03 October 2009 ~ 62 Comments
Chris Rock was on Oprah talking about his upcoming film. I know this video is only a snippet, did anybody watch the whole show? What did you think.
I actually enjoyed the show today. Hopefully they show the movie out here (I'm in Europe) or I'll have to wait to get it on DVD.
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Linkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p96aaTSdrAE
The show focused mainly on weaves which doesn't apply to all black women and white women wear them too. I didn't think they explored the relaxer issue too much since Oprah straightens her hair. It didn't get as ugly as the Tyra show on good hair, so I hope the movie goes deeper into the issue so people can learn something.
he joked that oprah looked like a slave when she was a little girl with natural hair (not funny imo). i plan to see the movie to see what's up.
the whole show is on youtube:http://www.youtube.com/user/cfrr212
umm, yeah..some of the jokes were not funny. Natural hair=slave???Black women have "bad hair months"??? And we wonder why his daughter came home asking why she didn't have good hair. Maybe rather than a documentary, he should've explored his own issues.
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Yes, I watched it, but I thought his viewpoints were contradictory to the message he was trying to send.
No offense to any weave wearers, but isn't it gross when you know exactly where that hair comes from?
Overall I enjoyed the show, it is very much along my own view of hair. Even though I am natural I would never just limit myself to just natural styles if there was something I wanted to try. Whether it is weave/braids/color whateva. As long as I am doing it for ME and not to fit in or reach somebody elses idea of beauty.
When Solange was on they bought up the kiddie perms and she revealed she had her first perm at 4 years old! It still boggles my mind to hear that someone would subject a child to such a harsh procedure unecassarily. The kiddie perm issue seemed to be Chris' pet concern – he went so far as to say he wishes he could do away with them altogether if he had his way. That was a very important point to drive home in my opinion. For that reason I alone I will definetly go check this film out and probably recommend it to others.
Lady O also had a great little ancedote about natuaral that I loved. Apparently, she requires the girls at her school in South Africa to have their hair braided for school so that they do not have the issue of hair distracting them as they focus on their studies. It reminded me of my own childhood when I spent many mornings before school wondering what I was going to do with my hair so that I could be 'presentable'. It seems petty now but on some real shit I would miss school sometimes cause I would be upset that my hair didn't look 'right' in it's relaxed state.
I am very happy that he is making this movie and hopefully it would shed light to a lot of women who are killing their hair. Chris rock is hilarious and I am going to spread this clip on facebook right now. thanks to the person who linked the whole show@ MEL – i don't think he met natural hair – slave. he was talking about the way she looked. the movie is to promote natural hair so it wasn't a negative connotation
OK, I had mixed emotions about the show. I totaly agree with chris and oprah, live and let live to each its own. If thats what you want to do fine. I never had the holyer than thou attitude but then again , i have been natural most of my life and i still am, my mother and sister has never gotten a perm and I have BSL, My sister and mother are MBL and WL.) I felt like chris rock thought black women hair did not grow. He went overly crazy for Oprahs hair and in my mind I thought of all the beautiful sisters on the different blogs and hair boards and I said maybe we all need to go out to the Oprah show. I can give him a list of 50 or more sisters with BSL or longer hair naturals and permed. I also did not like the fact that he called Oprah's pic a slave pic and all of these white folks in the audience were laughing, That did not sit well with me. Also this is my personal opinion so please i hope not to offend anyone, but who cares it just hair, I agree with chirs rock perms for children should be banned, i never experienced be a child w/permed hair but I had my share of nightmares with the striaghtening comb (around 9 yrs old) and I thought that was young. But hair styles or personal hair preference should not really be an issue in my opinion. I also wanted Chris to know just bc you wear a weave does not mean you are bald headed, I wear a weave as a protective style from time to time (and know I dont get freaked out to see where the hair comes from) when I want to give my hair a break. Just like Oprah said, Our hair is fragile, I cant constantly mainpulate or put heat to my hair so i will give it a 2 month break with a weave, and that works for me, that does not mean I am not in touch with myself or anything like that bc I know who I am, and my parent taught me self love.I also like what Solange said and wish they focused on it a little more. We have to stop showing barbie commericals or princess cartoons with girls with long blonde hair, beside all the black rappers, baseball, basketball, actors on tv with non black women, these cartoons are also putting this inferior complex in the children's heads. I work with children and hear it everyday!!!Oh and did you guys hear about Carols Daughter deal with disney for the first black princess hair and skin care line for kids?
