Jackelyn B.

David
12 – St. Nicholas of Myra

Hair Love

The film Hair Love will surely bring you so many realizations in life, love, and dedication.
Hair Love is a 2019 American animated short film written and directed by Matthew A. Cherry,
Everett Downing Jr., and Bruce W. Smith. It won “Best Animated Short Film” at the 92nd
Academy Awards. It focuses on black hair and the hurdles that many people have with it. It is a
lovely and heartening story that deals with family, self-esteem, pride, style, identity, and culture.
The directors and writers wanted to "normalize" black hair, which has a history of
social stigma.

It tells the story of Zuri, a young girl who tries to style her natural hair by following in the
footsteps of her hair vlogger mom in an online video tutorial. When Zuri's mother is no longer
present, her father attempts to step in and style her hair to the best of his ability. The short film
concludes with Zuri and her father visiting the hospital, where they discover Zuri's mother's hair
is completely gone due to her chemotherapy treatment. I love the part where they both watch
the tutorial video of her mother just to do the hair style that Zuri wants. You can see her father’s
dedication and love towards their family. That part when Zuri was upset because her father
couldn’t do what she wanted was happening in real life. Emotions like that are valid and should
be acknowledged rather than suppressed. I'd say their family love is very strong because no
matter how big or small the problem is, they choose to solve it together.

The quality of the animation is fantastic and eye-catching. The characters, objects, and
setting are all very well planned and executed. The emotions of the characters are very realistic
and on point. I felt a real father-daughter connection between Zuri and her father. I just didn’t
like how Zuri and her father don’t have their dialogue and voices. They are the main characters,
but they don’t have dialogues. Issa Rae is the voice actor of Zuri’s mother, and she did it
perfectly just like a real vlogger. The background music is also extremely good and relaxing,
and the sound effects are highly accurate to the scenes. I love how they turn it into a boxing
match with father and Zuri's hair between 2:33 and 3:01. The most touching part is when they
visited Zuri’s mother in the hospital, and you could see their love towards each other. Zuri even
gave her mother an artwork.

This film taught me that no matter what it takes, your family will always be there for you.
No one compares to our parents' love for us. During your difficult times, the only people who will
show up and support you are your family. I recommend that the character who plays a unique
role in the film should have his or her own dialogue to better understand the film. Overall, the
film was great and a must-watch.