The Annie Of Tomorrow Has The Same Hard Knocks, But Different Hair
When you think about the musical Annie, what associations come to mind? Probably the song "Tomorrow," right? And Annie's bright red, curly hair? Red hair comes with its own cultural mythology. In this case, it underscores Annie's plucky, independent spirit.
As it turns out, hair is almost a character in this trailer for the new version of Annie coming out Dec. 19, says Noliwe Rooks, a professor at Cornell University. In just 2:19 minutes, you'll see three or four jokes about or references to hair.
"Her hair is just wild," Rooks notes. In this version, Annie is played by the African-American actress Quvenzhané Wallis, who was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Beasts of the Southern Wild. And Rooks says Wallis' hair, as Annie, continues to stand out.
"It's just big," she says. "It's not combed. It's just sticking out. No one is taking care of this child. No one is particularly interested in her grooming."
Annie's hair here is also puffy, and tinted slightly red, but it's not a 'fro, says Terri Francis, a scholar at Indiana University. A 'fro, she says, is round and trimmed and carries its own cultural mythology.
"The original Annie had a red Afro," she points out. So when you've got a black actress playing Annie, why not keep her 'fro? "The 'fro is too political or too threatening or too black," Francis speculates. "Or something?"
The cultural politics of hair might also explain why this movie's Daddy Warbucks wears a hairpiece. (He's played by Jamie Foxx, and for some reason, the character has been renamed Will Stacks.) That hairpiece is also the subject of one of the trailer's jokes. The original Daddy Warbucks is famously bald. But black baldness, says Francis, means something different than white baldness.
"The baldness is not about losing hair," she explains. "The baldness is badness." (And just to be clear, that's baadnessss with "two A's, four S's," Francis says.)
Giving Daddy Warbucks a hairpiece tames him a little bit, she says. It makes him less virile.
There's something else subtle but important going on, Rooks says, during a moment when you see Stacks' lovely white assistant/love interest, Grace Farrell (Rose Byrne), taking care of Annie's hair.
"Generally," Rooks says, "what we hear is that white mothers do not know what to do with black children's hair."
Farrell is not Annie's mother, but she is a maternal figure. And seeing a white woman comfortable with — and enjoying — making an African-American girl's hair look good is significant, Rooks says.
"It's difficult for us to find cultural productions that are about the love and care of little black children," she says. "I give them two thumbs up for that."
Rooks says the story of African-American hair is a story about belonging and not belonging. And it fits nicely — and not so nicely — in the story of an orphan looking for and finding a family.
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Transcript
ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
When you think of the main character of the musical "Annie," a couple of things instantly come to mind.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TOMORROW")
AILEEN QUINN: (As Annie) (Singing) The sun'll come out tomorrow, so you've got to hang on to tomorrow.
SIEGEL: This song, for one, and Annie's hair. Her curly, bright, red hair communicates pluck and independence. And it's made NPR's Neda Ulaby wonder about the hair politics of the new movie-version of "Annie." It opens in theaters next week. And it stars an African-American actress.
NEDA ULABY, BYLINE: Colorblind casting is not 100 percent colorblind. Making characters like Annie and Daddy Warbucks black brings up a host of hair issues.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ANNIE")
QUVENZHANE WALLIS: (As Annie) Whoa. My hair's gigantic.
ULABY: Let's just take a look for a second at a trailer for the movie.
NOLIWE ROOKS: I was absolutely struck by the fact that hair seems to almost be a character in the trailer.
ULABY: Cornell University Professor Noliwe Rooks studies the history and politics of black hair. In this two-minute trailer, she says, there's about three or four hair jokes. And Annie's hair is still a statement.
ROOKS: Her hair is just, like, wild. It's literally as unstyled - it's not in a style. It's just big. It's not combed. It's just sticking out. No one has taken care of this child. No one is particularly interested in her grooming.
ULABY: In the trailer, Annie's hair comes up again when the evil foster mom, Ms. Hannigan, is talking with the Daddy Warbucks character. He's been renamed Will Stacks.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ANNIE")
JAMIE FOXX: (As Will Stacks) Annie says that you're a very good singer.
CAMERON DIAZ: (As Ms. Hannigan) What did she say, oh, she's a really good singer?
ULABY: Ms. Hannigan is mocking Annie. She holds up her hand as if she's got giant hair. Her visitor is confused.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ANNIE")
FOXX: (As Will Stacks) I don't know what this is.
DIAZ: (As Ms. Hannigan) Her hair.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: (Singing) It's a hard-knock life for us.
TERRI FRANCIS: The original Annie had a red afro.
ULABY: Terri Francis of Indiana University says this Annie's hair is puffy, and it's tinted slightly red, but...
FRANCIS: It's not really a fro. Why doesn't she have a fro?
ULABY: A fro, says Francis, is round and trimmed and carries its own cultural mythology.
FRANCIS: The fro is too political or too threatening or too black or something.
ULABY: Lest we confuse Annie with Angela Davis. Cultural politics might also explain, she says, why in the same two-minute trailer we see Annie catching the famously-bald Daddy Warbucks, or Will Stacks, putting on a hairpiece. Annie rats him out to his lovely white assistant, Grace Farrell.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ANNIE")
WALLIS: (As Annie) Why aren't you and Mr. Stacks together?
ROSE BYRNE: (As Grace Farrell) He's very good-looking. Great, chiseled face. Good hair.
WALLIS: (As Annie) I wouldn't bank on the hair, sister.
ULABY: Francis says black baldness means something different than white baldness.
FRANCIS: The baldness is not about losing hair. The baldness is baadnessss - two As, four Ss.
ULABY: To give Daddy Warbucks a hairpiece was to tame him a little bit, she says. It makes him a little less virile. Scholar Noliwe Rooks says there's something else important going on. You see Grace Farrell taking care of Annie's hair.
ROOKS: Generally, what we hear is that white mothers do not know what to do with black children's hair.
ULABY: To see a moment in a movie trailer where a white woman happily, comfortably makes an African-American girl's hair look good, she says that's significant.
ROOKS: It's difficult for us to find cultural productions that are about the love and care of little black children. I give them two thumbs up for that.
ULABY: Rooks says the story of African-American hair is a story about belonging and not belonging. And it's a story that fits nicely and not so nicely in the story of an orphan looking for and finding a family. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IT'S THE HARD-KNOCK LIFE")
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: (As foster kid) (Singing) Santa Clause we never see.
WALLIS: (As Annie) (Singing) Santa Clause - what's that? Who's he?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: (As foster kids) (Singing) No one cares for you a bit when you're a foster kid. It's the hard-knock life. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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