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!!!'''In General:'''
* In films covering UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte's whole life, he goes from long-haired revolutionary general to short-haired autocrat after he assumes power. Creator/SachaGuitry's [[Film/Napoleon1955 1955 film duology]] even has a whole scene of Bonaparte getting a hair cut, mostly as an excuse to switch actors.
!!!'''By Movie:'''
* In films covering UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte's whole life, he goes from long-haired revolutionary general to short-haired autocrat after he assumes power. Creator/SachaGuitry's [[Film/Napoleon1955 1955 film duology]] even has a whole scene of Bonaparte getting a hair cut, mostly as an excuse to switch actors.
!!!'''By Movie:'''
to:
* In films covering UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte's whole life, he goes from long-haired revolutionary general to short-haired autocrat after he assumes power. Creator/SachaGuitry's [[Film/Napoleon1955 1955 film duology]] even has a whole scene of Bonaparte getting a hair cut, mostly as an excuse to switch actors.
!!!'''By Movie:'''
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* In ''Film/Napoleon1955'', UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte goes from long-haired revolutionary general to short-haired autocrat after he assumes power.The film even has a whole scene of Bonaparte getting a hair cut, mostly as an excuse to switch actors.
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* ''Film/SixteenWishes'': When Abby's wish to stop being treated like a child backfires by turning her into an adult, her curly hair becomes straightened to signify the sudden age change.
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* In "Chevalier", [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevalier_de_Saint-Georges Joseph Bologne]] (the "chevalier" in question), wears a white wig while out in public and interacting with whites, as was customary for the time period. While at home, he wears his natural hair, though still combed straight. As the film progresses, having now been ostracized by the white, aristocratic society, he no longer wears the wig when he goes out, particularly when mingling with Paris' ''black'' community, and by the film's conclusion, as he prepares to give a concert intended to fund the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution French Revolution]], he's wearing it in [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornrows cornrows]], a customary African hairstyle, showing that he's fully embracing his black identity.
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* In "Chevalier", ''Film/Chevalier2022'', [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevalier_de_Saint-Georges Joseph Bologne]] (the "chevalier" in question), wears a white wig while out in public and interacting with whites, as was customary for the time period. While at home, he wears his natural hair, though still combed straight. As the film progresses, having now been ostracized by the white, aristocratic society, he no longer wears the wig when he goes out, particularly when mingling with Paris' ''black'' community, and by the film's conclusion, as he prepares to give a concert intended to fund the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution French Revolution]], he's wearing it in [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornrows cornrows]], a customary African hairstyle, showing that he's fully embracing his black identity.
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* In films covering UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte's whole life, he goes from long-haired revolutionary general to short-haired autocrat after he assumes power. Sacha Guitry's film even has a whole scene of Bonaparte getting a hair-cut, mostly as an excuse to switch actors.
to:
* In films covering UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte's whole life, he goes from long-haired revolutionary general to short-haired autocrat after he assumes power. Sacha Guitry's Creator/SachaGuitry's [[Film/Napoleon1955 1955 film duology]] even has a whole scene of Bonaparte getting a hair-cut, hair cut, mostly as an excuse to switch actors.
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* In ''Film/LittleWomen2019'', as in the source material, Jo cuts her hair off to sell to support her sick father. In this version, we can thereafter tell whether we're in the flashback or the present, based on the length of her hair (short in the past, has grown back by the time of the present-day scenes).
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* In "Chevalier", [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevalier_de_Saint-Georges Joseph Bologne]] (the "chevalier" in question), where's a white wig while out in public and interacting with whites, as was customary for the time period. While at home, he wears his natural hair, though still combed straight. As the film progresses, having now been ostracized by the white, aristocratic society, he no longer wears the wig when he goes out, particularly when mingling with Paris' ''black'' community, and by the film's conclusion, as he prepares to give a concert intended to fund the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution French Revolution]], he's wearing it in [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornrows cornrows]], a customary African hairstyle, showing that he's fully embracing his black identity.
to:
* In "Chevalier", [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevalier_de_Saint-Georges Joseph Bologne]] (the "chevalier" in question), where's wears a white wig while out in public and interacting with whites, as was customary for the time period. While at home, he wears his natural hair, though still combed straight. As the film progresses, having now been ostracized by the white, aristocratic society, he no longer wears the wig when he goes out, particularly when mingling with Paris' ''black'' community, and by the film's conclusion, as he prepares to give a concert intended to fund the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution French Revolution]], he's wearing it in [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornrows cornrows]], a customary African hairstyle, showing that he's fully embracing his black identity.
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* In "Chevalier", [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevalier_de_Saint-Georges Joseph Bologne]] (the "chevalier" in question), where's a white wig while out in public and interacting with whites, as was customary for the time period. While at home, he wears his natural hair, though still combed straight. As the film progresses, having now been ostracized by the white, aristocratic society, he no longer wears the wig when he goes out, particularly when mingling with Paris' ''black'' community, and by the film's conclusion, as he prepares to give a concert intended to fund the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution French Revolution]], he's wearing it in [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornrows cornrows]], a customary African hairstyle, showing that he's fully embracing his black identity.
