"The Stigma of the Durag" Explores the Importance and Misunderstanding of Durags
Justin Goodrum, creator of the film “The Stigma of the Durag”. (Liyah Sumners/Carvd N Stone)
It is no secret that the durag, along with bonnets, are considered unprofessional and ghetto, yet at their purest form it’s a way for Black people to protect their hair. Milwaukee filmmaker Justin Goodrum turned his experiences into a film to explore the controversy behind the durag.
"The Stigma of the Durag” takes on a vox pop style of filming. Goodrum and his team asked people around Milwaukee the meaning of durags and if they understand the stigma behind it.
A durag is a close-fitting cloth tied around the top of the head to protect the hair that is commonly seen on a Black man. It is mostly worn at night but people like to wear them throughout the day. It’s so much stigma behind the cloth that most people take them off for professional settings, or public outings.
“People know what twerking is or ‘bye Felicia', but still in 2022, people still don’t know what a durag is,” said Goodrum.
While in college, Goodrum overheard one of his roommates ask another roommate if Goodrum was in a gang because he wore a durag to bed every night. At the time, it shocked Goodrum but he says media plays a role in the misconception of durags.
Goodrum hopes his film pushes towards the destigmatization of durags.
"If you see me in a durag, don’t associate me with negative things,” said Goodrum. “Just know I’m ready for the day.”
The short documentary was shot within 12-13 hours and took about two months to edit.
The Stigma of the Durag will premiere at the Milwaukee Film Festival on April 25, 2022. This is Goodrum’s first film to be featured in a festival. It’s also his second official film and his first time submitting one of his films to a festival.
“It feels great that it will be premiering in Milwaukee,” he said. “[Milwaukee] kind of raised me in a sense of the way I walk and talk.”
“If you see me with a durag, don’t associate me with negative things,” said Justin Goodrum. (Picture by Liyah Sumners/Carvd N Stone)
Goodrum is also working on a horror film that will explore mental illnesses that the Black community don’t often talk about.
“Out of the thousands and millions of memories I’ve had as a person, I’m starting to develop those concepts into films in a creative way,” said Goodrum.
To purchase tickets to view the The Stigma of the Durag at the Milwaukee Film Festival 2022, click here.