The Last "Phase Three"

Like Mark said: Either the movie works or doesn't. You move on. You revise.

Onward, then, means a focus on the end—the last Phase Three Words & Images project I have to think about. Yay. (Not that I didn't love this class—I did and learned a lot. I'm convinced that this class could possibly be the only course of this grad program). am ending the semester on a breezy note: with a simple topic that I can rattle on about for hours.

My topic: how to grow dreads. My title: Rethink Locks: A Homegrown, Organic Movement. I'm posting the introduction to my booklet for your perusal. I have not yet sent this to Stephanie, so comments are welcomed. (Though, to be honest, I'm happy to just throw something on paper to say it's done).

Rethink Locks: A Homegrown, Organic Movement

Once upon a time, a decision to grow locks held weight—it had conceptual significance. Having thick tufts of rolled, matted hair denoted liberation, devotion, commitment, and a dedication to spirituality. Back then, locks were not a hairstyle; rather, locks were an expression of freedom and, often, a symbol for breaking the psychological effects of imperialism, colonialism, and/or slavery.

A choice to lock hair must celebrate, commemorate, honor, and act upon the history, meaning, and intent of such an iconic hairstyle.

Not that locks nowadays don't have meaning, but instead of seeing bursts of individual expression atop dread heads, locks now are mass-produced, "genericized," something to get done, a trend—a meaningless move for no other reason than that locks have mainstream acceptance.

A choice to lock hair must also embrace the 21^st century and future generations of people who will create new reasons for donning dreadlocks. Times change; people change; history changes.

This guide will marry the two ideals with a return to homegrown, organically cultivated locks—regardless of concept. Rethink locks. Why? For the sake of preserving tradition? Yes—but also because synthetic locks are an oxymoron.

Like most mass-produced products, quality gets lost in the fray of cranking out multiple versions of the same thing—such rings true for locks. Natural hair shops line urban streets like trees line suburban streets. The word locktician actually has meaning—and those people earn money from that vague title. The result: a phenomenon of people who pay top dollar for a "natural" hairstyle—locks caked with gel and forced together by heat. Does that not defeat the purpose?

While the best-case scenario would bring the dreadlock revolution completely back to its roots, reality says that mainstream locks and the unoriginal concepts behind those locks will prevail. Fine—but at least consider growing locks instead of making locks. You owe the revolution that much.


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I see you bubbling all over the place -- you're yeasty, and I think it's grand!