Simien said the high-concept Bad Hair has just as much to say about race as his debut film and the
"My favorite psycho-horror-thrillers are always about the society and the times we live in," Simien told UPI at the festival. "My favorite one is Body Snatchers '76. In that movie, they're taking guru culture to task. Rosemary's Baby is about a woman at her most vulnerable place being taken advantage of by all these men who run the process of giving birth."
In Bad Hair, Anna (
Hair remains an issue for
"It's written into codes of conduct in places of work that your hair has to be professional," Simien said. "What's considered unprofessional is a list of people's natural hairstyles."
Anna's natural hair is curly, but even other
"I think the derogatory way of referring to her hair is 'nappy,'" Simien said. "It's not relaxed. It's not straight. It's kind of in these balls which I feel like to our eyes is beautiful."
Anna's white counterparts are allowed to have curly hair at work. Simien said there is a double standard.
"Different rules apply to black women," Simien said. "Some of them are cultural and that culture can be race culture. It can be music culture. It can be entertainment culture. It can be workplace culture. I think black women often get the short end of that stick."
Simien chose 1989 for the era of Bad Hair because there was an iconic style for
"Specifically in
The issue of natural hair in the workplace is still relevant in 2020, Simien said. He hopes the metaphor of a horror movie can shine a light on the issue like his favorite horror movies did in their times.
"Right now there's a natural hair movement that's happening," Simien said. "Black women in particular are given less options of what they can show up as. Usually whatever you are is not one of the options. Whatever that might be."
After Sundance, Simien will go back into the writers room for
Simien said four seasons felt like the right number for the
"We don't follow them year by year but it's four years of college," Simien said.
Before
"I was always prepared either way, if we got canceled, if we got extended, if we got extended indefinitely, if we got extended for one more season," Simien said. "I always had to kind of run a scenario in my head. When we got to the fourth season, it just felt right to end it there."
After
"I'll probably be speaking on that subject in some form or another," Simien said. "I think Bad Hair touches on identity and self, just in a different way."
When Samantha and her classmates graduate, however, their story will reach its logical conclusion.
"Definitely with these characters, I think I will have exhausted what I feel like I need to say right now about them," Simien said. "Never say never."
Copyright 2020 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent., source