* The title character in the movie ''Father Stu'' wears his hair messy and unkempt when he's an alcoholic boxer/struggling actor. It gets neater when he starts to get his act together and starts dating a woman from his church. By the time he enters the seminary, it's in a neatly cropped style and finally, as he develops a progressive muscle disease, it's in a buzzcut (likely because he can't maintain anything else).
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* The title character in the movie ''Father Stu'' wears his hair messy and unkempt when he's an alcoholic boxer/struggling actor. It gets neater when he starts to get his act together and starts dating a woman from his church. By the time he enters the seminary, it's in a neatly cropped style and finally, as he develops a progressive muscle disease, it's in a buzzcut (likely because he can't maintain anything else).
* In "Chevalier", [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevalier_de_Saint-Georges Joseph Bologne]] (the "chevalier" in question), where's a white wig while out in public and interacting with whites, as was customary for the time period. While at home, he wears his natural hair, though still combed straight. As the film progresses, having now been ostracized by the white, aristocratic society, he no longer wears the wig when he goes out, particularly when mingling with Paris' ''black'' community, and by the film's conclusion, as he prepares to give a concert intended to fund the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution French Revolution]], he's wearing it in [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornrows cornrows]], a customary African hairstyle, showing that he's fully embracing his black identity.
* In "Chevalier", [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevalier_de_Saint-Georges Joseph Bologne]] (the "chevalier" in question), where's a white wig while out in public and interacting with whites, as was customary for the time period. While at home, he wears his natural hair, though still combed straight. As the film progresses, having now been ostracized by the white, aristocratic society, he no longer wears the wig when he goes out, particularly when mingling with Paris' ''black'' community, and by the film's conclusion, as he prepares to give a concert intended to fund the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution French Revolution]], he's wearing it in [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornrows cornrows]], a customary African hairstyle, showing that he's fully embracing his black identity.
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* In ''A Royal Christmas'' (a Hallmark Channel movie), the snooty queen continually wears her hair in updos. At the end of the movie, having finally accepted her son's relationship with a commoner, it's down.
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* In ''A Royal Christmas'' ''Film/ARoyalChristmas'' (a Hallmark Channel movie), the snooty queen Queen Isadora continually wears her hair in updos. At the end of the movie, having finally accepted her son's relationship with a commoner, it's down.
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* In "Chevalier", [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevalier_de_Saint-Georges Joseph Bologne]] (the "chevalier" in question), where's a white wig while out in public and interacting with whites, as was customary for the time period. While at home, he wears his natural hair, though still combed straight. As the film progresses, having now been ostracized by the white, aristocratic society, he no longer wears the wig when he goes out, particularly when mingling with Paris' ''black'' community, and by the film's conclusion, as he prepares to give a concert intended to fund the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution French Revolution]], he's wearing it in [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornrows cornrows]], a customary African hairstyle, showing that he's fully embracing his black identity.
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** In the epilogue, Gretchen is seen with completely straightened hair now that she's in the [[AsianAirhead Cool Asian]] clique. One could interpret this as going from hair so big ([[MemeticMutation "it's full of secrets"]]) to having nothing to hide or be ashamed of.
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** In the epilogue, Gretchen is seen with completely straightened hair now that she's in the [[AsianAirhead Cool Asian]] Asian clique. One could interpret this as going from hair so big ([[MemeticMutation "it's full of secrets"]]) to having nothing to hide or be ashamed of.
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{{Expository Hairstyle Change}}s in LiveActionFilms.
----
!!!'''In General:'''
* In films covering UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte's whole life, he goes from long-haired revolutionary general to short-haired autocrat after he assumes power. Sacha Guitry's film even has a whole scene of Bonaparte getting a hair-cut, mostly as an excuse to switch actors.
!!!'''By Movie:'''
* ''[[Film/AceVentura Ace Ventura Jr.]]'' has the main character's hairstyle change to look more like his father's when he becomes determined to be a pet detective. He also wears the same clothes as him.
* In ''Film/AmericanHistoryX'', Derek Vineyard sports a shaved head when he is a skinhead and has hair both before he makes the change and after he rejects his racist beliefs. His brother also sports a shaved head when Derek returns, showing that he is following in Derek's footsteps into the skinhead clique.
* The LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek ''Film/AmyAndIsabelle'' uses Amy's hair as a clock to show the stage of her and Isabelle's relationship. In flashbacks, Amy is shown with a beautiful head of long curly hair. In the present, it's cut short. Flashbacks later reveal that Amy had an affair with her teacher, and Isabelle cut the hair off in a fit of rage after she discovered this. Later in the movie, after mother and daughter have sorted out their issues, Amy is taken to the hairdressers to have the haircut tidied up.
* ''{{Film/Avatar}}'' - Jake begins the film as a marine with a crew cut. As he embraces life with the Na'vi, his hair grows out a little.
* In ''Film/BeautyAndTheBeast2017'', both the Prince and Madame Garderobe, an opera singer, attend a party in the prologue wearing massively extravagant wigs to demonstrate [[BeautyIsBad their obsession with vanity and outward appearances]]. In the grand finale after the curse on the castle has been broken, both have their natural hair showing as a sign of their CharacterDevelopment while enchanted.
