The first question we must ask is this: Who is the ideal spectator
for Good Hair? A black woman? A black man? A white woman? A
white man? Who would get the most out of Good Hair, in the way Slavoj Zizek thought an idiot got the most out of The
Matrix? Chris Rock claims he made the documentary for his
daughters, who are black. He wanted to explain to them why straight
hair (European hair) is called good and kinky hair (African hair) is
called bad. But the film is not really for kids or teenagers. The
spectator who the film speaks to is clearly an adult. Most of the women
and men who are interviewed by Rock are in his age range (30s and up)
and cultural generation (1980s to 1990s). Salt-N-Pepa, Ice-T, Eve, Nia
Long, Andre Harrell, Al Sharpton, and Tracie Thoms—only a handful
of teens will recognize these names. The documentary is not directly
speaking to the youth.
Is Good Hair for adult blacks? No. Why? Because blacks are
well aware of the insights and facts the film provides. We all know
that weaves are bloody expensive; we all know how much time black women
spend on their hair. We know that straightening your hair hurts a lot
and requires toxic chemicals. We have seen the smoking hot-combs on the
stove; we have seen the row of hair products in the bathroom cabinet.
We also know that black women prefer straight hair because white hair
is straight, and white hair is desirable because it is a symbol of
power and prestige. Black hair is not a status symbol. It has
revolutionary power, roots power, “for real” power—but those
things do not make you look beautiful. Black, as it turns out, is
genuine but not beautiful.
So black people would learn nothing new from this documentary. What
about white people? Is it for them? Are they the ideal spectators? Not
really. Why? Because what is it to them that blacks are burning their
scalps and inhaling toxic fumes for the sole purpose of looking like
their masters (their bosses, politicians, movie stars)? At best, a
white person, one with a soft heart, might feel pity for blacks. It’s
nothing but sad that all of these poor people are paying through the
nose to become what they are not and could never be—European. To
the white person with a soft heart, this is only further proof of the
damage that white power has done to the cultural and natural world.
But the film, which has its moments (Rock cracks a few jokes here
and there), is not that critical of white power or black
weakness. It examines some of the absurdities of the black-hair
industry, but it does not really condemn anyone. All (white
advertisers, Korean distributors, black consumers) are implicated, all
are right and wrong, all are wise and foolish. And the documentary even
ends on a happy note. Good hair is here to stay, like it or not. Good
hair is also at the center of a vibrant culture that’s more sexually
open than other cultural modes in the black American experience.
Brazenly gay men and women are celebrated and admired in this industry.
Here, straight and gay makes no difference. All that matters is good
hair.
Maybe the ideal spectator lives in India? At one point in the
documentary, Rock flies to the South Asian country and visits the
source of the real hair used in costly weaves. Much of it is gathered
from large temples where pilgrims shave off all of their hair for some
pious reason. The sacred act is then connected to a billion-dollar
global network. The Indians give up their hair for nothing, for some
god, and the dealers clean the hair and ship it to the United States.
(What does not go to the U.S. goes the other way, to China, where
chemical companies extract amino acids from it.) If these poor Indian
people, who make the poor black people in America look like
millionaires, were to watch this movie, they might be surprised to
learn what the temple does with their hair. They might be surprised to
learn that a weave using their free hair can cost up to $3,000 in
America. And to think they have no food to eat tonight, and to think
that all of this time the easiest thing to grow, their own hair, has
real value in a very rich country. Is this the ideal spectator of the
documentary? 
What you’re saying is basically “understanding is a bad thing”. White people learning more about the commonplaces of black living isn’t stupid or unlikely, and black people examining their own culture isn’t either.
Ayana Byrd’s book “Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America” is an interesting read. Maybe you should have a look. I know you’ve “solved” this problem — white power — but the real story is far more complex than that. Remember the Jeri Curl? Where’s the white power in that? You’ve got hold of one aspect of the subject, but there are many others. For one thing, white people don’t wear their hair “natural” either; otherwise there wouldn’t be 75,000 people employed in the $40 billion haircutting field.
Not everything about being black is a reflection of surrounding whiteness. A look at black culture is interesting BECAUSE IT’S CULTURE, not just because it’s black.
he should’ve interviewed michelle obama.
if she’d change her good hair to an erykah badu/angela davis blowout afro, my soft white heart would burst with happiness.
So… when white people spend hundreds of hours in tanning booths, exposing themselves to toxic levels of ultraviolet radiation, who are they trying to look like?
