African Film Archive

Hair Piece: A Film for Nappy-Headed People

1984 — Ayoka Chenzira — United States

short · animation, comedy · flourishing

A ten-minute animated musical, Ayoka Chenzira's short satirizes the pressure on Black women to straighten their hair to meet Eurocentric beauty standards, using cartoon collage to move between comedy and the physical pain the process can cause.

Fun fact: Chenzira has said the idea began after she noticed African Americans wearing shower caps in public, before learning it was part of the Jheri curl process.

Notes: Ten-minute animated short, originally developed from a stand-up comedy piece.

Verification: verified · Sources: [1] [2] [3]

Poster source: Wikipedia