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timeagainreviews · 5 months

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In Space, Nobody Can Hear You Scream for Your Nappy Change

Few shows have had as many pilot episodes as Doctor Who. From “An Unearthly Child,” to the 1996 TV movie, to 2005’s “Rose,” and now “Space Babies.” However, one could argue that every new Doctor is essentially a pilot episode. There are notable shifts in the show’s dynamic to such a degree that it’s practically a reset. Any major personnel shift is a renewal. The transition from William Hartnell to Patrick Troughton, the transfer of power from Russell T Davies to Steven Moffat, and again, from Moffat to Chris Chibnall, for example. Even series ten began with the cheeky title “The Pilot,” where we find the Doctor earthbound as a college professor with his student, Bill, and his wife, Nardole. But “Space Babies,” is an odd one, for so many reasons. Mostly because it’s introducing us to characters we’ve been getting to know for a couple of episodes now. Then, of course, there’s everything else.

For some, an episode called “Space Babies” was always going to be a hard sale. Back in March when they revealed the new episode titles as a series of vignettes, Space Babies looked and sounded a lot like what we got. Sometimes a very literal title can be a bit of fun. “Snakes on a Plane,” tells you everything you need to know going in. While it may have benefitted from a bit of virality, you could argue that it does more with its premise than something like “Cocaine Bear,” which was little more than its title. I’ve complained in the past that my issue with the concept of the Timeless Child was that you could figure out the story by hearing the words. If I can watch a story in my head from its title, then in the words of Amy Pond- what is the point of you? My reaction to the title “Space Babies,” was very similar. Except in this case, I would say it was closer to a “Snakes On a Plane,” than a “Cocaine Bear.”

We’re off to a great start. I got to mention cocaine and babies in the same sentence. Speaking of awkward starts, why did Russell T Davies decide to open the show with the twee episode for the kiddies? Those types of stories are usually relegated to the mid-season point, after a really good one. I guess they needed a palette cleanser to put some space between “The Giggle,” and “The Devil’s Chord,” as they’re essentially the same story twice. But that’s for the next review. Though “Rose,” has its own brand of wacky weirdness with man-eating rubbish bins and plastic boyfriend doppelgangers with pizza peels for hands. Even still, it’s an odd choice for the “pilot.”

A lot of the episode’s enjoyment is predicated on how cute you think babies are. In my case, it’s not very much. If they had called the episode “Space Kittens,” it would have hooked me. But babies come with baggage. People are weird about babies. Babies are often politicised, which this episode definitely does, but more on that later. Another reason why babies were a hard sell for me is they’re not actors. Child actors are rarely good, so filtering their performances through the vacant faces of babies is like making a bad thing worse. Sure, they animated their mouths with cutting-edge technology straight from 1995’s “Babe,” but their faces gave us no range of emotion unless you count Eric, whose facial expression was that of one constantly bricking it in his diaper. I was reminded of the Gelflings in “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance,” in that it takes some getting used to the look of their faces. Except in the case of the Gelflings, the Jim Henson Creature Workshop knew their limitations and used CGI where the puppets fell short. A furrowed brow would have gone a long way to sell the babies.

However, I’m not made of stone. I’m not so joyless that I can’t send my critical brain on a little vacay for 46 minutes. I also appreciate that Doctor Who still takes the time to do stories for children. It’s a family show, after all. I was even impressed that the episode was able to sell me on the concept of a booger man (or Bogeyman to be precise) when “Sleep No More,” had so utterly failed to sell me on the concept of eye booger men previously. Even more, I had never expected to feel an emotional connection to said Bogeyman. While a lot of it had to do with Ncuti Gatwa’s performance, I’ll admit I actually got a little choked up at the end of the episode. Even a snotty little freak of nature deserves a place in the world, and I identified with that. It’s nice when a Doctor Who episode ends and it was actually about something.

As mentioned before, Russell T Davies uses the baggage that comes along with babies to stoke the fire of his own story. Through the eyes of Jocylen, the ship’s reluctant nanny, we see the babies in another light- as a constant source of worry. Having never wanted the job in the first place, Jocylen’s part is one of necessity rather than vocation. No one working in the field of charity or crisis aid wants to be doing the work. Sure, it’s fulfilling, but the nature of its necessity is telling of the world at large, or in this case- star system. In a perfect star system, no child would go unhugged, unattended, or forgotten. Yet here she is, forced by circumstance and emboldened by compassion to rise to the occasion. She may not be nailing it, but seriously, who the hell else was taking care of the children they forced to exist? If “Kill the Moon,” was Doctor Who’s pro-life story, this episode stands in stark contrast as the pro-choice story.