Reference as well: hair dye, tooth whiteners, breast enlargement, breast reduction, perms, hair straightening, etc. Everybody wants to look like what they’re not. Applying critical race theory to this phenomenon makes you sound smart, but it’s not really very interesting or useful. Doubtless you’ll consider this the criticism of someone who lives in denial of the fundamental truths that only you see; your pattern suggests intellectual laziness hidden behind a thorough command of a single intellectual discipline that you mastered 20 years ago and haven’t really done much with since.
Charles, you post many photos of beautiful women. How often do these women have hair that has not undergone extensive styling involving harmful chemicals? Would you find these women as attractive if they did not have “white” hair styles? Are you complicit?
people are paying through the nose to become what they are not and could never be—European
Wait. Didn’t you say you consider yourself European? It seem it is possible although it requires reading Marx and Spinoza, not trying to make your hair look right.
The whitest black guy in Seattle calling out white folk, glad your white editors enjoyed this, Chuck.
@1 & @2-
Yeah I didn’t understand Chuck’s “for the sole purpose of looking like their masters” quote. We know that the hair comes from India, or Eastern Europe and other countries in Asia (often from very poor areas). So they want to look white, but Indian or Asian hair is also used. So…can’t that mean they also want to look Indian or Asian? Or just “not black”? Is he trying to discuss self-hatred in the black community but can’t (because of self-hatred?), so he describes it as: “white power”?
I’m confused.
Who is the proper reader for this film critique?
As usual Charles Mudede displays his “subtle” but not so subtle disdain for American Blacks. You know chuck (thats right I’m calling you chuck). Where I’m from the racists I deal with have more balls than you. At least they don’t need to hide that their racists and I got to say I respect them more than I do you.
You know I understand your from Africa and that culturally you think your “European”, but it’s sad that no one to date has set you straight. In America your just another black man like me.
It’s sad that you just cant recognize the Cultural impacts that Blacks (I hate the word African American) in this country have made. I cant think of one facet of America that you see today that hasn’t been augmented by the contributions of Blacks in this country. I’m proud to be a Black man in this country and every time I read anything you write that deals with Black culture here in Seattle, or anywhere else in this country I just roll my eyes because you just don’t get it.
I actually had the opportunity to listen to you speak at an event I was at, and man it was hard not to call you on your emiction that you were spouting off. I also want to say your really a pompous ass too.
“A look at black culture is interesting BECAUSE IT’S CULTURE, not just because it’s black.”
This just might be the finest sentence ever written by a Stranger comment poster.
@3- Mexicans! everybody wants to be a mexican. Charles is close and you have an axe to grind, but with both of you stuck in a black and white outlook the truth flies right over your heads. Don’t feel bad, we planned it that way. Aztlan was a trojan horse and in twenty years you’ll all be tan, straight-haired, spanish speaking, and bummed that there’s no good place to get menudo around here when you’re hung over.
i don’t know whether it’s funny or sad that charles mudede understands things made by and about black people less well than he understands things made by and about white people.
@8, “Who is the proper reader for this film critique?”
this is the question.
Sometimes a hairdo is just a hairdo…..
On a side note, it seems like many black ladies basically shave their heads when they get older, or wear wigs. Is this because of all the chemicals used for straightening damages the roots?
Asian women spend a lot of money making their straight black hair curly and colored. God knows how much time and money American women spend making their hair the color, length, and texture it isn’t. Vanity knows no borders.
Mudede is the perfect example of the ideal spectator for this film. Let me rephrase, a young 10 – 15 year old Mudede would’ve been the perfect example of the ideal spectator for this film.
Sadly, to many of us have bought into the garbage that he has expressed in his post. Thankfully there are real men out there within our community who seek to reverse this instead of embracing it like Mudede. I laud Mr. Rock for his foresight into this psychological dysmorphic disorder that has been worked into our psyche for centuries now. It’s way passed time we start to discard these last vestiges of white supremacy that keep on causing struggles within our community.
We can’t do anything about people like Mudede, they have been programed to think the way he does and to see blackness that way. But as Mr. Rock is wisely doing we must identify for our children these remnants of white supremacy and explain to them what they mean so that they’re able to know what they mean, reject them and don’t end up like the Mudedes of the world.
In light of that this film is way more than appropriate for young African Americans, they are the only ones who can learn both economically (so they’re able to understand who they’re enriching when they become consumers in that industry) and mentally (so they’re able to understand the programming that ingrains in them the idea that they are “genuine but” ugly) from what is shown in it.
a few lines into this article i got nervous about how dumb it was and then read it really quickly so i could post an insulting comment, but i see everyone is in agreement and all has been said. and also people dont just watch films for the topic, they watch them for the film making
@ 10 i totally agree.
