American Mullet

Mullets.
You've seen these haircuts.  Short on the top, often with buzzed sides, and left long in the back or with just a small tail of hair (often called a rat tail).  If you still don't know what I'm talking about you can click here to see photos.
Though the mullet was most popular during the 80s and early 90s, this hairstyle has developed somewhat of a cult following in pop culture over the past few years.  Do an Internet search for "mullets" and a handful of websites turn up which in turn glorify and mock this utterly unique hairstyle.

The documentary film American Mullet explores this hairstyle phenomenon by addressing topics such as:
What is the origin of the mullet?
What kind of people have mullets?
Why do they have mullets?
How is the mullet perceived by others in our society?

The makers of American Mullet travel the country seeking out those with mullets as well as soliciting the opinions of pretty much anyone who will talk to them in an attempt to answer these questions.
It's safe to say that the mullet will probably never be accepted by most as an attractive hairstyle, but the most interesting thing this film reveals is that, contrary to the (seemingly popular) belief that people with mullets are just cluelessly out of date, the mullet wearer often has very specific motivations for their choice of hairstyle.  Whether it's simply to be unique, challenge social norms, or identify with a particular social group or ethnicity, the mullet wearer is probably far more aware of the politics and social repercussions of physical appearance than most people- after all, it takes a certain amount of bravery to choose a look that most people would consider anachronous at best.
What is also discovered is that this particular hairstyle is not limited to one specific type or group of people.  There seem to be as many different people who wear mullets as there are styles of mullets:  rock music fans, country music fans, lesbians, children, artists, soccer players, wrestlers and bodybuilders, Native Americans and Latinos, and even a mullet-sporting doctor are interviewed.
Some see their mullets as practical- a way to have long hair without the maintenance or a way to appear professional while still maintaining a unique identity. A twenty-something female artist wears a spiky pink-tinted mullet- she sees it as form of self-expression, of being different and unique.  She says she likes to wear things that don't quite go together, as she wears a blue and silver 80s formal with ballooning cap sleeves and a tiara. A man in a sleeveless denim shirt and short brown mullet is a deadringer for the country singer Billy Ray Cyrus (in the 90s), though he says that he had his mullet first.  Nevertheless, he boasts about the look-alike contests he's won.  In Las Vegas a woman in a sleeveless t-shirt wears a black spiky mullet resembling that of an 80s rocker.  She laughs about being mistaken for Joan Jett at a concert and says she likes both the music and the aesthetic of 80s women rockers.
The film delves into the popularity of the mullet among many lesbians.  A lesbian woman in a suit and brightly colored polka-dot tie talks about how the mullet as neither a predominantly "male" or "female" hairstyle is a way of using appearance to challenge the gender binary.  Among lesbians the mullet can also serve as a means of identifying oneself or others as a lesbian, as well as creating a sense of unity within the lesbian community.
The mullet is also a popular hairstyle among Native Americans as well as some Latinos.  Native Americans often wear their hair long in the back as a tribute to their ancestors.  And in Latin America, the mullet hearkens back to the indigenous Mayan and Aztec peoples, although one man says with a wide grin that he keeps his because women love his long hair.

And now, courtesy of YouTube, I bring you a fun little song all about mullets from the Beastie Boys.

Click below to hear "Mullet Head"

(*Disclaimer: This is not an actual Beastie Boys video. I'm not sure that there is an actual Beastie Boys video for this song.)

And here are the lyrics, in case you're wondering:

You're coming off like you're Van Damme
You've got Kenny G, in your Trans Am
You've got names like Billy Ray
Now you sing Hip Hop Hooray
Put your Dakleys and your stone wash on
Watching MTV and you mosh on
#1 on the side and don't touch the back
#6 on the top and don't cut it wack, Jack

Shiny chrome rims never rusted
Driving through the tunnel, you might get busted
Never trusted, Mullet head
You know you took that girl to bed
Cruising 8th Street Saturday night
Trying to find a head shop, looking to fight
You've got that stonewash derriere
Spike the top because the week-end is here

You wanna know what's a mullet? well
I got a little story to tell
About a hair style, that's way of life
Have you ever seen a Mullet wife?

Yo, take a chill B, check out my Spillbee
'Cause you don't know about the Mullet head
Cruise in my Iroc, stonewash on my cock
Got it like that 'cause I'm the Mullet head
Put me on trial 'cause I'm worth your while
Pass me the comb 'cause I'm the Mullet man

Read the New York Post, read a story
About Joey Buttafooco in all his glory
They said he tried to freak it with a high school girl
Pimpin' Amy Fisher to the rest of the world
A real lover man, a real Cassanova
Joey got horny and now he's over
Amy got pissed, shot his wife
Joey gest to jail for the rest of his life

Cut the sides, don't touch the back