An episode with a butt-shaped space station that farts its way to the shores of freedom seems like an odd choice to talk about refugees, but it’s also the episode that gave a booger a soul. While a lot of the tone aligns more with “Aliens of London/World War Three,” or “Love and Monsters,” the message aligns more with something like “Turn Left.” Russell T Davies is giving us a spoonful of sugar with our medicine, which seems the correct approach in a show where Christmas trees are capable of murder. Suffice it to say, seeing a Rwandan refugee playing a British icon on the BBC commenting on the conservative government’s Rwandan bill is better than anything the show could do on its own. You almost have to do it, and more than I’m glad RTD rose to the occasion, I’m glad it was Ncuti who got to do it.

Speaking of things only Ncuti Gatwa could do, I appreciate that his Doctor is emotionally available enough to offer a hug to a child while still being alien enough to scare the bejeezus out of them. I can’t really picture Tom Baker hugging anyone, though I can imagine him scaring the bejeezus out of someone. Maybe Matt Smith would do it. Jodie as well. But Gatwa’s Doctor is an interesting mixture of compassionate and completely aloof. It’s a mixture that is sometimes at odds with itself, but it works. You see it in brief moments like when Ruby’s caretaker instincts take over and she runs head-on into danger, while the Doctor takes a moment to pop around the corner and catch up to her. It’s the classic dynamic of the Doctor being reminded of human nature by his companion.

I really like this selfless defender of the people streak in Ruby’s personality. It reminds me a lot of an ‘80s companion. She’s like a mixture of Nyssa and Ace. She puts herself in harm's way to protect others. She writes songs to cheer up lovesick lesbians. She’s got a very full personality that is palpable very early on. We got this level of character development with RTD’s earlier companions, and it’s nice to see it continue. What’s less nice is how he seems to have also taken a page from Steven Moffat’s book where the companion must also be needlessly complicated. What’s more is it feels less enticing and more like retreading familiar territory. It’s giving “The Impossible Girl,” vibes with an Amy Pond pregnancy body scan to bring it full circle. This is one of my biggest issues with the RTD2 era so far- it feels like a remix of past Doctor Who. That isn’t to say he’s added nothing new to the show, but it does feel a bit Clara 2.0. I’m just saying, it doesn’t always have to be some star-crossed destiny. If you do it every time, it loses its power. Sometimes people just meet each other. Say what you will about Yaz’s characterisation, but at least she was allowed to be a person.

The story at the heart of “Space Babies,” is ultimately a bit thin. You could argue that there was never any real threat, but that happens sometimes on Doctor Who (take “Listen,” for example). I’ve seen some people online complaining that the Bogeyman doesn’t die, but what does it really do other than scare people? Sure, you see Eric’s pram toppled and find him characteristically bricking it in his diaper, but he’s not got a scratch on him. What if Eric went missing because the Bogeyman “ate” him. They could reveal that he actually was protecting Eric from the dangers of the malfunctioning bowels of the ship. Imagine the bogey bits tearing away out of the airlock, slowly revealing Eric inside. Not only would Jocylen have almost taken an innocent life, but two innocent lives. Pair that with the Doctor's brave rescue and blammo! It could have upped the tension and implied more danger, is all I’m saying.

I was a bit confused by the ship’s computer creating the Bogeyman in the first place. That entire aspect of the plot was skimmed over and very flimsy. I thought they were doing something with the show’s new magical premise, a “superstition of the Bogeyman made him exist,” sort of angle. But no, it was just something the ship did, for reasons. I also expected that to be the reason for Ruby's transformation into the weird scaly lizard woman. I expected it to suddenly be possible through superstition that stepping on a butterfly could change the course of history. But instead, the Doctor forgot to push the butterfly compensator on the TARDIS console. Kinda weird that RTD had two moments to further his own mythology but sided on technobabble. Not bad, just odd.

