Nappily Ever After: A Theoretical Analysis of Black Women's Hair in Film

This thesis will examine the film Nappily Ever After (Al-Mansour, 2018). I will use the communication theory of identity (CTI) as a theoretical framework to analyze the film. My CTI analysis will depict how hair affects a Black female character's life in terms of her identity. My thesis will use the CTI layers, which include personal, enacted, relational, and communal, to evaluate the film. The film is organized into five parts that describe how the main character's hair changes during a pivotal period of her life: Straighten, Weave, Blonde, Bald, and New Growth. Ultimately, the thesis explores how the main character evolves to be more comfortable with herself as her hairstyles change throughout the film.

Name thesis:degree_name

MACOM

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Communication

Department dc:contributor.department

Communication

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Travis, Tasia

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Logan, Nneka

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Woods, Chelsea Lane
• Duncan, Megan A.

• Hair
• Identity
• Black Women

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:40962

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/118966