Hair Love is an American Animated film that was written and directed by Matthew. A. Cherry. In production, the short film was co-produced by Karen Rupert Toliver and Cherry. Produced in 2019, this film gives a story of a black father who is left in a situation of making his daughter’s hair, a chore that he is not used to. Issa Rae is featured in this short film as the mother’s voice. The 7-minute long film serves to air support and representation of black hair in animated films all over America. Currently, black teenagers face discrimination in schools for their hair. Similarly, black women are faced with numerous risks of losing their jobs because of their hair. As a way to help fight this new form of discrimination, Cherry wrote this film to express the voice of the black community’s cry for equality in the treatment of hair. This film does not only advocate for anti-discriminative moves against the black hair but also advocates for the society to recognize the efforts of the lack of a man in ensuring love and unity of the family. In its film achieves great success in meeting its purpose.
Before this film, black men were viewed to be non-affectionate, especially to their families. Always unavailable, and being busy in their work, black men lacked time to tend to their families. Initially, this film shows the father going about his business while his daughter struggles to make her hair. The reason behind this experience is that the father, here, is used to his wife tending to their daughter’s hair (Jacobs 3). For this reason, the father does not view making her daughter’s hair as her role. In American society, black men have been stereotyped negatively, whereby they are associated with not being around.
Black teenagers, especially boys, have been suspended in numerous circumstances due to their choice of hair code, wearing locs. For instance, Arnold, black teenage schooling in Texas, was suspended and denied attendance to graduation for wearing locs. Notably, most colleges and high schools have developed this notion of discrimination against black hair. 50% of black women are at risk of being expelled from their jobs due to the discrimination against their hair. Currently, only three states prohibit discrimination based on hair (Penrose 1). This film also serves to motivate more action into the implementation of this policy in more states.
Discrimination against hair has, for a long time, been a threat to the existence of the black people in jobs and schools. In essence, more than 80% of black women have at least changed their hairstyles to fit into their jobs. In this film, the father supports her daughter’s ambition to keep locs. The daughter’s mother also supports her through the time she spends tending to her hair (Cherry 1). This film serves to give the opinion that black hair should be loved rather than be discriminated against. Secondly, the notion of viewing black men as individuals who do not express their love through affection towards their family is handled in this film. Cherry uses the film to show that despite their social status and the influence of their culture, black men are filled with love and affection for their families (Jean-Philippe 3). First, in expressing this form of love, the dad agrees to follow an online guide, to ensure her daughter is fit and looks gorgeous on her “big day.” In achieving this, the dad works tirelessly, and sweat is shown flowing from his face. Finally, Cherry uses film to champion diversity in animated films, whereby he wants producers to use black figures and hair to show a diversified community.
Cherry incorporates various components of a film to achieve this film. First, in the use of cinematography, she chooses various shots. First, he uses a medium close-up shot that enables the viewers to see the attachments in the wall decorations and paintings (Sony Pictures Animation, 00:00 to 00:46). This shot then shifts to an extreme close-up shot whereby we see the young daughter waking from her sleep. A long shot is then used to show the daughter waking to embrace her pet dog, who stares at her. Again, and the extreme close-up shot shows the calendar in March, and on this particular day, the calendar is marked with a heart shape. This shot enables the audience to understand the importance of this day to the little girl.
Cherry employs different film sounds to achieve his message for the audience. Foley is the most common sound effect in this film. When she wakes up from her bed, she covers the dog in her covers, and the sound of the contracting sheet can be heard. Again, after leaving her room, footsteps can be heard approaching the washroom (Sony Pictures Animation, 00:46 to 00:54). When the daughter drags the chair to start making her hair, the sound of the chair can be heard. Background music plays a crucial role in relaying the message of the producer. In this film, when the dad and daughter cannot agree on the best choice of hair, soft, introspective music is used to show the emotional turmoil.
In conclusion, Cherry achieves massive success in relaying the information of love for black hair, advocating for equality in animated films, and diversity in the society. Through the use of the various elements of a film, Cherry obtains a perfect film that relies on the message he intends to put across. The film shows clearly that black hair is love, and black men should embrace the norm of loving their kids.