I’m African American and I don’t get Black people here in Seattle, either. I like being called “African American” because I am an American and have rights that people have to respect, regardless of whether I think our society is just. I’m not a color, I’m a person. If you’re just a color, then please don’t bother the rest of us with your inanities. And I know the difference between the words “you’re” and “your”, but that’s probably because I’m not from Seattle.
As for the film… I’m planning to see it and I’ll encourage my motley group of friends – a pretty random mix of master statuses – to see it, too. It is interesting because it is about culture… an aspect of African American culture that we are uncomfortable talking about with others because of our extreme sense of cultural alienation. I think everyone should see it to gain more insight into our lives. Maybe nobody will care but that doesn’t diminish the value of the work or reduce the importance of the message.
Catalina Vel-DuRay
“On a side note, it seems like many black ladies basically shave their heads when they get older, or wear wigs. Is this because of all the chemicals used for straightening damages the roots?”
It’s partly due to the damage, but also, at least for my mom and grandmom, spending hundreds of dollars and dozens of hours a month, every month, in pursuit of the impossible got a little old as they went grey.
About the article: the author assumes that all or even most black people are aware of the facts pertaining to the pursuit of good hair. Prior to the premiere of Good Hair, you probably couldn’t find too many salon patrons who could tell you what sodium hydroxide is, even as it was glopped onto their heads. Knowledge is power.
Chris Rock’s daughters WILL grow up and have to decide what to do with their hair, join the mainstream by adding and straitening, or go natural. The point is not lost on them because they are young as you suggest. As most of us, they will probably do a bit of both within their lifetime, and when the time comes to make a decision, they will have a wealth of information lovingly provided by their father. You make the sweeping statement that our youth won’t be interested because of the older, less relevant, stars featured, but there you are wrong. Our youth are raised by us, and can typically reference as much old school hip hop as their 40 something year old parents – which is besides the point. The point is, young people at an age to consider what to do with their hair, will get the message of this movie. Finally, you would be surprised how many people from all races have no clue just how toxic the chemicals in relaxers truly are. For those who have used it all their lives, it’s just something they do, like eating a McDee’s Hamburger, or drinking diet cola. I’ve seen white people go up to black women and ask how they grew their hair so fast. I’ve had more than one white person reach to stick their hand in my naturally kinky hair and say, “Wow, how do you get it like that, and why isn’t it strait”? So, at the end of the day, this movie is for all of us.
Black people don’t want straight hair because it’s “white”.
it’s because relaxed hair is a hell of a lot easier to take care of on a daily basis. If my hair wasn’t relaxed, it would be thick, tangly, unmanageable, and difficult to deal with.
So when you choose to demean me and my sex for some comment you choose not to research fully, try to do it on a less intelligent medium. Because i’m certain readers of The Stranger can see right through borderline-racist comments like this.
I’d die if I could grow a beautiful black fro. Die. I have a beautiful white fro, and I’d still die for a black one. Shut up Mudede.
I’d die if I could grow a beautiful black fro. Die. I have a beautiful white fro, and I’d still die for a black one. I’m pretty sure this has very little to do with ethnicity and historical-social-political power structures. Shut up Mudede.
@Ren/Pinehurst
Thank you. The only reason that I have for wanting straight hair is for the avoidance of razor burn. And as soon as I find a set of products that works on that condition, my interest in having less-kinky (read: razor bump creating) hair will fade away.
Dear Editor,
I found the article “All about the Weave, the hunt for good hair to be racist and missing the point. Mr. Mudede explains that the film is about the perception of straight hair ( European ) and kinky ( African ) hair and what Africans and African Americans do to have straight hair ( good hair ).
In looking for the ideal audience he describes “ white people “ as not caring about this and other black issues and states “ at the very best the white person with a soft heart would only have pity”. He uses racist words like “ master” in his analysis of the minds of “ white people “.
He asks “ Who’s the ideal spectator. A Black man ? A black woman ? A white man ? A white women ? Who would get the most out of “ Good Hair “ ? “
Even though the topic itself separates black and white, the answer is based on gender, not race. Who spends the most money every year on hair care ? The feminine gender of all races ! Black ,white Asian, Latino and other races make up the hair market but they are predominantly women. For centuries women have cared about and spent more time on hair than men this has been the case.
Nikki Lee Taylor