Bad Hair

Bad Hair Brief Synopsis & Thoughts Light overpowering Dark Bad Hair is a horror satire written by Justin Simien. He is best known for his involvement in the Dear White People franchise. Simien opened the movie, highlighting the dynamic between cousins with different skin tones. The lighter-toned girl had straightened hair and had the idea to relax her darker-toned cousin's (Anna) 4c texture hair. She did not apply the product properly, and it burned Anna's scalp. Even though Anna expressed discomfort, her cousin told her to relax about the relaxer. Unfortunately, little Anna was burned to her scalp resulting in a ghastly scar. Ultimately, the cousin wanted Anna to look more a part of the family, and she felt straight hair would help her pass. The different skin tones were interesting to me. It raised a few questions. Do the dark skin people in light skin families feel like black sheep? Do they experience a light skin savior? A person of lighter tone persuading a person with darker skin to make changes not natural to the person with the hopes the darker counterpart will become more acceptable in society. It's all love until a person's self-love is compromised. Stagnancy Fast forward to Los Angeles in 1989. Anna is working at a black entertainment network as an executive assistant. Her career is stagnant, so she ventures out to other stations looking for work. Simien makes it obvious her hair is not the \"norm\" in the entertainment industry. When she leaves from an unsuccessful job interview, she notices all the women waiting have looser curl patterns or straight hair. When she arrives at her job, the camera pans to women with a very loose curl pattern. This woman is receiving praise and attention, which is something Anna admires. And when the station begins to lose its target audience, they begin to make major changes. Promotion with a Cost Along with the removal of hour-long music blocks of Anita Baker (which does not make sense because it is literally Anita) came the removal of Anna's immediate boss. The new vice president began to remove people from their positions, one of whom was Anna. Unlike her colleagues, Anna was not fired from her job but was promoted instead. She became an assistant producer of a show she pitched to her new boss. However, she could not relish in her victory for too long. Her light skin boss (I don't know if this was on purpose or wanted to use Vanessa Williams' for clout) commented about her hair. She states, no one is going to take you seriously with your hair looking like that. Mind you, Anna's hair was pulled back and looked kempt. If that weren't bad enough, she said to be one of her girls; she'd have to look the part. New Hair. New Anna. Another employee overheard the conversation, and she suggested a hairstylist specializing in weaves. And this, my friends, is when the story reaches its climax, no usher. There was a heinous scene showing Anna getting her sew-in. The scene alone deserved an Oscar. With each braid,

Bad Hair Brief Synopsis & Thoughts you can feel her scalp being yanked. Watching the needle pierce her scalp and the thread being pulling through it had me on edge. After the ordeal, she had bone-straight black hair brushed across her shoulders. She grew fond of her hair after receiving positive feedback. But it was short lived, as soon as she settled into her hair, the hair settled into her. She starts to experience visions and recalls a story out of an African folklore book. Moss Hair Girl Prior to Anna getting weave, she received a book by her uncle, Blair Underwood, on African folklore. In the book, there was a story called The Moss Haired Girl. It was an origin story explaining how a young slave girl saw moss on a tree and became enamored. She states, the hair looks like master's hair, which I can assume means straight and long. The young girl decided to wear the moss as a wig. The appeal of having a different hair texture was satisfying. Little did she know the moss was hair from old witches. Anyone who places the moss on their head becomes possessed by the spirit that inhabits the hair. First, it infiltrates your thoughts. Then it takes control of the body. Unfortunately, the moss hair girl's story is not similar to the tale told in the movie. Moss hair was used to describe a Circassian Princess who's har grew up and outward. I continued to search and found little information on hair possession in African cultures. When I looked at an interview with the writer and director, he explained how Japanese and Korean horror films inspired him. I decided to change directions and research hair possession in those cultures instead of African cultures. I found many sources relating to hair and hair possession. Japanese culture and Hair Japanese films have an entire genre dedicated to hair horror. In some movies, the ghostly women have disheveled hair or long black hair that covers their face. Similar to Bad Hair, the hair is the aggressor and physically attacks people. Wig is a Japanese horror film, and it was also the movie that inspired Bad Hair. I came across a book titled Hair: Its Power and Meaning in Asian Cultures. Gary Ebersole wrote a chapter in the book that states that Kami or spirits can reside in a woman's hair. These spirits can be evil or soft. Kami is attracted to long black hair, and a women's profession can influence the type of Kami that resides in her hair. For example, malevolent Kami will stay in the hair of prostitutes. Ironic prostitution can lead to evil spirits. It seems as if a woman living her life in a way that causes society to look down on her runs the risk of harboring bad Kami. As mentioned earlier, the movie mentions a fictional story of the moss hair girl. However, the story has some roots in a myth about a persimmon tree in Gifu Prefecture. According to the urban legend, the tree grows human hair, and evil spirits possess the hair. In this story, no one tries to wear the hair, but it is safe to assume the wearer will not have a favorable outcome. What makes Bad Hair a true horror film is the depiction of Black women feeling uncomfortable with their natural hair at jobs or other \"professional\" settings. Sure, spirits send a chill down your spine, but drawing attention to oneself without trying is mortifying. Even scarier for the tight- coiled hair women. \"4C\" women can spend two hours on their hair and still get told it's not suitable/professional/kempt/neat/appropriate for a job.

Bad Hair Brief Synopsis & Thoughts I appreciate the Japanese influence to tell the story of Black professional women in the United States. It was a creative take on a social issue that often goes unnoticed by the people it does not affect. Women have to follow unwritten rules about their appearance. And I want to know who wrote the rules and how do we dismantle all these concepts and perceptions of women's hair. The crown act is an excellent way to start. Major takeaway and a possible Solution The CROWN act is pretty ingenious. Now I am not going to touch on the idea of Dove pandering to people of color, but I will say it is a possibility. Moving along, the crown act is a good start. We like to pretend racism does not exist on a macro level because lynching is no longer the norm. I guess. But racism is the systematic oppression of a group, and to get something ingrained in a system, it starts with micro-level actions, and Black hair is a great example. The first steps are micro-level actions or micro-aggressions. When those are installed in a system, it helps to desensitize the oppressor, so much so, they do not recognize they are the oppressors. The oppressor creates a standard \"look,\" skewing people's perception of a group of individuals who do not fit that standard. Black people change their hairstyle to match the standard, and their compliance reinforces a \"look\" Black professionals should have. Now there is a perception of the type of Black person who has a professional job. Women and men with natural hair get perceived as not professional or incapable because their hair does not match the Black men and women seen at the large buildings in the city working alongside the white man. And if a Black person with natural hair somehow makes it past the interview process, they may still feel the pressure to conform. I know it seems like a lot just over hair. And if you said that you are part of the problem and engaging in micro-aggressions. The CROWN act makes it illegal to discriminate against someone in the work-place because of their hair, and that is how you dismantle racism with the small, micro problems first.