Frederic Jameson is a Duke professor who was very interested in the early 80s in defining the concept of postmodernism. Here's a quote from his book Postmodernism and Consumer Society about this shift into postmodernism from prewar society: "New types of consumption; planned obsolescence; an ever more rapid rhythm of fashion and styling changes; the penetration of advertising, television and the media generally to a hitherto unparalleled degree throughout society..."
It seems to me very applicable to the documentary "Good Hair" we watched in class. Honestly, I really had no idea about any of this, especially weaves and relaxer. There is a huge consumerist strain in both of those, though - especially in regards to the idea of planned obsolescence ($1000 and a new weave EVERY MONTH?) I would argue that this drive for good hair has its roots in this concept of postmodernism, even if it is much older than modern society. In fact, I would consider it an extreme example; the media (in both movies and commercials) convinces women they need European styled hair, and they go so far as to basically replace their own hair with that of another ethnicity to conform to an invisible standard of beauty. To go along with this, according to the documentary, there are basically no small beauty product businesses anymore, all of them having been bought up by the major brands.
I just wonder where the roots of this standard of beauty come from; I suppose, like we talked about in class, the closer to 'white' one was in slave culture the more influence one had. It just seems crazy to me that this totally unrelated outward appearance got absorbed into beauty and then into marketing and quick cash.
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interesting contextualizing this in postmodernism. I don't know that I am thoroughly convinced but you strengthen your argument by rightly pointing out the historical roots this phenomena has and that "good hair" is defined in terms of whiteness. This all comes out of slavery, however, your argument still carries weight and perhaps rather than postmodernism we might want to categorize it as something like neocolonialism. Interestingly enough, you will see very similar things throughout the post-colonial world. For example, in India, you will find lots of produces marketed to "lighten" or "whiten" skin. In China, you will find very young children professing a preference for Barbie over Chinese dolls because they find her "prettier." It is interesting to think that the concept of beauty is linked to political and economic power. Unfortunately, in Korea, the most popular plastic surgery procedure is an eyelid augmentation that makes eyes look more Caucasian. This certainly is driven, in part, by the phenomena that you are explaining. Anyways, there is a lot more to say about your post but it is a conversation that the entire class needs to hear. This is a very thought-provoking and important post. Thanks!
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