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Chris Rock says he was inspired to make his documentary, "Good Hair" (which opens Friday), after one of his daughters spoke longingly about a classmate's hair. But did he know what a tangled weave of emotion, self-image, history and memory his exploration of hair would inspire?
Since the film began opening around the country, a critical conversation has begun. It seemed to start after Rock's laudatory appearance on "Oprah." He then returned to "Oprah" to face women angry that their "secrets" were being told. On the Web site The Root, senior culture writer Teresa Wiltz bemoaned the film's lack of historical context, writing that the film had "an undercurrent of misogyny," because black women come off as desperately vain. Tangentially, Allison Samuels, a Newsweek writer, takes Angelina Jolie to task (harshly) for what she sees as the actresses' negligence in not learning how to care for her Ethiopian daughter's hair.
If you didn't know it before, this should show you that hair can be complicated. Still, we're fans of conversation. Here are hair stories from four women. We hope they get you talking, too. We wish you healthy tresses, no matter the grade of your hair.
THEIR HAIR THROUGH THE YEARS
JANINE DAVIS, 43: WPEG POWER98 RADIO PERSONALITY -- "For a lot of black women hair says who you are at that moment - we know deep down inside that your hair is not supposed to define you, but for a lot of people it does."
CHASITY HILL, 30: ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT -- "My hair is naturally curly - what the Atlanta Housewives say is swimmer's hair (laugh). People think it's easy to maintain , but I find it more difficult to style and hard to control."
TINESHA MATTHEWS, 38: NATURAL HAIR STYLIST. CO-OWNER OF LOCKSTAR HAIR SALON -- "I think a lot of black women have gone through a lot of trials and tribulations based on what society says what is good hair. I have done pretty much all I could do to my hair from weaves (not for me), locs, perms and all colors, everything except a Jheri curl..."
JANET MILLER, 55: FASHION DESIGNER/ MINISTER AND INTERPRETER FOR THE DEAF -- "A lot of black women want to go natural and take a stand and exhibit their culture."