* In ''{{Film/Boyhood}}'' Mason usually has longer hair around the angstier parts of his life (the exception is when his abusive stepdad gives him a TraumaticHaircut). Likewise, his mother favours bobs and shorter styles whenever she's married or in a relationship. When those relationships end, she lets her hair grow out.
* In ''Film/CabinFever'' Marcy's hair is straightened on the first day of the trip. The next morning (after their run-in with the hermit) and the start of the weird events - her hair is more unkempt.
* In ''Film/CharliesAngels2000'', Knox's hair - along with his clothes - changes from shaggy, unkempt computer geek to slick coif [[spoiler: when we find out he's the bad guy]].
* ''Film/{{Divergent}}'':
** Tris's hair is used as a clock to symbolize her character development. In ''Divergent'', when she is part of Abnegation, it's tied up in a modest bun. When she joins Dauntless, it's kept in a ponytail. It only comes down whenever she's at her most vulnerable (usually when she's alone with Four). In ''The Divergent Series: Insurgent'' she cuts it drastically short, showing how she's haunted by what's happened to her. She [[spoiler:forgives herself for everything]] at the end of the film, so it has grown longer by ''The Divergent Series: Allegiant'' to reflect this.
** Jeanine wears her hair down in ''Divergent'' when she's merely a BitchInSheepsClothing. When she takes control in ''The Divergent Series: Insurgent'' she now wears her hair up.
** Natalie's hair was in a bun like Tris's at the start of ''Divergent''. [[spoiler: When she pulls a BigDamnHeroes moment in the climax to rescue Tris]] her hair is now down.
* In ''Film/AnEducation'', Jenny wears her hair in sophisticated updos when with David and his friends, but loose when she's with her schoolmates. Very symbolic of the fact that for all her pretense, she's still very much a child.
* In ''Film/EternalSunshineOfTheSpotlessMind'', Clementine's hair color indicated what part of the timeline we are seeing: red during her relationship with Joel, green in their first meeting, blue after they break up. [[spoiler:When they are seen together and she has blue hair, it's a hint that they got back together and this is not part of the memory removal flashback.]]
* In ''Film/{{Excalibur}}'', Arthur grows a beard after his "Wart" stage to show that he's become King Arthur and not the callow youth he was in the early parts of the film.
* In ''Film/GetOut2017'' when [[spoiler: Rose is revealed to be the villain]] it's marked by her hair being worn up and out of her eyes. In fact in the very scene featuring [[spoiler: the FaceHeelTurn]] she ties her hair up.
* In ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'':
** In Part 1, the trio's hair grows gradually longer as they're out in the wilderness. Harry is shown getting a trim from Hermione but she later says "never ask me to give you a haircut again". Hermione herself begins the film with shoulder-length hair but it eventually reaches down to her elbows.
** In Part 2 the epilogue gives the trio different haircuts to show they're adults now.
* In ''Film/HigherLearning'', the shaved head demonstrates Remy's transformation from confused youth into deranged white supremacist.
* In the movie ''Series/ISpy Returns'', Bill Cosby is shown doing a comic double-take over his old identity picture (from the TV series) with its '60s afro.
* ''Film/JamesBond'' movie ''Film/DieAnotherDay'':
** Bond's imprisonment in North Korea is marked by the [[BeardOfSorrow growth of his hair and a beard]] ([[SerendipityWritesThePlot real reason:]] Pierce Brosnan was filming ''Literature/RobinsonCrusoe''), and once he escapes the first thing he does is get a cut and a shave to look like the Bond we know.
** Not to mention henchman Zao's abrupt change from relatively normal-looking to both BaldOfEvil and albino. (Oh, and he's got diamonds in his face, but that comes rather secondary to the missing hair.)
* ''Film/JurassicWorld'' shows Claire sporting a bob as a sign of what an independent career woman she is. By the time of [[Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom the sequel]] - during which she's now in a relationship with Owen - her hair has grown out long.
* From ''Film/TheLastSamurai'': Katsumoto's son, Nobutada, received an ImportantHaircut at the hand of Japanese riflemen; then he reappears as part of the rescue party that breaks his father out of imprisonment, and holds off the riflemen armed with bow and arrow. Algren is stunned by the sight of Nobutada since his wild and loose hair (and chosen weapon) gives him the appearance of the Native Americans he had had to fight prior to the movie.
* In ''Film/{{Limitless}}'', we see the protagonist's ex-wife in flashbacks with beautiful hair, but when we meet her, she has tangled, dishevelled hair and is suffering the after-effects of using the drug. Also, the protagonist's hair changes throughout the film depending on what's going on and how much time has passed.
* In ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'', among the changes signifying the transition from Gandalf the Grey to Gandalf the White are a whiter, cleaner, and better-trimmed hair and beard.
* ''Film/TheMagdaleneSisters'' uses Bernadette's hair to show the passage of time. It's cut short after she tries to escape, and it growing back to its original length shows that time has passed. [[spoiler: After Crispina is taken away]], there's a TimeSkip to show Bernadette with her hair grown out long. [[spoiler: She now has the courage to escape from the laundry with Rose]].