One aspect that bothered me was how long it took them to reveal the Bogeyman was made of snot. When they took the time to do this whole to do with the babies blowing their noses, I immediately looked over at my wife and said “The Bogeyman is made of baby boogers,’ to which she responded “I hate that you’re right.” They telegraphed it so hard that it made the Doctor seem slow on the uptake. If you recall from my review of "The Husbands of River Song," I felt like they did the same thing to River with how long it took her to recognise the Doctor. However, I imagine it's a bit of a balancing act to know when to reveal something. The Doctor doesn't necessarily have all of the information we have as an audience.

As pilots go, “Space Babies,” could have done better at introducing a new audience to Doctor Who. Much of the expository dialogue about who the Doctor is or where he came from felt rushed and unnatural. My friend Taryn said she enjoyed this aspect of the Doctor being less cryptic and more forthcoming with information. While I agree, I feel like the execution was clumsy, a word we’re starting to see more often in my reviews of the RTD2 era. For comparison, take Fallout, a show that came out only a month earlier. Both are technically first seasons of tv shows based on pre-existing properties with dense lore. Both have eight episodes to tell their stories. And yet with Fallout, we get a trickle of information as things happen. With Doctor Who we have the Doctor stopping his companion mid-sentence to say “Oh yeah, by the way, I have two hearts.” Look, I get it, I’m neurodivergent. I appreciate a good infodump. But there’s a big reason people are calling Fallout a triumph- it respects its audience enough to reveal things over time.

RTD said recently that young people won’t watch black and white. I don’t know if this is true as I am a cusp gen x/millennial. I don’t know much about what kids get up to these days, but I also don’t go around saying what they will and won’t do. It sounds a lot like “Those damn kids with their hip hop video games,” or like “Kids don’t like anything that isn’t Tik Tok or Roblox.” It feels like it misunderstands the appeal of storytelling in the first place. Studio executives have never fully understood what is good about Doctor Who. In the ‘70s and ‘80s, it was “Why can’t it be like Star Wars?” In the Chibnall era, the goal was to compete with Netflix. And now it’s “We need to meet the same standards of Marvel.” But if Doctor Who is always being compared to something else, you curse it into always being behind the curve. When I fell in love with Doctor Who, it was because it wasn’t like anything I had ever seen before. If I want to watch Iron Man, I’ll watch Iron Man.

Not all of the expository dialogue was without merit. I’ve been continually impressed by RTD’s handling of the Timeless Child storyline. As longtime readers know, I was not a fan of that story. Hell, first-time readers probably picked up on it in this article. But I don’t think it’s fair to discount the people who did enjoy that story. And I think it is far more interesting for the show to develop the idea as opposed to sweeping it under the rug. We learned that the Time Lord genocide was cellular, which helps the whole concept of the Master achieving what millions of Daleks couldn’t do make more sense. It’s amazing how much a single line of dialogue can overcome a lot of shoddy writing. I liked the Doctor stating that it doesn’t matter where he comes from, as I’ve been saying that the whole damn time. It’s also nice that despite everything, the Doctor is still a Time Lord in his hearts of hearts. We as fans kinda need those moments so we can collectively move on from what has been a rather ugly time in the fandom.

That’s not to say we aren’t still in an ugly culture battle within the fandom. Racism is still a very real aspect to the conversation. As are ableism, sexism, transphobia. And despite RTD meeting these things head-on with the grace of a fish out of water, we’ve still got some great points of intrigue. Who is this woman played by Susan Twist we keep seeing in the background? Who is the one who waits? Is Mrs Flood the White Guardian to Susan Twist’s Black Guardian? I would love to say it’s the Rani because it’s been 20 fucking years of it not being the Rani, which is also the exact reason I won’t say it’s the Rani. But god I wish it was the Rani. They even name-drop her! Give us this one, please. My point being, despite its daftness and its expressionless babies, “Space Babies,” still gives us a lot to go off of. If you didn’t like it, do what I did and watch it twice. The emotional resonance works better when it feels less like you’re watching a car accident.

Look, if you didn’t like “Space Babies,” I get it. Maybe it’s not for you. There are weird little problems with the episode. The expository dialogue I mentioned, for example. The babies are a bit much. The Bogeyman howling like a werewolf was batshit weird. I guess it was because they compared him to a dog. Even then, why not make it bark? You could ask things like “Why didn’t the Doctor use the TARDIS to fly them to safety instead of setting their space station on a crash course with the planet’s surface?” or "Why didn't the Doctor get sucked out of the airlock? It's air pressure, not gravity." Is the humour still falling a bit flat? Sure. It’s easy to pick stuff apart. But come on, the episode is called “Space Babies,” you knew ahead of time if that concept was going to work for you or not.