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@ Mel : That was I-RO-NI-CAL!
I agree with other posters regarding that "you were a slave" comment. I did not find that funny at all and rather insensitive. You just DO NOT tell a joke like that to an audience with non-blacks. When he said that I was squirming in my seat.
@ urban fashionista: oh, that's great- telling a black woman she once looked like a slave on national television. *remember, we're a cohort of women who will always be degraded for our looks in certain circles..I felt such a comment was uncalled for. Did he look at the white girl's homely childhood photo (if you saw the whole show, you know who I'm talking about) and say "Gee, you look like you just survived the Irish potato famine"? He wouldn't dare!*
I am a Chris Rock fan and can't hide my disappointment. Like anonymous said, he made it seem as though we, as black women, can't have hair. Now, I'm not currently natural (but I feel like one LOL). I was natural for the first 18 yrs of my life. The summer before college, I *mildly* relaxed-taking my 4a hair to about a 3b/3c (more 3c) so that I could spend less time detangling it. I've always, and will always, love our variety of textures (and no, I've never worn a weave and have always had hair that could be BSL-if I didn't cut it, Mr. Rock). As a young twenty-somethin' very comfortable in my own skin, I could care less what other people say or think about our hair. But, for those who are not as secure (LIKE HIS DAUGHTER), I think he totally missed the mark. Telling an Indian woman to run the other way if she sees black women approaching? Look at his response to Oprah's straightened hair on the show and the childhood pic. Was I not the only one disturbed by the VERY different response? The first, awe. The second, ridicule. And don't you dare put black women on blast like that in front of all those white people- having them laughing at us. A) you generalized B)who instilled the notions of good/bad hair into us in the first place? And now you're going to show them, in a comedic fashion, how successful they were/are in brainwashing us? The Black experience is not always funny. I realize I'm digressing here, but there are a lot of raw emotions on this topic- especially for naturals not comfortable with their hair, permies and weavers who feel they MUST alter/glue to be beautiful. It is, to me, the most (physically) ostensible reminder that we have not come to love ourselves in entirety; and on the Oprah show yesterday, he had white people laughing about it.I think Chris' intentions were good, but I don't think he realized how truly conditioned he is. He lauded Solange for her individual beauty (very good, chris), but that was after 20 minutes of deriding the black woman (yes, all of the black women)for gluing Indian stuff to her scalp or using creamy crack b/c her own hair is, of course, woefully inadequate. I guess the crux of this long behind post is that I never heard him say that our natural, unadulterated hair was beautiful and that he loved it(sans the solange one-sentencer). I did like the Solange segment though. I really like her…wow. Never did pay her any mind. Sorry for the long post…I was just full *see, that's why I'm gonna start a blog soon. I can't be overunning other people's with my thoughts lol*~Mel
Chris Rock contradicts himself alot. It's funny how he said Oprah looked like a slave in her childhood photo, but he shows photos of his little girls and their hair looks just like Oprah's did!! So does that make his daughters look like slaves too?!? Chris made this whole movie trying to find out why his little girls didn't like their hair. How about starting in his own home. Maybe its because his wife rocks a weave 24/7. Little girls grow up idolizing their mothers; they see mommy's long straight shiny weave and want their hair to look the same way. He really didn't have to look that far to find his answer. SMH.
I will say that Solange looked absolutely gorgeous. We all need to realize that there isn't one kind of beauty; there are beautiful features on all different kinds of people.
I have to admit I'm not all too excited for the film and think it will mostly be for laughs and not hit the root of the issue. Also where are the natural women in this discussion? They seem to be non-existent (at least on television and I believe in the film as well) while all of this is going on.
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chris rick answers the first question about him not including loc-wearers and natural hair divas because the material was not 'entertaining enough'… wow.