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** Loki starts off with tidy hair that doesn't reach his shoulders during ''Film/{{Thor}}''. When he returns as a would-be world conqueror in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', his hair is quite a bit longer and noticeably uncared for. This serves as an indicator that he's considerably less stable than before, now more of a straight-up villain rather than a sympathetic AntiVillain. Come ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'', Loki's hair becomes more orderly while in captivity but is longer to denote the passage of time. After [[spoiler:Frigga's death]], he becomes very disheveled due to [[spoiler:[[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas grief]]]]. In ''Film/ThorRagnarok,'' his hair is more curly than in previous appearances, giving him a softer look.
** From ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' and ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', Steve Rogers has an appropriately 1940s era haircut, which makes him stand out especially in the latter along with his wardrobe choices. By the time of ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' he has a more modern haircut to symbolize how he's become used to the present day.
** For ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' and ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', [[spoiler:Bucky Barnes starts with the tidy hairstyle of a disciplined American soldier to the wild untamed locks of the chaotic Winter Soldier.]] For ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'', it is noticeably short again after he seems to have distanced himself from that.
** ''Film/{{Doctor Strange|2016}}''. The clean-shaven Strange grows a messy BeardOfSorrow after his hands are ruined in an accident, and he loses his ability to wield a scalpel let alone a straight razor. He trims it back to a well-kept goatee after finding new purpose as a sorcerer (using an electric razor).
** In ''Film/AntMan1'', Hope Van Dyne has a SciFiBobHaircut, but in ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'' she's grown it out due to her and Hank Pym being on the run after the events of ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar''. This was actually [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Luis when describing Scott and Hope's history.
--->'''Luis:''' Scott met Hope and he was like, "We should be a thing" and she's like "Nah, I'm all business. Just look at my hair!"
** Natasha Romanoff's hair noticeably undergoes some changes after ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar''. While its length constantly shifted between movies (it ended up being ''reliable'' that her hair went from short to long and back with each of her appearances), the colour was always meant to be the same. At the conclusion of ''Film/{{Black Widow|2021}}'', set immediately after ''Civil War'', she cuts her hair short and dyes it platinum blonde, to better help in hiding from Ross, and sports this look for the duration of ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''. However, after the time jump in ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', she's grown her hair out and it is red again, with only some blonde tips left. This happens to be when she begins taking a leadership role in the Avengers and returns to being a public figure, while also having her look like her normal self [[spoiler: in her final days before she dies]].
* ''Film/{{Master}}'': Jasmine arrives to school wearing her hair in its natural texture. After having trouble fitting in as an African-American student in a mostly white campus, she starts to wear her hair straightened. Thanksgiving break arrives and with everybody gone, she goes back to her natural hairstyle.
* In ''Film/TheMatrix'', clothing and hairstyle changes indicate whether a scene takes place in the real world or in a computer system. After taking the red pill, Neo wakes up in a strange place with no hair or clothing. Later, Morpheus uses this effect to explain the Matrix to Neo:
-->'''Neo:''' Right now... we're inside a computer?\\
'''Morpheus:''' Is it so hard to believe? Your clothes are different. The plugs in your body are gone. Your hair has changed. Your appearance now is what we call "residual self-image". It is the mental projection of your digital self.
* ''Film/MeanGirls'':
** For each act of the film, Cady has a different hairstyle representing her journey from "homeschool jungle freak" (straight and ponytailed) to shiny plastic (a more puffed up, curled style to gel with the other Plastics) to actual human being (a simple, messy style).
** In the epilogue, Gretchen is seen with completely straightened hair now that she's in the [[AsianAirhead Cool Asian]] clique. One could interpret this as going from hair so big ([[MemeticMutation "it's full of secrets"]]) to having nothing to hide or be ashamed of.
** Regina begins wearing her hair tied up around the time the other Plastics start growing disillusioned from her.
* In ''Film/TheMessengerTheStoryOfJoanOfArc'', Joan's hair is used as a symbol throughout the movie:
** At the beginning, when she's convinced she's God's messenger, it's long and very blonde.
** When she arrives to Orleans to lead the army, she gets a boyish haircut to keep the generals from making comments about her being a girl: it works immediately, and she's the leader of the group by the next day. She keeps her hair short and it gets darker at each battle scene until she only has a few gold strands left.
** When she's in prison, doubting her faith and thinking she's going mad, her hair grows darker still and grows long again, though not as long as it was before she cut it.
* Sent up in ''Film/TheNakedGun'' series when a flashback to the characters in TheSeventies, and they all have longer hair (but don't look otherwise any younger), culminating in OJ Simpson's character, whose FunnyAfro is so big that it gets stuck in the door. A character then says in the present "That's right! You were one of the first test subjects for Minoxidil!"
* In ''Film/TheNextThreeDays'' Elizabeth Banks' character's hair goes from sleek platinum blonde (similar to her character in ''Film/IronMan'') to a wavy rusty brown after being imprisoned for three years.
* In ''Film/TheNines'' [[spoiler:Margaret/Melissa/Mary has plain brown hair that turns a vibrant red after she persuades Gary/Gavin/Gabriel to stop pretending to be something he's not.]]
* ''{{Film/Ophelia}}'': The final scene depicts her with waist-length hair again, she having previously had cut it short, indicating [[DistantFinale several years have passed]] since then.