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Thanks for reading! I'm sorry these articles are taking a while. Having two episodes drop simultaneously doubles my workload! I'll have the review for "The Devil's Chord," up tomorrow! Hopefully next week will be more timely.

#Doctor Who #Space Babies #Ncuti Gatwa #Millie Gibson #Russel T Davies #Ruby Sunday #Fifteenth Doctor #Season one #RTD #RTD2 #Susan Twist #Bogeyman #TARDIS #BBC #timeagainreviews

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blackhill2245 · 3 months

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Oh shit!

Warnings - guns, like a bit of violence but really

Note - enjoy, not proof read so if there's anything major let me know

I sit around lazily scrolling through my phone, music full blast in my headphones. I was wearing my signature 'nobody will see me' outfit, as in a grey hoodie with stains on it from painting and my at home DIY projects, my black track pants full of cat hair.

"SWAT put your hands up!" I hear muffled through my headphones as my front and back door are kicked open. I sit up in alarm shakily taking my headphones off.

"What the fuck!"

"On the ground!" A girl screams, pointing her gun at me as the rest of her squad runs around my house. "BE careful! The basement stairs are dodgy, and you'll fall through!" I yelp as I spot two men stomping down them.

"I said on the ground!" She shouts again, thrusting her gun at me to make a point.

"Ok, ok jesus" I nod sitting cross legged on the floor.

"No lay on the ground, face down!" She shakes her head grabbing my arm and making me lay down, that was hot- wait.

I yelp as I'm roughly tossed on the floor, blushing madly because oh my God girls in uniform -

Not to seconds later, the rest of the team rushed back to my living room.

"Where is he!?" The tall bald headed one asked.

"Who?" I scrunch my eyebrows straining to look up at them, "Hey, can I sit up now?".

The bald headed one nodded at the girl, who then patted me down and nodded, "Get up." she demands, and well, who am i to deny a pretty woman?

I sat up, and they were all tense waiting for me to try to make a run for it or something, but I was just straight up confused, but also thankful I washed my hair yesterday because it would have been so fucking greasy.

"He asked you a question!" Another dude said he had black hair that actually suited him well. I wonder what he'd look like with a beard, I don't think he'd have the face for it.

"I already answered, who?" I say again looking at the bald headed one he seemed to be in charge.

"Alex Rovio"

"What type of name is Rovio?" I laugh a little but stop once seeing they're glares, "nah sorry man, I'm still confused"

They all stared at me for a while before the bald headed one started talking, but I interrupted them.

"Wait, wait, wait can I get names I mean no offense but I can't keep thinking of you as the bald one" I note a younger man laughing to himself.

The man rolled his eyes but introduced everyone, I learned the pretty lady is Chris, a very beautiful name, if I might add.

"Right sorry what were you about to say?"

"A known and wanted murderer is meant to live here" deacon states his face very serious.

"Uh well I'm on the lease but my name isn't Alex, so-" I shrug

They all exchange looks, "were going to have to bring you in for questioning, Chris took her out to the truck" Hondo instructs his team but once again before they could do as told, I interrupt.

"OH, could I feed my cat before I go? And just tell my naighbor, he's disabled and I don't want him alone"

They nod, so I stand up and just stand there awkwardly, "are you just gonna watch me?"

Chris chuckles, shaking her head she hands her big ass gun to Luka. "I'll watch her. You all head to the car"

They all file out, and I call for my cat, "psst psst, chicken!, chicken!" I call ratling his treat bag.

I hear a meow, and my shaky cat chicken stumbles into the kitchen, "Hey baby!" I coo fixing his nappy.

I place his food down reaching for my phone to call my neighbor.

"Chicken?"

I look to Chris, who has a confused look on her face, "oh I found his in the trash eating chicken"

She nods and lets me call my anighbkr, over leaving a 50 on the counter and heading back to HQ with Chris.

■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■

After a while of discussing, we realized alex the murderer is using me as sort of a cover-up, pretending to live there so police wouldn't be suspicious or something, anyway I was sending money to him and he sent it to the actual renter who didn't know what was going on.

