MAHALIA MELTS IN THE RAIN | Omeleto
63,967
Published 2021-07-15
MAHALIA MELTS IN THE RAIN is used with permission from Emilie Mannering and Carmine Pierre-Dufour. Learn more at instagram.com/champagne_miiimiii and instagram.com/carminepronouncedcarmeen.
Mahalia is a shy young Black girl who takes ballet, where she is teased by other classmates Abigail and Daisy for her quiet demeanor and her hair, among other things.
On the eve of a class photoshoot, Mahalia's mother Anika arranged for Mahalia to straighten her hair at her local salon, hoping to raise her confidence. Her new hair gives her an initial boost at first, but she discovers that in the end, not much has changed.
Directed by Emilie Mannering and Carmine Pierre-Dufour from a script by Pierre-Dufour, this exquisitely rendered short drama has the surface trappings of feminine innocence and beauty, with its pristine images of ballet dance, girls in tutus and leaves swaying in a gentle rain. But underneath the lovely, almost tender visuals is an undertow of melancholy and sadness, mirroring how the main character's spirit is buried under the demands of beauty and conformity to a narrow standard.
The storytelling is spare and discerning, focused on Mahalia, who is almost always the subject of each frame. The composition of the images stages conversations and actions around Mahalia off-screen or in the margins, giving us the sense that life is happening to or around the young girl. Viewers are also focused on Mahalia's often silent emotions, thoughts and reactions, as she absorbs the ideas and assumptions of the world around her.
These ideas and assumptions are full of difficult messages for a young Black girl to absorb. There's the unintended but blunt racism in the description of Mahalia's hair by her ballet classmate, which has both an innocence and casual cruelty befitting the young children they are. But perhaps more difficult are the unspoken assumptions that the grownups hold. Anika's offer to straighten Mahalia's hair is well-intentioned, but the praise and compliments she gets after she undergoes the laborious, time-consuming process also implies that maybe Mahalia's hair wasn't pretty or acceptable in the first place.
In such a spare, elegant film, performances take on added weight, and young actor Kaiyonni Banton-Renner carries the narrative with a steady grace and sensitivity. Reserved yet open-hearted, she plays Mahalia with a natural vulnerability and intelligence, which makes her particularly affected by the unspoken messages around her. She's so innately sympathetic that it's hard to see her absorb the underlying idea that her hair isn't beautiful and must be fixed -- a message that affects her to her core.
MAHALIA MELTS IN THE RAIN is a poetic title, but like the visuals, writing and performances, the film's beauty disguises quiet yet tremendous pain and sadness. Underneath the refined charm of the short's look and the careful elegance of the storytelling, the story itself is a gentle yet keenly observed role that hair plays in the experience of Black people, and Black women especially.
We see how a lovely little girl learns to doubt her worth and lose her confidence from the hurtful, often racist messages -- both overt and subtle -- she absorbs in the world around her. It is often said that children notice everything -- but the stakes become higher when "everything" has ideas that question the worthiness of a child's very being, which are often taken in at such formative ages. It demands more vigilance and rigor to change, if only to protect the tender hearts and minds of the most vulnerable.
All Comments (20)
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The first impulse is to blame the mom for not encouraging her daughter to love herself and lead by embracing her own real hair. The thing is, there's no way to tell how deeply embedded mom's insecurities are. She may still be years away from her own self-acceptance, let alone having the strength to empower her daughter.
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The shot of the little girl standing in front of the hydrangea bushes is just perfect. The flower heads are dry, and she probably feels like her hair is just like the dead flowers. Having it juxtaposed against the straight pine needles made it even better. Really powerful and subtle choice of foreground!
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That little blonde girl who said her natural hair is "funny" and "looks like a sponge" is the reason why diversity and inclusivity is important especially for kids, so they can see and learn that not everyone looks like them, before they grow up and later on think they need to bully people for looking different, just because they were never educated or exposed to diversity when they were younger.
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As a black woman whose hair was relaxed by my mom at age 5, cut off all of my hair when I was 18, was made fun of by my own people and was called “ bald headed” and “Side Show Bob” until I grew my hair long, and faced hair discrimination at job interviews this video hit me hard.
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This video took me back to childhood. For the first 12 years of my life I though of my hair to be a nuisance, something to be embarrassed about. When I was a little girl my mother would straighten my hair with the hot comb and every time I got up from the chair, her words were always the same she'll say "No running or you'll sweat your hair back !" (go from straight back to kinky, curly) One day my mother, straighten my hair and afterwards sent me to take my shower. Although I wore a shower cap, the moisture from the shower made my hair revert back to it's naturally kinky, curly state. My Mother, was furious and accused me of playing in the water. She eventually got me a relaxer. After 30 years of wearing my hair relaxed, and dealing with all the health issues that came with the relaxer I'm now natural again and I love my kinky, curly hair.
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Thanks for showing the black girl/woman hair struggles that are embedded in our community.
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Almost every black girl goes through this problem. Thank you Omeleto for shine light on this. To be put in the position to change who you are just to fit in with the “ideal” look….sucks 😔 but I’m happy this has boosted her confidence.
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She looked 'all pretty' before she got her hair straightened
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Malcolm X talks about ‘conking your hair and how it burnt. The pressures a young black girl is under to conform to a white standard of beauty is immense. God bless them and keep them strong.
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Why would anyone play in the rain right before pictures are being took
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This made me cry, May all black girls find the confidence to embrace their natural hair
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This video took me back to when I was in elementary school and one day I decided to change my hair style and wear my natural hair out, I was so comfortable and confident within myself, I loved hair so much, until I went to school and a little black boy asked “what happened to my hair” in a disgusted manor, I was confused as to what he meant, but then it clicked, he made me feel so insecure and like I had to straighten my hair to look beautiful. That was the last time I wore my hair out in its natural state. Now looking back I just want to hug my child self and tell her she’s beautiful.
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the mom is so deep in her selfhatred of her natural hair she doesn't even notice all the hurtful thing she implied to her daughter
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It’s interesting that conversations spurred by these situations always lean more towards what the person being targeted should do in reaction. How about teaching your children to be nice to another human being, even when they don’t look like you?
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At least, I am glad that she didn't listen to the other naughty blonde little girl and got her hair wet in the rain. The other girl with the brown hair seems to be a nicer child, and didn't to want to go out into the rain as they had not yet taken their ballet photos, but, she is heavily under the influence of blondie and she went along with playing in the rain, even though she didn't really seem to want too.
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Hatred is taught at home, regardless of what kind of hatred it is, you have to teach your kids how beautiful they are , i don't care what they look like or what their nationality is , my little girl embraces her natural beautiful hair, and everywhere we go , people of all different kinds of race tell her how big and beautiful her hair is😊 BREAK THE GENERATIONAL CURSE!
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Sees "Omeleto, Black Girl, Hair Straightened" Nah i'm good i'd rather start my day happy thank you very much.
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I remember getting my hair straightened by the hot comb as a young girl. Jheri Curls were popular when I was in my teens. I did the big chop to get rid of that thing before joining the Air Force. Didn't start wearing my natural curls until I was well into adulthood. I'm a much happier human being now. 😊
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I can identify with the little girl. The fear of getting my relaxed hair wet, the fear of frizzy hair on a humid/ rainy day, not wanting to go to the pool, white friends who just didn't understand, getting teased for my pre-relaxed coarse hair, etc.