* In ''Film/QueensLogic'', when Carla signals she wants to change her life, she has Patty dye her hair red.
* In ''A Royal Christmas'' (a Hallmark Channel movie), the snooty queen continually wears her hair in updos. At the end of the movie, having finally accepted her son's relationship with a commoner, it's down.
* From ''Film/TheRoyalTenenbaums'': Richie grows the typically long, scruffy hair and beard after his nervous breakdown, and then cuts and shaves them both right before [[spoiler:slitting his wrists with the same razor, because of his love for his [[NotBloodSiblings adopted sister]], Margot]].
* In the parallel universe film ''Film/SlidingDoors'', the version of the protagonist who catches her boyfriend cheating gets an ImportantHaircut and blonde dye job, while the other version stays with the boyfriend and keeps her long dark hair. Throughout the film, this is how we tell which universe it is.
* In ''Film/SpiderMan3'' when he is being influenced by the alien goo/Venom symbiote, Peter Parker restyles his hair into a side-parted style with bangs falling over one eye. This is often referred to as his "emo" look, quite getting for the character as the idea of eye-obscuring "emo hair" being self-effacing and semi-pathetic.
* Bizarrely ''averted'' in ''Film/StarTrekNemesis'', when we are shown an old photograph of Jean-Luc Picard from his academy days and he is seemingly just as bald (actually even balder!) than his older self. This despite it having been mentioned and shown in [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration the TV series]] that Picard used to have a full head of hair. This was supposedly done [[ViewersAreMorons to make it simpler to understand]] that the fully-bald Shinzon is really his clone.
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** After not having a beard in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', Obi-Wan has his familiar facial hair ten years later in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones''.
** Anakin has short Padawan hair in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'', matching Obi-Wan's haircut in Episode I, whereas Obi-Wan has grown what's popularly known as the "Jedi Mullet" (even though it's long all around, meaning it's more of a "Jedi '70s Mane"). In ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', Anakin's hair again looks like Obi-Wan's from the preceding film and has grown out significantly, whereas Obi-Wan now has a much shorter haircut reminiscent of the one he had/will have in ''Film/ANewHope'' when played by Creator/AlecGuinness.
** After she falls into water in a cave on Ahch-To, Rey wears her hair down and in a single bun instead of the iconic three-bun style she wore through the entirety of ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' and ''Film/TheLastJedi''. Since she wore the latter as a child in flashback, the change symbolizes her finally giving up her hope that her parents will return for her.
* In ''Film/TheWall'', you know Pink has gone off the deep end when he emerges from his hotel bathroom with his messy hair slicked back and his eyebrows shaved off.
* In ''Film/WhatDreamsMayCome'', Annie's hairstyle changes throughout the flashbacks which helps the viewer to keep track of the timeline. Annie has long hair when she meets Christy and all through the happy family times, gets a TraumaticHaircut after the kids die, has a stylish bob cut four years later when she has recovered.
* In ''Film/WickerPark'' this is used subtly to indicate what time period we're watching. When it's two years ago, Matthew's hair is messy (and he wears casual clothes) while in the present it's tidy (and he wears suits). Lisa's hair is curly in the past and straight in the present. Alex's is kept up and dowdy in the past but she wears it down and pays more attention to it in the present.
* In ''Film/TheWorldsEnd'', we first see Gary King as a teenager, with obviously dyed but pretty cool-looking black hair. When we next see him at 37, he noticeably still has dyed black hair even though it doesn't suit him anymore or match his blond beard, reflecting his DiscoDan-levels of obsession with TheNineties, as well as how he [[ManChild acts like a teenager despite being almost forty]]. This is his look for the rest of the movie, and his personality is what ends up saving humanity from the Network. However, when we see him AfterTheEnd, the offscreen change in his character is signified by how he now has a clean-shaven face and his natural blond hair colour - as well as how he's asking in a BadGuyBar for a glass of tap water.
* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'':
** Storm begins with [[LongHairIsFeminine hair which is long and loose]] in ''Film/XMen1'' and it later becomes a more practical pixie cut in ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'' as everything around her and the other X-Men goes FromBadToWorse. Her hairstyle gets even [[BoyishShortHair shorter]] in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' because she lives in a CrapsackWorld where mutants are being hunted down to extinction.
** ''Film/XMenApocalypse'': Creator/JamesMcAvoy's Professor X is finally bald, which means that his transformation into Creator/PatrickStewart's character is complete, albeit with a few tweaks to his personality because his experience in the AlternateTimeline is quite different.
** In ''Film/XMen1'', Rogue has brown hair, but when she's trapped inside Magneto's forced-mutation machine, the device's [[LifeDrain draining properties]] give her the iconic streaks of white that her comic-book counterpart has always possessed. By the next film, she's taken to dyeing the streaks blonde, signifying her acceptance of them.
* The title character in the movie ''Father Stu'' wears his hair messy and unkempt when he's an alcoholic boxer/struggling actor. It gets neater when he starts to get his act together and starts dating a woman from his church. By the time he enters the seminary, it's in a neatly cropped style and finally, as he develops a progressive muscle disease, it's in a buzzcut (likely because he can't maintain anything else).
