Beauty Shop

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details about Beauty Shop's classification and consumer advice lines
• a review of Beauty Shop completed by Young Media Australia (YMA) on 4 June 05.

Overall comments and recommendations

Beauty Shop is a simplistic story about Black American Hip Hop culture, which briefly touches on racism, inter-racial relationships and overcoming tribulation.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) and the associated consumer advice lines.

YMA review

This review of the movie Beauty Shop contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• use of violence
• material that may scare children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie's message

A synopsis of the story

Gina Norris (Queen Latifah) is a popular hair stylist working at Jorge's Beauty Salon where she is the only black employee. Jorge (Kevin Bacon) is an egotistical, overbearing person who isn't used to having his orders challenged. Gina doesn't like being told what to do which leads to friction between the two, and Gina eventually quits her job. She decides to open her own shop, which is something she has always wanted to do. She faces difficulty right from the start, including a revolt by her new staff when she brings in Lynn (Alicia Silverstone), a white girl who also used to work at Jorge's.

Use of violence

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There is a little violence in this movie:

• James (one of the hairdressers) punches a man who tries to force Gina's sister-in-law Darlene, into his car.
• Men threaten Jorge with knives but don't actually hurt him.

Material that may scare children

Under eight

Children under eight are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations, the death of a parent or child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

The men who threaten Jorge are quite intimidating; otherwise there is nothing particularly scary in this movie.

Over the age of eight

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

There is nothing in this movie that would scare children over the age of eight.

Product placement

The following products were displayed or used in this movie:

• Snickers.

Sexual references

There are a lot of sexual references, often quite explicit, amongst the women who work at Gina's. Sexual references include discussions about:

• pubic hair
• men “finding their way in”
• “tits”
• a man reaching his climax.
• Terri buying sex toys to keep her husband Steven happy

There is also an obsession with body image, breast implants, botox, etc.

Also of concern is the depiction of a young lad, Willy, who spends his whole time video recording various parts of women's anatomy.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is no nudity or sexual activity in this movie.

Use of substances

There is some mild use of substances:

• drinking of alcohol in a club
• a mention of legalising marijuana.

Coarse language

There is frequent use of the following:

• bitch
• arse.

and occasional use of:

• Jesus
• Oh my God
• piss
• shit
• screw
• booty

The movie's message

The movie's message is to persevere even in the face of adversity. Values parents may wish to encourage include:

• racial harmony
• endurance through adversity and
• friendship.

Parents could use the content of this movie as an opportunity to discuss with their adolescent children the issues of body image and self esteem, and to answer questions raised by the movie's sexual references.