I didn't try to understand it, to complicated but long story short I'll need a new home, my neighbor had to take my cat to her apartment for a while, and I had to stay in the HQ for a couple hours until the team could arrest Alex as I was now in danger.

"Man," I sigh, Chris was designated to watch me, which I really did not mind. Anyway, right now, we were sitting in the boxing ring. Well, I was lying down.

"You alright?" She asks softly looking down at me, she was sitting cross legged next to my head.

Oh. My. God she's so fucking pretty what the fuck.

I realize I zoned out when I saw her smile, "Uh yea, I'm fine." I shrug, "It's a bit annoying, having to move but I've been wanting to buy a house for a while"

"What do you do for work?" She asked playing with her fingers.

"Im a firefighter, it's fun, you know? Helping people and all that" I Humm folding me arms behind my head, sighing.

"Neat job" she nods hesitating before shrugging herself and laying next to me.

"So. Chicken? What's up with him?"

"He's a wobbly cat or cerebellar hypoplasia, his brain is a little messed up, I brought him to the shelter but it was a kil one, I didn't realize until it was nearly to late, I realized he was a lot of work I was still in the academy but, I worked hard learned what I needed to then my neighbor learned about my cat and started to help out, he's so sweet just a little.... special" I rant I loved my cat to bits, and when I showed people him they were always saying mean things.

I look at Chris, noting how she was already looking at me. She laid on her side, looking at me.

"He looks like a very sweet boy" she mutters leaning down to get closer to me.

"He is," I whisper before we fall silent, sitting up as I see deacon approach.

"You're a free woman. He's caught. Just get out of your house as soon as possible and be careful" he walked away leaving me alone with Chris.

"Well, guess I'll head home"

"Wait, uh, I didn't ask earlier because I mean it would be I aptopreite, but since you're leaving and most likely won't see me again, um here" I smiled at how awkward she was being. I look st the peice of paper she handed me and realized it was her number.

"You know to call me incase somethings wrong?" She smiles bashfuly.

"I'd like that." I smile brightly, my cheeks hurting, "but... I'd like to call you, as soon as I get home, not when something is wrong"

"Well then, you'd better hurry home," she smiled once more before walking away, looking over her shoulder and giving me a cheeky smile and wave.

"Fuck me" I whisper, partially shocked and partially actually no, fully truthful.

Sighing I get home sending off a text.

'Hey, hope you have an easy rest of the day <3"

It sounded a bit awkward, but I can't flirt for my life. Immediately, there's a text back.

'Thank you, but don't jynx it, glad you git home safe ♡'

I spend the rest of the night smiling like a little school girl, giggling and kicking my feet.

#SWAT #s.w.a.t.#chris alonso #fxf #fanfic #cute #fluffy #wobbly cat #deacon kay #fanfiction #s.w.a.t fanfic

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rennythegorequeen · 1 month

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Resident Evil Snaps #1: "Sorry. He's napping."

Celine held him close to her, snugged cozily on the couch as they rest for the day. They just arrived home after their home errands when Chris starts to ring Leon, causing Celine to groan. She picked it up to see the message.

"Leon! We need you ASAP!"

The message made her roll her eyes when she deviced a plan. She used his phone to send Chris a pic with a message.

"Sorry Chris, He can't text back for a mission rn. He needs his nappies."

She sent with a smile as she turned off Leon's phone, satisfied with herself.

#resident evil #leon kennedy #resident evil oc

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tylerqzy · 6 months

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'victim 1: alejandro burromuerto'

'discovered by: tyler kenard'

‘cause of death: Alejandro hung himself from the support beam in the confessional, by a rope that could be found in the fishing closet down at the beach. but not only was he killed by that, alejandro also had much head trauma as well burn scars from an unknown incident.'

