:31.187-06:00Great points, especially since I recently found ou...Great points, especially since I recently found out that Rock's original intention was only to document the very hair stylist competition that I think receives too much attention. But I still think he had a much more interesting subject here than he even realized.<br /><br />You mention his tone and style of comedy, and I have to admit, there were a few scenes here where he seemed to be grasping for punchlines. He'd be interviewing someone and they would set him up for a perfect joke, but he just didn't seem to connect on a lot of them. I don't know, it surprised me, I always figured he had a lightning quick wit. Still some funny scenes, though.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05222052132452709301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-39586561739152796552009-11-13T20:13:55.392-06:002009-11-13T20:13:55.392-06:00You make a number of interesting points, many of w...You make a number of interesting points, many of which I'm sure the could and maybe even should have made (I've not seen it yet, but really want to). HOWEVER, you have to remember the source. I'm not saying that Chris Rock isn't capable of making deeper, larger points about society and race and such, but I doubt it was ever his intention. He's a comedian, a group of people that are naturally (it seems) more curious than the rest of it, and I imagine from what I've heard of the origins of the film, that curiousity was the main driving force behind the production of the film. To drive that point further, wouldn't it seem likely that if he were to make a more penetrating, serious film that his core audience would feel alienated? It sounds like the tone is fitting with his previous works.Fletchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17299302086449086987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-75307270870184872912009-11-13T15:47:16.826-06:002009-11-13T15:47:16.826-06:00Yes, that's exactly what I'm getting at. I...Yes, that's exactly what I'm getting at. It’s not any criticism of them and I'm sure those strong and successful women like Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey want to look they way they do, but I'm getting at that unconscious aspect of it - do they want to look that way because over the last century we've all been conditioned to expect them to have straightened and relaxed hair? <br /><br />I really don't know, but if so, and for the amount of money spent and physical damage suffered from the chemicals (Rock spends a good chunk of times in a lab, and it’s scary), well I find that kind of outrageous. But the question of “where is this coming from?” is never broached. It’s just taken as fact that black people have to have “good hair” to get along in this world, and we all have a lot of fun laughing about the cost and customs of it all.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05222052132452709301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-32499167134822947662009-11-13T14:00:07.740-06:002009-11-13T14:00:07.740-06:00It's interesting regardless because I would na...It's interesting regardless because I would naively just think Michelle is trying to look "good" like a strong, professional, attractive women (or First Lady) and not that she was deriding the natural African American hair folicle. Don't we all do things "unnatural" in this sense to present ourselves as whatever we want to be? I'd concede that there may be additional pressure, time and cost involved with this particluar issue but I wouldn't discount that this is likely <i>also</i> what these women want to look like. They think it looks good. Whether that is because of some unconscious racism perpetuated by Euro-Asian Jheri Curl conglomerates or simple aesthetics, is an interesting question that it sounds like Rock doesn't delve quite deeply enough into.teeblahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15370548652382414661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-45146067387479723522009-11-13T11:31:36.134-06:002009-11-13T11:31:36.134-06:00Haha, love it!
Your first comment is not anal ret...Haha, love it!<br /><br />Your first comment is not anal retentive at all. You're just calling me out on that stretch hypothesis. I'm sure Michelle Obama has earned her own millions over the years like Barack, but since she is technically unemployed and unpaid, I had to make the leap to the president's salary.<br /><br />Specifics aside, my point is that a lot of money is going toward making her and her hair look like Jackie Onassis. Not that her appearance has really changed from before she moved into the White House, but still, in the grand scheme of things it still strikes me as one of those weird social norms that everybody accepts. Like Jimmy Fallon hosting the Tonight Show, or OK Soda being discontinued after only two years.<br /><br />And as far as your second comment goes, I wouldn't say either circumstance should preclude you from commenting on the rest of this. Nobody is that sensitive around here, and in the greater interest of all of us learning something I'd rather we not shy away from the touchy subjects.<br /><br />Speaking of which, I should clarify that I'm not saying hair weaves are an extension of slavery, just that black people's hair in general is still somewhat held in bondage, and people of color in general from around the world often end up changing their appearance here to "fit in". It takes a lot of self-confidence for somebody to wear an afro, or cornrows, or dreadlocks, because common knowledge says those aren't simply hairstyles but <i>statements</i>, when they are, in fact, simply hairstyles.<br /><br />I guess these are some of the issues of identity I wish Rock would have addressed a little bit more, instead of spending so much on time a hairstylist competition. And he spent far too little time exploring the history of marketing campaigns that produced the idea of "good hair" in the first place.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05222052132452709301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435253058176416288.post-16254630828225602052009-11-13T10:19:18.372-06:002009-11-13T10:19:18.372-06:00Michelle Obama made around 200-300k a year the las...Michelle Obama made around 200-300k a year the last few years from her position at the University of Chicago Hospital. Although she is no longer in that positon, I'm guessing she doesn't rely on Barack's Presidential salary to get her hair did.<br /><br /><i>(singing)And that's your Anal Retentive Comment of the Monnnntthhh, cha!</i><br /><br />Some interesting stuff here though, but as a white male who hasn't seen this movie, I'm not commenting on anything with a ten foot pole.<br /><br /><i>(singing)And that's your White Guy Race Comment of the Monnnnthhh, cha!</i>teeblahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15370548652382414661noreply@blogger.com