"Good Hair" and Other Dubious Distinctions (2011)

Genre

documentary film

Country

United States

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This documentary examines how standards of beauty like straight hair and lighter skin persist within the black community. A sociologist filmmaker uses interviews and cultural critique to explore how such preferences affect self-esteem. The film argues these ideas are a form of symbolic violence that harms people across all communities.

thoughtfulacademicconversationalcriticaleducationaleye-openingreflectivepersonal

What happens

"Good Hair" and Other Dubious Distinctions is a 2011 documentary film directed, written and edited by Camille S. DeBose. The film focuses on cultural language and practices that negatively impact the development of a healthy sense of self. The filmmaker's commentary asserts a criticism of the way wavy hair, lighter skin and a slender nose are still considered more attractive in the black community in light of historical and contemporary movements which have sought to liberate black self-esteem. As a practicing and teaching sociologist, the filmmaker sought to illuminate the notion of symbolic violence through the lens of Pierre Bourdieu and spark conversation not just in the black community but all other communities as well. Cultural practices which value some features but not others are issues common to every family and every community. For the filmmaker this is an issue of valuing and finding beauty in every human being. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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