Haircut Supercut: When Women Lose Their Minds And Manes On Screen
- Posted on 19 May, 2016
- Hair Styling
- By Anonymous
Why is it that a woman going through a significant and/or traumatic time in her life is so often denoted in film and television by a spontaneous, vigorous, tearful, cathartic haircutting scene? We explore the trope of female characters cutting their hair or shaving their heads on TV and film.
Why is it that a woman going through a significant and/or, traumatic time in her life, is so often donated in film and television by a spontaneous, vigorous, tearful cathartic haircutting scene frequently employed to communicate a female characters, inner turmoil or need for transformation? This cringe-worthy visual convention is typically accompanied by stirring music, with or without affecting lyrics, to draw us into the gravity of the moment. But why exactly is the trope considered such an effective shorthand? Let'S pick it apart. On the one hand, shorter hair is associated with the masculine by joining the boys club of buzz cuts and baldness, and there, by shedding an outward display of femininity, a woman is clearly scribing for empowerment. Secondly, the spontaneous act of haircutting is irrational, like all women who are controlled by their hysterical wounds and appearance is everything. So if a woman is willing to change her so dramatically in the spur of the moment, her thoughts and emotions must be in a pretty erratic place right. The sad thing is so many of the women whom we see cutting their hair in movies and TV are responding to some truly horrific experiences. Take Jodie Foster in 1988 drama the accused, who cuts her hair in a fit of rage after being violently gang-raped, allora nota, sVU's, Olivia Benson, who gives herself a tearful makeover after being kidnapped and tortured, is introducing these ordeals to hackneyed hair cutting scenes kind of trivial. What would a man do in a similar situation, violently retaliate or pursue justice in some tangible, rational way? Another more disturbing reading of distressed hair cutting and head shaving scenes is that these are acts of penance, bringing to mind images of ritual shaming. The female punishes herself by stripping off a source or in fact the only source of her power, which is her beauty and sexuality. It'S a point of mockery in that bastion of good taste and sophistication family Guy here Peter is seen parodying Foster's character in the accuse. Where'S Peter, where is he you're a [ __ ], where your [ __ ] makeup you? So why do filmmakers continue to fall back on this hideous cliche, even in shows and films purporting to be modern and empowering? Are we not pass this reductive treatment of female psychology in which a woman's identity is defined by how she looks a hasty haircut shouldn't, be the emotional climax of the characters journey? Yet so often, this is the case. Maybe we'll live to see a future when women's and men's mental issues are treated with similar profundity on screen. Who knows, we might even see actors and actresses receiving equal pay for equal work? Until then, a girl can only dream you
Comments
Willow Berry: I don't see it as degrading, because first of all, Hair can be tied to a lot of traumatic things, especially long hair, Like in Rape, she might have been held down with it, or in an abusive relationship, she may have been constantly told what she can and can't do with it. Another point is that I believe hair to be tied to identity, for everyone, my dad wouldn't get a mohawk, because it doesn't match the way he is, I have long hair and love it as I'm very feminine, but my sister likes her's short. But with most me, it'll only be a few weeks or months, before their hair goes back to normal, but with women w/ long hair, it could easily take years. THe final point I want to make is that most women who cut off a lot of hair, actually find it impowering to do so.
Amanda Vanderpoel: Cutting your hair as a woman can be incredibly empowering. Taking back your own power and refusing to be reduced to mere prettiness is pretty awesome. I shaved my head a few years back and it felt amazing. It was a way to assert that I'm not here for anyone else's approval, but my own and my value is not defined by how "pretty" my hair is or how you like my appearance.
Ricca Shaps: Cutting hair is a symbol of shedding something that's heavy or a drag; Shedding something from the past to make way for changes; Probably also symbolizes freedom.
Angel With The Fiery Sword: 'What would a man do in the same situation?' I'm male, and I've cut/shaved/dyed my hair following traumatic events before. I don't think it really has much to do with gender, more so how the particular person values their looks, particularly their hair.