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{{Expository Hairstyle Change}}s in LiveActionFilms.
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!!!'''In General:'''
* In films covering UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte's whole life, he goes from long-haired revolutionary general to short-haired autocrat after he assumes power. Sacha Guitry's film even has a whole scene of Bonaparte getting a hair-cut, mostly as an excuse to switch actors.
!!!'''By Movie:'''
* ''[[Film/AceVentura Ace Ventura Jr.]]'' has the main character's hairstyle change to look more like his father's when he becomes determined to be a pet detective. He also wears the same clothes as him.
* In ''Film/AmericanHistoryX'', Derek Vineyard sports a shaved head when he is a skinhead and has hair both before he makes the change and after he rejects his racist beliefs. His brother also sports a shaved head when Derek returns, showing that he is following in Derek's footsteps into the skinhead clique.
* The LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek ''Film/AmyAndIsabelle'' uses Amy's hair as a clock to show the stage of her and Isabelle's relationship. In flashbacks, Amy is shown with a beautiful head of long curly hair. In the present, it's cut short. Flashbacks later reveal that Amy had an affair with her teacher, and Isabelle cut the hair off in a fit of rage after she discovered this. Later in the movie, after mother and daughter have sorted out their issues, Amy is taken to the hairdressers to have the haircut tidied up.
* ''{{Film/Avatar}}'' - Jake begins the film as a marine with a crew cut. As he embraces life with the Na'vi, his hair grows out a little.
* In ''Film/BeautyAndTheBeast2017'', both the Prince and Madame Garderobe, an opera singer, attend a party in the prologue wearing massively extravagant wigs to demonstrate [[BeautyIsBad their obsession with vanity and outward appearances]]. In the grand finale after the curse on the castle has been broken, both have their natural hair showing as a sign of their CharacterDevelopment while enchanted.
* In ''{{Film/Boyhood}}'' Mason usually has longer hair around the angstier parts of his life (the exception is when his abusive stepdad gives him a TraumaticHaircut). Likewise, his mother favours bobs and shorter styles whenever she's married or in a relationship. When those relationships end, she lets her hair grow out.
* In ''Film/CabinFever'' Marcy's hair is straightened on the first day of the trip. The next morning (after their run-in with the hermit) and the start of the weird events - her hair is more unkempt.
* In ''Film/CharliesAngels2000'', Knox's hair - along with his clothes - changes from shaggy, unkempt computer geek to slick coif [[spoiler: when we find out he's the bad guy]].
* ''Film/{{Divergent}}'':
** Tris's hair is used as a clock to symbolize her character development. In ''Divergent'', when she is part of Abnegation, it's tied up in a modest bun. When she joins Dauntless, it's kept in a ponytail. It only comes down whenever she's at her most vulnerable (usually when she's alone with Four). In ''The Divergent Series: Insurgent'' she cuts it drastically short, showing how she's haunted by what's happened to her. She [[spoiler:forgives herself for everything]] at the end of the film, so it has grown longer by ''The Divergent Series: Allegiant'' to reflect this.
** Jeanine wears her hair down in ''Divergent'' when she's merely a BitchInSheepsClothing. When she takes control in ''The Divergent Series: Insurgent'' she now wears her hair up.
** Natalie's hair was in a bun like Tris's at the start of ''Divergent''. [[spoiler: When she pulls a BigDamnHeroes moment in the climax to rescue Tris]] her hair is now down.
* In ''Film/AnEducation'', Jenny wears her hair in sophisticated updos when with David and his friends, but loose when she's with her schoolmates. Very symbolic of the fact that for all her pretense, she's still very much a child.
* In ''Film/EternalSunshineOfTheSpotlessMind'', Clementine's hair color indicated what part of the timeline we are seeing: red during her relationship with Joel, green in their first meeting, blue after they break up. [[spoiler:When they are seen together and she has blue hair, it's a hint that they got back together and this is not part of the memory removal flashback.]]
* In ''Film/{{Excalibur}}'', Arthur grows a beard after his "Wart" stage to show that he's become King Arthur and not the callow youth he was in the early parts of the film.
* In ''Film/GetOut2017'' when [[spoiler: Rose is revealed to be the villain]] it's marked by her hair being worn up and out of her eyes. In fact in the very scene featuring [[spoiler: the FaceHeelTurn]] she ties her hair up.
* In ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'':
** In Part 1, the trio's hair grows gradually longer as they're out in the wilderness. Harry is shown getting a trim from Hermione but she later says "never ask me to give you a haircut again". Hermione herself begins the film with shoulder-length hair but it eventually reaches down to her elbows.
** In Part 2 the epilogue gives the trio different haircuts to show they're adults now.
* In ''Film/HigherLearning'', the shaved head demonstrates Remy's transformation from confused youth into deranged white supremacist.
* In the movie ''Series/ISpy Returns'', Bill Cosby is shown doing a comic double-take over his old identity picture (from the TV series) with its '60s afro.
* ''Film/JamesBond'' movie ''Film/DieAnotherDay'':
** Bond's imprisonment in North Korea is marked by the [[BeardOfSorrow growth of his hair and a beard]] ([[SerendipityWritesThePlot real reason:]] Pierce Brosnan was filming ''Literature/RobinsonCrusoe''), and once he escapes the first thing he does is get a cut and a shave to look like the Bond we know.