Chris Rock, a comedian, is behind this movie. Therefore, I have aligned my expectations accordingly.
If you're looking for an entertaining and funny look at the lengths some Black women are willing to go through to achieve a certain look and maybe learn a little something in the process, then go see the movie.
If you are expecting Good Hair to be the type of documentary that takes an in-depth look into the psychology, culture and history behind Black women and our hair "issues", then you may not want to see the movie.
I think Good Hair will serve as a conversation starter (as it already has) and will allow for some self-reflection among those who haven't already thought about why they do whatever it is that they do to their hair.
As far as Chris' slave comment on Oprah, I thought it was funny and I laughed out loud. I don't think his comment had anything to do with Oprah's hair. I think it was her facial expression in the photo and the fact that it was a B/W photo. On the next photo, he said something along the lines of "it looks like you got your freedom here". In that photo, Oprah was smiling, the photo was in color..she just looked brighter and more cheerful. As far as I could tell, her hair still looked unrelaxed in that photo (it was in two ponytails). I understand if you didn't find it funny, but to assume that Chris meant something by the comment is unfair, I think. It is more likely, in my opinion, that those who felt "some kind of way" about the comment have an unexplored hair issue they need to address.
Some women complain about their hair so much, everyday that yes, it does seem like they are having a bad hair MONTH. It's not just a single day they are complaining about, but every dang on day. When we stop making such a big deal about our hair, so will everyone else.
Also, Chris went crazy about Oprah's hair because she was letting him touch it and put his hands all up and through it. Apparently, that was a rare occurrence based on his experience. And maybe he hasn't seen a Black women with long hair that is her own. Given the number of Black women (in Hollywood especially) that wear wigs and weaves, why is that so hard to believe?
I'm not looking forward to this film and I think it's buffoonish and clowns black women.
I just watched a segment on the tv guide channel and they had a white correspondent at the premiere. For some reason she thought the terms "creamy crack" and "kitchen" were hilarious and kept asking the white celebrities what they thought of that. It was like she had stumbled upon a "lost" colony and was just so amazed and amused by its inhabitants. Not cool.
And Chris Rock, I've never been a fan. He has issues. Anyone still wonder why he's always cheating on his wife with white girls?
I feel sorry for his daughters. They are not getting that black is beautiful.Certainly not from their father.
And from all the clips that I've seen, it's like actually wearing the hair that grows out of your head is simply not an option. And the idea of loving that natual hair growing out of your head is absurd. It's like the point of the movie is, "hey, black women. You can't grow hair. Just be happy and be honest about your weaves". The idea that we could embrace our natural hair is not even up for discussion.
I mean, look at what he said about the kiddie perms. He said he wants them gone but he says that perming is something they shouldn't have to worry about until they're teenagers. Gee, Chris. How bout believing is something they should never have to worry about!!! My God. There was no representation for natural hair up there and it was disappointing. Solange doesn't count. She sees nothing wrong with perms. And Oprah is a smart woman, but she is a 55 year old black woman with a lot of hangups about hair and complexion.
I would like to see an alternative to this movie celebrating black women loving themselves as we are.
M.J. said "… who instilled the notions of good/bad hair into us in the first place? And now you're going to show them, in a comedic fashion, how successful they were/are in brainwashing us?
I COULD HUG YOU RIGHT NOW:)
Neither this show nor Tyra's show did justice to the variety in black hair. I wanted to see some big natural, healthy hair. It was nice to see Solange but she was thinking about possibly relaxing again. I want to see ladies that have been living and loving their natural hair at different lengths as it thrives. I watched the link in someone's post where he stated he didn't include loc'd or loose naturals because he wanted the film to be entertaining. This convinces me that he did not intend to make a reflective, thoughtful example of the deep issues surrounding good and bad hair. How in the world do you not include natural hair? He could have found a way to include naturals and still keep the humor.
Also, I can't believe he said Oprah looked like a slave in her baby pic. SMH. That was so inappropriate and not funny.
Has he convinced Malaak to lead his daughters by example like the woman Oprah featured who cut her hair to give her daughter a natural role model?
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