'details: Alejandro’s eyes were burned from his skull, burn marks and damage was done to his hands up to his elbow, his eyes and parts of his face. his hair was oddly cut, almost into a messy like mullet, but it looked tore out, as well thin. due to the stress put on him from this odd possession he began loosing hair. underneath his hanging body, was that statue. the confessionals will no longer be in use, the statue will remain there; alejandro’s body was buried and marked next to the confessional.'

i had this idea, yk abt those “Mlp aus” ? well i had an idea with total drama about it, with some inspiration by a game “possesor”. this series thought would be called possessed, basically what happened was after years of total drama cast being down, chris decided to host one once again for the original cast (including seirra and alejandro). they at this point we’re all adults, and they were still, aiming for money, but there was this odd mystery going on at the island as of recently. the cursed statue from bone island was mysteriously found in an ash pit where the fires would be held, at the voting off site. the one who found it was alejandro, he decided that he’d take it back to chris but… something happened. alejandro began to behave weirdly, he was always cold, his eyes darkened with colour, bags under his eyes worsened, his teeth almost, grew, his hair nappy and he became a whole different person. alejandro became obsessed with the statue and was driven insane. one day alejandro just… vanished without a trace, they all, worried for his health went looking for him, and poor tyler.. ended up finding him. hanging from the support beam in the confessional.

#total drama #total drama island #alejandro total drama #tyler total drama #mlp au #infection au #total drama au

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bitchkay · 2 years

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*Christoph taking a nappy wappy*

Chris: *I slep😴*

Mc:...

Mc: hey.. you think he likes vaping?

Lance: No hes like eleven!!

Lou: No thats- I don't think that's a good ide--

Mc: I think we should let him vape!

the ref below the cut

#court of darkness #court of darkness incorrect quotes #incorrect quotes #mc but shes unhinged #just like shes supposed to be--#voltage inc

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eagc1995 · 2 years

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Patreon Rewards for Amazingangus76

1. Fluttershy and Mo

2. Spike x Smolder

3. Angus x Nappy

4. Ice Skating

5. At the pool

6. Asteroid Angus and Sweetie Belle

If you would like to support my work, feel free to support me on either Patreon: www.patreon.com/eagc1995 Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/X8X0WRTV

Shoutout to my Patreon supporters: Esteban Felix, Chris Acosta, ThePkmnYPerson, Christopher Mason, Sam Fimple, Mattthiamore, Amazingangus76, RealGilbertGan, Robert Grgic, DOCTORKHANblog, PowerRCP-G3, TheVHM108, Jeffrey Gaskill

#Pokemon #My Little Pony #The Land Before Time #Sonic The Hedgehog #Fluttershy #Maud Pie #Sweetie Belle

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ejbarnes · 2 years

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Two films to watch back-to-back before Black History Month is over

My partner and I have been watching movies every Friday night, taking turns choosing (or giving each other a short list that the other person picks from). We either stream from a non-subscription service (such as Vudu or Kanopy) or borrow DVDs from our public library.

As February is Black History Month -- despite Black history being inextricable from American history, and vice versa -- our February selections focused (sometimes distantly) on Black (mostly African-American) history.

After Devil in a Blue Dress (fiction, set in post-WWII LA), selections from a DVD set of early-20th-century African-American cinema (including features by Oscar Micheaux and shorts by Zora Neale Hurston), and Belle (very loosely based on a true story of a Black Englishwoman), we rounded out the month with two films whose makers wound up in court. In my opinion, these films should be seen together, because while the topic is the same, their treatment is complementary.

My Nappy Roots: A Journey Through Black Hair-itage (2008) (33m) is a half-hour documentary by Regina Kimbell. She interviews Black historians and literary figures, describing the historical background and social forces influencing how Black Americans deal with their hair in a white-dominated society. The common question answered by many of the interviewees: What does the (usually insulting) word "nappy" (as applied to hair) mean to you? (Note: One commentator remarks, incorrectly, that Black people in America are the only people who have had to deal with the political implications of hairstyles. While certainly this became a fraught issue for Black Americans in the 1960s and '70s, with the height of the "Afro" era, Scottish writer Charles Mackay, in his 1841 book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, has an entire chapter on the "Influence of Politics and Religion on the Hair and Beard.")

My Nappy Roots is interesting and informative. Photographs and engravings of African women with elaborate traditional hairstyles are shown. The film even mentions Madam C. J. Walker's lesser-known but influential mentor (and later rival) Annie Malone. Unfortunately, there were no DVDs of My Nappy Roots available in our library system, and the only place we could stream it was on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/156916436

By contrast, Good Hair (2009) (96m) is a feature-length film narrated by star comedian Chris Rock. Since Rock's film came so close on the heels of Kimbell's, she sued him for stealing her idea after she had shown him her film. Rock claims in his own film that his inspiration was hearing his little daughter ask him, "Daddy, why don't I have good hair?" Kimbell's suit failed in keeping Good Hair from wide release.