** Not to mention henchman Zao's abrupt change from relatively normal-looking to both BaldOfEvil and albino. (Oh, and he's got diamonds in his face, but that comes rather secondary to the missing hair.)
* ''Film/JurassicWorld'' shows Claire sporting a bob as a sign of what an independent career woman she is. By the time of [[Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom the sequel]] - during which she's now in a relationship with Owen - her hair has grown out long.
* From ''Film/TheLastSamurai'': Katsumoto's son, Nobutada, received an ImportantHaircut at the hand of Japanese riflemen; then he reappears as part of the rescue party that breaks his father out of imprisonment, and holds off the riflemen armed with bow and arrow. Algren is stunned by the sight of Nobutada since his wild and loose hair (and chosen weapon) gives him the appearance of the Native Americans he had had to fight prior to the movie.
* In ''Film/{{Limitless}}'', we see the protagonist's ex-wife in flashbacks with beautiful hair, but when we meet her, she has tangled, dishevelled hair and is suffering the after-effects of using the drug. Also, the protagonist's hair changes throughout the film depending on what's going on and how much time has passed.
* In ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'', among the changes signifying the transition from Gandalf the Grey to Gandalf the White are a whiter, cleaner, and better-trimmed hair and beard.
* ''Film/TheMagdaleneSisters'' uses Bernadette's hair to show the passage of time. It's cut short after she tries to escape, and it growing back to its original length shows that time has passed. [[spoiler: After Crispina is taken away]], there's a TimeSkip to show Bernadette with her hair grown out long. [[spoiler: She now has the courage to escape from the laundry with Rose]].
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** Loki starts off with tidy hair that doesn't reach his shoulders during ''Film/{{Thor}}''. When he returns as a would-be world conqueror in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', his hair is quite a bit longer and noticeably uncared for. This serves as an indicator that he's considerably less stable than before, now more of a straight-up villain rather than a sympathetic AntiVillain. Come ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'', Loki's hair becomes more orderly while in captivity but is longer to denote the passage of time. After [[spoiler:Frigga's death]], he becomes very disheveled due to [[spoiler:[[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas grief]]]]. In ''Film/ThorRagnarok,'' his hair is more curly than in previous appearances, giving him a softer look.
** From ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' and ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', Steve Rogers has an appropriately 1940s era haircut, which makes him stand out especially in the latter along with his wardrobe choices. By the time of ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' he has a more modern haircut to symbolize how he's become used to the present day.
** For ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' and ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', [[spoiler:Bucky Barnes starts with the tidy hairstyle of a disciplined American soldier to the wild untamed locks of the chaotic Winter Soldier.]] For ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'', it is noticeably short again after he seems to have distanced himself from that.
** ''Film/{{Doctor Strange|2016}}''. The clean-shaven Strange grows a messy BeardOfSorrow after his hands are ruined in an accident, and he loses his ability to wield a scalpel let alone a straight razor. He trims it back to a well-kept goatee after finding new purpose as a sorcerer (using an electric razor).
** In ''Film/AntMan1'', Hope Van Dyne has a SciFiBobHaircut, but in ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'' she's grown it out due to her and Hank Pym being on the run after the events of ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar''. This was actually [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Luis when describing Scott and Hope's history.
--->'''Luis:''' Scott met Hope and he was like, "We should be a thing" and she's like "Nah, I'm all business. Just look at my hair!"
** Natasha Romanoff's hair noticeably undergoes some changes after ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar''. While its length constantly shifted between movies (it ended up being ''reliable'' that her hair went from short to long and back with each of her appearances), the colour was always meant to be the same. At the conclusion of ''Film/{{Black Widow|2021}}'', set immediately after ''Civil War'', she cuts her hair short and dyes it platinum blonde, to better help in hiding from Ross, and sports this look for the duration of ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''. However, after the time jump in ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', she's grown her hair out and it is red again, with only some blonde tips left. This happens to be when she begins taking a leadership role in the Avengers and returns to being a public figure, while also having her look like her normal self [[spoiler: in her final days before she dies]].
* ''Film/{{Master}}'': Jasmine arrives to school wearing her hair in its natural texture. After having trouble fitting in as an African-American student in a mostly white campus, she starts to wear her hair straightened. Thanksgiving break arrives and with everybody gone, she goes back to her natural hairstyle.
* In ''Film/TheMatrix'', clothing and hairstyle changes indicate whether a scene takes place in the real world or in a computer system. After taking the red pill, Neo wakes up in a strange place with no hair or clothing. Later, Morpheus uses this effect to explain the Matrix to Neo:
-->'''Neo:''' Right now... we're inside a computer?\\
'''Morpheus:''' Is it so hard to believe? Your clothes are different. The plugs in your body are gone. Your hair has changed. Your appearance now is what we call "residual self-image". It is the mental projection of your digital self.
* ''Film/MeanGirls'':
** For each act of the film, Cady has a different hairstyle representing her journey from "homeschool jungle freak" (straight and ponytailed) to shiny plastic (a more puffed up, curled style to gel with the other Plastics) to actual human being (a simple, messy style).
