Hair Love

     On the surface Hair Love may seem like a nice simple short film about a father doing his daughters hair so that she can see her mother with a nice hairstyle. But I can see how this short film can also be interpreted in a way relevant to us as students, and educators. Within this short film we see the father who could be described as a student of hairstyling, as he learns throughout the short film to accept his mistakes and learn from them, and I find this to be one of the most important moments in the short film. His being able to accept his mistakes, own up to them, and then get help from someone more knowledgeable than him allowed him to do what he originally had wanted to achieve. 

    Being able to face one's mistakes head one is a blessing not many people can say they are privy to. Unfortunately I believe that we live during a time where people think that being wrong means that you're stupid, rather than not understanding or simply not knowing. I think this scares people off from asking questions, even myself I find that I can be too timid and sacrifice my own education to not feel anxious or nervous about asking a question. I think as educators we really have to try and ingrain the fact that there is no such thing as a stupid question. But, I don't believe that the sole fix lies with only teachers, I think that students also contribute to the negative stigma around questions. I remember a common gripe among my friends at school (especially during middle school) was that "oh she's asking a question, this is so easy how can she not understand." or even comparing asking a question to challenging the teachers intelligence. The major student body has a big power over the mind of the individuals within a school, so much so it leaves a lasting impression within the mind of the youth and forever changes them. 

This shame of mistakes and being wrong is quite evident within the short film, after the father fails to tame his daughters hair, he tried to make her wear a beanie hiding the part of her that she is most proud of. Of course his daughter is hurt by his actions after such a small effort was made, he just gives up and tries to write off his mistake. Only after the father is ignored by the daughter for a small amount of time does he realize that he should swallow his pride and try again with help. After accepting the help of an expert, he finally gets the desired result with relative ease. This is a great anecdote to show how accepting our mistakes and asking for help can better us in our own respective areas. 

Comments

  1. Maya ViraOctober 5, 2024 at 3:30 PM

    I liked that you mentioned that in the short film Hair Love, the father is trying to learn from his mistakes and seek help when needed. This is a very important lesson in every discipline and life in general. I also liked that the film had multiple layers. The father kept checking his watch to show that he was anxious and thinking about how he could be late to work. This gave the task a sense of urgency. It was also unclear where the mother was at first, but the audience could see the full picture when they showed the ending. This gives the viewer a sense of love, patience, and the bond between the father and daughter.

    Going back to the applications of this film to our class, we can learn from it that everything requires patience and the ability to learn from our mistakes and be willing to accept help. In addition, the father’s journey signifies the importance of embracing challenges and learning new skills. Teachers can promote this mindset in their students by encouraging perseverance and celebrating effort, not just results. There is also the cultural aspect of the film, which highlights the beauty of cultural differences, particularly in hair and identity. Teachers must embrace diversity in their curriculum to ensure that students of all cultural backgrounds are appreciated and valued.

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  2. Hector A. GutierrezOctober 6, 2024 at 7:17 PM

    I loved the mention of Hair Love, I watched this in highschool and have had a soft spot for it since. I think you're absolutely right about accepting our mistakes will lead to a better environment for our future students. If we were to put ourselves in the position of the father, us seeking outside help on hair might be able to be translated to veteran teachers, staff, and educators about best practices and plans that can help us in the long run.

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  3. Ed EscatelOctober 7, 2024 at 11:31 AM

    As another blog post pointed out, the short film was entirely reliant on us being able to "read" the film using other types of "texts" besides written language. Besides the fact that there was limited spoken or written language. We were able to come away form the film with a clear message that you tied to overcoming difficult tasks and learning from mistakes. A lot of people, including myself and many of our students, have an aversion against making mistakes because they think they failed. However making mistakes is an inevitable part of the learning process. Some things can be learned instantly, but more often than not errors and mistakes will happen in thought processes. We have to teach that errors are part of learning and showing them as necessary stepping stones to success.

    The topic actually reminds me of this Tiktok that I'm sure many students (as well as myself) can relate to: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8RwowR7/

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  4. Samuel MedinaOctober 7, 2024 at 3:57 PM

    I thought your tiktok that you linked was really funny... it reminded me of the first time I used trial and error because I didn't know multiplication and I got accused of cheating since I didn't show any of my work. I had deleted my trial and errors by throwing away my work and presenting only the answer because I was embarrassed I got my answer that way. As I've gotten older I think I've become better at making mistakes but I am only so young. That saying "you live and you learn" really resides with me. Hair love reminds me of myself and my own personal journey of accepting errors and mishaps... not only for myself but for others. At the end of the day if you learnt a lesson and got your answer I think that's what matters most... I'm sorry for the really poor analogy!

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