News

Beware the Hair!

Chris Rock’s new flick about ‘black hair’ raises good questions about the definition of beauty

Christianity Today October 7, 2009

CT Movies didn’t review Good Hair, the new docu-comedy by African-American funnyman Chris Rock. But we’ve heard plenty of good things about it, and it’s getting excellent reviews.

Today, my friend Ed Gilbreath, editor of UrbanFaith.com, posted a few thoughts on the film, including his concerns about how the $9 billion-a-year “black hair” industry is affecting young girls’ ideas of what it means to be beautiful–especially as they see role models (Beyonce, Tyra, etc.) with their perfectly straight (and perfectly unnatural) hairstyles.

Ed writes: “There are few things more central to the daily experience of a black woman. A good-looking ‘do plays a pivotal role in both her personal and professional happiness. Yet an ominous theme undergirds the entire enterprise. Why do so many women spend so much time and so much money trying to attain what’s essentially a “white” look?”

Good question, and Rock, in his inimitable (and often hilarious) way, sets out to find the answer.

Watch the trailer here:

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