Chris Rock examines the issues behind black hair in the entertaining Good Hair. So, why is he hiding under a hat?

Good Hair

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Years ago, on her talk show, Oprah revealed a theory that many of her Caucasian viewers may not have considered. To paraphrase, she mentioned that black women obsess about their hair in the same way that white women obsess about their weight. A generalization, sure, but most non-black women know very little about the billion-dollar industry that relies on many black women’s desire for long, straight, silky hair.

At the start of Good Hair, host Chris Rock says that he was compelled to do this documentary after one of his young daughters questioned why she doesn’t have “good hair.” Rock, who has become a somewhat unlikely champion of women’s issues (he’s one of the few Hollywood celebs who is publicly siding against Roman Polanski), travels around America and the world to expose exactly what black women are doing to get their hair so straight and examines some of the attitudes in the African-American community about the phenomenon.

What Rock uncovers will be illuminating to viewers of all ethnicities, including the black women who use the products in question. He covers the basics, like chemical relaxers and human-hair weaves, but then asks questions like “Where does all that human hair come from?” The answer is surprising (hint: telemarketing isn’t the only industry that the U.S. outsources to India) and the process somewhat bizarre.

Thankfully, Rock keeps Good Hair light and avoids digging too deeply into difficult cultural questions (for example, why do black women so covet straight hair?), and while he pokes fun, he never gets overly judgmental. He talks to a battery of African-American celebs like Raven-Symone, Salt-N-Pepa, Ice-T, Maya Angelou and Rev. Al Sharpton, all of whom own up to either using relaxer or having a weave. Good Hair is an HBO production, and even though it is enjoying a theatrical release, it plays kind of like a TV movie, which again, keeps it from getting unnecessarily weighty.

Good Hair won’t close the book on issues of hair and ethnicity, but it does offer some insight on a topic that most people — black, white or otherwise — don’t seem to want to talk about. As a bonus, Rock gets to play outside of his regular comfort zone, making for an entertaining and informative documentary.