The Ultimate Guide to Black Men’s Hair
The Delicate Art of Breaking Up With Your Barber
When a haircut feels like the opposite of self-care, follow these steps
Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com.
The second season of Atlanta, subtitled “Robbin’ Season,” captured a distinct type of psychological horror: the larceny of life itself. Throughout the season, the main characters of the Donald Glover-created FX comedy were relieved of their time, their dignity, and their sense of physical safety. But the most distressing episode wasn’t the Teddy Perkins experience, Earn’s managerial shortcomings, or Alfred’s traumatic venture into the woods — it was a routine trip to the barbershop.
In “Barbershop,” the season’s fifth episode, Alfred spends a day being dragged through hell by a barber who constantly puts his safety and freedom in jeopardy — all with half a haircut. Bibby, the tormentor in question, is an affable motormouth who uses a string of excuses and empty promises to keep Alfred from his goal of a simple, yet necessary, haircut. Each transgression becomes a greater test of both Alfred and the audience’s patience. And although the episode is an exaggerated pile-up of terrible barber…