Some have said that Rock's treatment of the topic, though longer, is more superficial. I would argue, however, that they are different -- that they cover some of the same territory, but with different enough approaches that they are both worth watching.

Rock's Hollywood connections and HBO backing definitely lead to more razzle-dazzle: While Kimbell interviews Black scholars and journalists, Rock mostly interviews Black celebrities and businesspeople. The only person to appear in both films is A'lelia Bundles. I would argue that while Kimbell goes into more depth on the why, Rock goes into more depth on the how.

Both films cover the dangers of harsh chemical straighteners, but only Rock interviews beauty-parlor clients -- including, horrifyingly, those bringing in their small children for their first "perm". Both films mention braiding and the time and expense involved (although neither does much if anything with the braiding option of having artificial braids sewn to short-cropped natural hair). Rock also takes a deep dive into the "weave" -- the practice of having long, straight hair extensions woven to the scalp. He even goes to India to visit the source of most of the natural hair used in these extensions.

I think Rock spent too much time on the Black-haircare convention in Atlanta, particularly the competition between "star" hairdressers. While I was interested to learn how big this convention was, and how much of the Black-hair-product industry is owned by non-Black owners (particularly Asians), some of the interactions with Asian businesspeople were awkward without being revelatory in the muckraking-journalism tradition; comedian Rock was simply going for the laughs. Since the film is so close to 90 minutes, I have to wonder if the inclusion of the showbiz "final competition" at the convention was to fill up the minutes.

Rock interviewed one actress who had shaved her head because she had suffered from alopecia. This is quite a common problem -- it's something that happened to my own congresswoman, Ayanna Pressley. It also happened to Jada Pinkett-Smith; Rock's making of a film about the vicissitudes of Black hair care, including interviewing an alopecia sufferer, casts a curious light on his poking fun at Pinkett-Smith at a recent Oscars ceremony (incurring the wrath of her husband). All that I can guess is that he misjudged how well she would take the joke.

Unlike My Nappy Roots, Good Hair can be streamed on Vudu or Kanopy; it's also available on DVD, which is how we saw it (on a copy borrowed from our public library). I would recommend seeing both these films -- back-to-back if possible, preferably with the more deeply historical and political My Nappy Roots first. It takes only a little over 2 hours in all to do so.