Abbie C: I actually have a different view of scenes when women spontaneously cut their hair. Yes, they are showing irrationality in a way but they are also showing empowerment. They aren't punishing themselves they're proving that they are worth far more than what people view them as on the outside, that there is so much more to them than good looks. My dads been in a psychiatric hospital four times for attempted suicide. On the third time I was completely sick of lacking control in my life and a chopped all my hair off, on my bedroom floor at 2 am. It sounds weak and hysterical but it wasn't. It was something I'd wanted to do for so long and never felt like I had the guts to do, or even the option. I was taking control of myself and deciding who I wanted to be. That I wanted to live for myself and not to please others, and I would present myself however I felt comfortable doing so. I've never gone back to long hair since and it was truly one of the greatest experiences of my life. I donated it all to locks of love. Sometimes people just need change and they need a fresh start and to take control. I actually know a man who shaves his head every time he gets out of a relationship. So all in all, it doesn't just happen in moves, it doesn't signify weakness or punishment, and it doesn't only happen to women.
Bobby Calloway: Except there ARE plenty of scenes where men do the same: *Breaking Bad *The Royal Tenenbaums *Lords of Dogtown *How I Met Your Mother *NCIS (Gibbs does it when he thinks he's still a Marine) *The Martian *The Divide *Hollyoaks *Smoke Signals *The Last Emperor *28 Days Later (happens offscreen but it's implied anyway) *Taxi Driver *Mongol *Cthulhu *Glee *Once Upon A Time *Dear White People (although he has someone else cut it for him) Films are a VISUAL medium, so yes characters are defined by their appearance. Because their appearance is a visual cue for the audience. Changing the appearance - be it by haircut, wardrobe change, different make-up - gives the audience a different visual impression as to their character growth. And if you scroll through YouTube, there are plenty of videos where men and women alike happily cut their hair themselves on camera. I fail to see how this is at all sexist in nature. You're greatly simplifying things by implying this only happens to female characters, and that each use of it is inherently sexist. The Joy example is dumb yes but the entire movie is horribly written, so the haircut giving her automatic character growth is hardly the biggest problem with it.
Mani Kais: Why has the obvious interpretation been overlooked? Haircutting and changes to the appearance are a symbol of change and letting go of the past, for either gender, in real life and art. Especially with long hair, which has been with you a long time. It usually precedes a dramatic character/motivation change, whether positive or negative, even if the person doesn't cut the hair themselves (eg Samson, Cersei Lannister, the Dothraki males who cut their hair after losing a battle). In many of these scenes, even though the person may be feeling strong emotion, the actual cutting of the hair isn't irrational, it's a turning-point, a determination to change. To link haircutting with being irrational makes hairdressing a crime against humanity. Haircutting is just haircutting. The emotion that leads to it is just emotion, and only the thoughts that lead to emotion are either rational or irrational. Irrational is when you do something which is actually harmful to yourself. So unless it's a deliberately crap haircut, that will leave you traumatised, it's just a bleeding decision to cut your hair, motivated by a desire for change. And why equate a female feeling emotion as being "irrational"? That's sexist against women. It reveals a subconscious bias within you, though you try to push a feminist angle. The bias is revealed by the idea that you don't notice that men in movies are also portrayed as emotional and also have unusual responses, and you haven't observed male emotional displays as "irrational". The video comes across as if nitpicking for reasons to be upset in defence of all women, to the point of over-analysis, which does nothing to help the problems between the sexes. Better to focus on the real stuff out there, because this destroys the credibility of your agenda. It also misses the real point of these haircutting scenes, and as others have commented, there are many scenes where men have cut their hair at major emotional/character crossroads. But maybe you're just doing this for a school project, and if so, good luck - it's still well thought-out and presented, even if I think it's BS.
ArtsbyABella: I’m cutting my hair off today because I’ve been so depressed and have had long hair for a long time and I wanna change. If I think my beautiful long curly hair is my strength and what gives me beauty then I wanna cut it short I don’t want that thought process anymore
SpeedyEric1: This was also done in Katy Perry's music video to "Part of Me" where we see that Katy's boyfriend has been cheating on her, decides to join the marines, and cuts her hair down.
Julio Ce: Great comment and contribution! Luv the hair as a symbol and all meanings depending on the context
Cancerian48: A lovely compilation of girls cutting their long hair off.
Shay Mary: IDK what this means: I have a friend that self harms & has attempted suicide many x. Tho I'm likewise, our diff is that she cut her hair 1x. When she did it, it frightened TH out of me... She behaved as if possessed almost. She put her hair in a low ponytail, then cut it. She stared at herself as if she wanted to kill the reflected girl in the mirror. She took her chopped off ponytail & shoved it in a random pg of the bible. Then, she stabbed the bible, ripped out pages, & even chewn on some of the pg. She cut herself & wiped her blood on it & some pg. She wanted up in a psych hosp. Here's my thing tho: she remembers this night of psychosis & it still scares her. She's mostly calm anymore & seldomly gets worked up. This happened in 2017, but a lot of very vile shit happened to her prior to this well. But again: why the HAIR???