#28daysisnotenough

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appache110 · 2 years

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GREETINGS: FOLLOWING PHOTO ILLUSTRATION DEPICTS WHAT THE LORD = LOROD = LOWER ROD ARE MEN'S PENIS IN CHEESES CRIES ART WOMEN WITH LOVE BEING SPIRIT DEATHS IS ALL ABOUT SPOUSE TO SPOUSE COPULATINGS ALWAYS WAS THE PRINCIPLE AND ALWAYS WAS AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE WORLDS MAJOR RELIGION PRACTICE BESIDE KUNDALINI CADUCEUS SLEEPING SERPENT AWAKENING RELIGION = RAY REGIONAL WITH THIS ONE SELLING THE SOUL = SOLE = GHOUL SUFFERINGS. THE CHRISTIANITY = CREASE CHEESE AND NUTTY = CREASE CHEESE AND NAUGHTY ( SAY CHRISTIANITY ) REAL FAST AND VOWEL SOUNDS = ( CREASE CHEESE AND NUTTY = CREASE CHEESE AND NAUGHTY = CHRISTIANITY = CHRIS TI A NITY.) ARE THOSE MEN WHO ART THE LORD = LOROD =( LOWER ROD MENS TESTAMENTS ) IN THE HOLEY CHURCH = CHURCHA = CHOARCHA BEING THE VAGINA OF WOMEN LOVE SPIRIT DEATHS CLIMAX SINGS. THIS CHRISTIANITY = CREASE CHEESE AND NUTTY = CREASE CHEESE AND NAUGHTY OF COUPLES IS, NOT ANY HOLEY BIBLE SPELLS INCORECTLY. WHEN THE TRUTH ABOUT IS THE MAJORITY RELIGION FOR ALL NATIONALITIES NO MATT WHAT LANGUAGES SPOKEN, NO MATTER WHAT HAIRITAGE AND HAIR TEXTURE GRADE FOLLICLES THE SOME PEOPLE = ZOMBIE POLE MASSES HAS, NO MATTER WHAT GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION, NO MATTER WHAT CLOTHING DRESS, NO MATTER WHAT TYPES OF FOOD = FOOD ZOO = VOODOO MEANING EATING DECEASED = DISEASED ANIMALS FLESH, BLOOD, GUTS CARCASSES ANIMAL BURIALS YE OBSERVE EVERY TIME MUNCHING NOT UPWARDS, BUT RATHER, MUNCHING DOWN ON THOSE ANIMALS. YE SPOUSE COUPLES WORLDWIDE FROM PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE PRACTICE WITH CHRISTIANITY ADULT = A DULL. SOME PEOPLE = ZOMBIE POLE YE HOLEY NOT BIBLE BUT RATHER, HOLEY PIPE PULL PUSH PULL PUSH PULL PUSH PULL PUSH PULL PUSH PULL PUSH PULL ETC., HOLEY GASPELLS = HOLEY ORGAN GAS SIM SPELLS ( REBORN = RAY PORN AGAIN, BABIES PEOPLE TRANSFORMED FROM THEIR SPIRIT AND PHYSICAL DEATHS, THUS, TRADING PLACES WITH YE MATING COUPLES AND BY THE PRINCIPLE CALLED THE PARENTAL LORD IN CHEESES CRIES ART OUR PARENTS BEING OUR PERSONAL SAVIORS FROM THE AGAIN, SPIRIT AND PHYSICAL DEATHS YOU SEE THAT'S THE WAY THE PRINCIPLE GOES AND SOME PEOPLE = ZOMBIE POLE HAVE LOTS OF NERVE TWISTING AND CONFUSING SOCIETIES WITH SUCH RUBBISH GET A GRIP FROM THIS WRITTEN TEXT MESSAGE SCRIPT. NOTICE, THAT IN PHOTO PASS THE ENTRANCE DOORS OF THEIR WOMEN'S CHURCH = CHURCHA = CHOARCHA IS SEEN THE BRIGHT LIGHT OF FETUSES IN THE WOMBS ARE THE HOLEY GHOSTS ARE THOSE BABIES IN THE WOMBS OF MOTHERS. THOSE KIDS = QIZ = QIZIZ = QIZIRES = QIZIRS KINK NAPPY HAIRS = NEBEA KING HEIRS = HEIR SHIPS ARE THE TRUE KINKY HAIRS = KING HEIRS OF THE PLANET EARTH REGIONS WHERE AND STILL ARE INVADED DURING WARS AND ALSO, THE OWNERS OF THE BOUNDLESS UNIVERSAL GALAXIES IS PRINCIPLE. EVEN THOUGH MANY WAR INVASIONS INCLUDING WAR, BRUTALITY, BLOODSHED INVASIONS INVOLVING THE SOVEREIGN AFRO INHABITANTS OF EARTH LAND TERRITORY GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS. HENCE, HOW AND WHAT ARE WRITTEN IN THIS TEXT MESSAGE SCRIPT BEING WHAT I HAVE BEEN SEEING FOR THE LONGEST WHILE, THE WHOLE NARRATIVE IS TWISTED, TOTALLED NOT MAKING ANY SENSE, WITH YOU'RE, SO CALLED, JESUS CHRIST FAKE AND FALSE NARRATIVE HOCUS POCUS. HOPE YOU APPRECIATE THIS TEXT MESSAGE SCRIPT AND THERE ARE MORE WRITINGS TO COME. TO CONTINUE READING FUTURE TEXT SCRIPTS YOUR SUPPORT IS NEEDED TO HELP COVERING THE COSTS FOR PAPER, INK, BOOK COVERS AND DESIGN, MASS PRODUCTION, HIGH SPEED PRINTERS, ADVERTISING AND MARKETING, PUBLISHING AND DISTRIBUTIONS BY SENDING CREDIT AND DEBIT CARD INFORMATION WITH FIRST AND LAST NAMES, CARD NUMBER, EXPIRATION DATE, THREE DIGIT NUMBER ON BACK OF CARD WITH AMOUNTS WILLING TO CONTRIBUTE USING FOLLOWING EMAIL ADDRESS:

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