Teacup: And I’m sat here like. I cut my own hair because that way I can get it how I like it, none of this empowerment stuff XD
Jay Jacobo: No lie, i lost my shit like this one day after an ex kept bugging and popping up at my house, I ran into the bathroom with scissors and didn't think twice and I snipped away. I never felt so relieved and shocked at the same time before lol anyways, fuck him AND my hair grew back lol
tamabama2004: Love this commentary!
Kaz Jilqueue: not sure if said below, but the 'dishevelled man shaving off beard' is a lesser trope in a similar vein. While parrallels could be drawn with say, The Fugitive, Die Another Day, and The Martian, the act of hair removal in these scenes could be more associated with an act of 'returning to society'. I suppose the hair removal is basic act of control and empowerment for both genders.
Georgia Smith: I've never thought of this until now! glad I know about this issue now!
Riley: I understand where you're coming from, but to some people cutting your hair can be empowering
Duck Cult: this was put out a year before beverly marsh in the movie IT cutting her hair off.(i did the same hair cut as her and i love it lol)
fuck off: please add a watchlist or "my picks" feature to your website
Aspen M: Current mood
TheLondonVision: Would someone happen to know the titles of each movie featured in this video?
Jasmine M: My hair has feelings too..
Kalvin Trinidad: what about the parent of trap and la miserable haircut?
Jordan Metcalfe: Hey meg you go get dem tattoos
meermd xD: this is true
Temiwumi Adelakin: cutting your hair just means nothing to me.
ANANYA JAISWAL 5 D: Today I am shaving my head and eyebrow in year of 9
Yosra Hany: after many years having long hair.. I finally did it yesterday what did I do? I shaved off all of my hair and I'm completely bald now ☺ 60 cm are gone.. I feel amazing I feel free first I took sessiors and chopped off all my hair randomly and I really enjoyed that.. then my hair was only few cms so I started shaving it with a razor no. ZERO finally I'm bald now of course I look better with hair but I feel much better with it I needed a huge change and I did it feel so proud pure and free and I really like it and I will never grow it again I will keep it bald or buzzed pixie I hope all women try it once at least
Rocío S: mucho dolor para mis ojos.
Secretly Obsessed: Peter is a an.
Dj Airfire: Horror introduction sounds
Ray Ray Ducey: Feminism
Eloise Belrose: 1:07 what movie is that ?
Bruce Patel: First Serena in Pokemon, then Wendy in Fairy Tail, then Kimberly in Power Rangers (2017) and now Beverly in It (2017). Seriously why women always cut their hair when they are depressed or something like that? And for all the women who had cut their hair like that, have you not look into the mirror and said: Oh my God, what the fuck did I just do?
Gabi RPG: 1:32 movie name please?
Forest Child: 0:31 movie pls?
Dhani Falah: 0.27 what's movie?
mohammed mahmoud: what is the name of any film of this???
Genji Genjie: 2:27 movie please
AW Yudha: 0:26 film name?
haeflxwer: 0:09 movie?
Cutiepututie 18: 3:00 movie name
Potent potions Subliminals: Beverly Marsh too
Beril K.: What why what
Jon Ssebanakitta: ...Um ew
ww2 th: Whyyyyyyyyu
edward woodaqrd: i am a man that xan but does not like violence i am a navy veteran i studitd judon jugitsu karate at the y and was in competions r judo qand was on the ymca judo yeam about 15 years a street gang in chicago tried to roll me 7 men i put in the hospital the police came and where so afraid of me they drew there guns i forgot to add i did weigh close to 300 pou nds and still was in good shape a little over 6 foot tall and i repeat it was in self defence my hands are registered as weapens i can only do it in self defencenow i am too old to fight but would do the same i had to go to court but the judge wanted to see what i looked like and see my hands i found out someone took a videolassesa and i made the news and the street gang when each got out of the hospital went to jail for woman there atre self defence cllasses i srongly reccomend taking them it might save your life ed
The Angry General: I hate seeing beautiful women shave their heads! Long hair makes a woman attractive! I don't care what people say! It kills their beastliness!