** In the epilogue, Gretchen is seen with completely straightened hair now that she's in the [[AsianAirhead Cool Asian]] clique. One could interpret this as going from hair so big ([[MemeticMutation "it's full of secrets"]]) to having nothing to hide or be ashamed of.
** Regina begins wearing her hair tied up around the time the other Plastics start growing disillusioned from her.
* In ''Film/TheMessengerTheStoryOfJoanOfArc'', Joan's hair is used as a symbol throughout the movie:
** At the beginning, when she's convinced she's God's messenger, it's long and very blonde.
** When she arrives to Orleans to lead the army, she gets a boyish haircut to keep the generals from making comments about her being a girl: it works immediately, and she's the leader of the group by the next day. She keeps her hair short and it gets darker at each battle scene until she only has a few gold strands left.
** When she's in prison, doubting her faith and thinking she's going mad, her hair grows darker still and grows long again, though not as long as it was before she cut it.
* Sent up in ''Film/TheNakedGun'' series when a flashback to the characters in TheSeventies, and they all have longer hair (but don't look otherwise any younger), culminating in OJ Simpson's character, whose FunnyAfro is so big that it gets stuck in the door. A character then says in the present "That's right! You were one of the first test subjects for Minoxidil!"
* In ''Film/TheNextThreeDays'' Elizabeth Banks' character's hair goes from sleek platinum blonde (similar to her character in ''Film/IronMan'') to a wavy rusty brown after being imprisoned for three years.
* In ''Film/TheNines'' [[spoiler:Margaret/Melissa/Mary has plain brown hair that turns a vibrant red after she persuades Gary/Gavin/Gabriel to stop pretending to be something he's not.]]
* ''{{Film/Ophelia}}'': The final scene depicts her with waist-length hair again, she having previously had cut it short, indicating [[DistantFinale several years have passed]] since then.
* In ''Film/QueensLogic'', when Carla signals she wants to change her life, she has Patty dye her hair red.
* In ''A Royal Christmas'' (a Hallmark Channel movie), the snooty queen continually wears her hair in updos. At the end of the movie, having finally accepted her son's relationship with a commoner, it's down.
* From ''Film/TheRoyalTenenbaums'': Richie grows the typically long, scruffy hair and beard after his nervous breakdown, and then cuts and shaves them both right before [[spoiler:slitting his wrists with the same razor, because of his love for his [[NotBloodSiblings adopted sister]], Margot]].
* In the parallel universe film ''Film/SlidingDoors'', the version of the protagonist who catches her boyfriend cheating gets an ImportantHaircut and blonde dye job, while the other version stays with the boyfriend and keeps her long dark hair. Throughout the film, this is how we tell which universe it is.
* In ''Film/SpiderMan3'' when he is being influenced by the alien goo/Venom symbiote, Peter Parker restyles his hair into a side-parted style with bangs falling over one eye. This is often referred to as his "emo" look, quite getting for the character as the idea of eye-obscuring "emo hair" being self-effacing and semi-pathetic.
* Bizarrely ''averted'' in ''Film/StarTrekNemesis'', when we are shown an old photograph of Jean-Luc Picard from his academy days and he is seemingly just as bald (actually even balder!) than his older self. This despite it having been mentioned and shown in [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration the TV series]] that Picard used to have a full head of hair. This was supposedly done [[ViewersAreMorons to make it simpler to understand]] that the fully-bald Shinzon is really his clone.
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** After not having a beard in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', Obi-Wan has his familiar facial hair ten years later in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones''.
** Anakin has short Padawan hair in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'', matching Obi-Wan's haircut in Episode I, whereas Obi-Wan has grown what's popularly known as the "Jedi Mullet" (even though it's long all around, meaning it's more of a "Jedi '70s Mane"). In ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', Anakin's hair again looks like Obi-Wan's from the preceding film and has grown out significantly, whereas Obi-Wan now has a much shorter haircut reminiscent of the one he had/will have in ''Film/ANewHope'' when played by Creator/AlecGuinness.
** After she falls into water in a cave on Ahch-To, Rey wears her hair down and in a single bun instead of the iconic three-bun style she wore through the entirety of ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' and ''Film/TheLastJedi''. Since she wore the latter as a child in flashback, the change symbolizes her finally giving up her hope that her parents will return for her.
* In ''Film/TheWall'', you know Pink has gone off the deep end when he emerges from his hotel bathroom with his messy hair slicked back and his eyebrows shaved off.
* In ''Film/WhatDreamsMayCome'', Annie's hairstyle changes throughout the flashbacks which helps the viewer to keep track of the timeline. Annie has long hair when she meets Christy and all through the happy family times, gets a TraumaticHaircut after the kids die, has a stylish bob cut four years later when she has recovered.
* In ''Film/WickerPark'' this is used subtly to indicate what time period we're watching. When it's two years ago, Matthew's hair is messy (and he wears casual clothes) while in the present it's tidy (and he wears suits). Lisa's hair is curly in the past and straight in the present. Alex's is kept up and dowdy in the past but she wears it down and pays more attention to it in the present.
* In ''Film/TheWorldsEnd'', we first see Gary King as a teenager, with obviously dyed but pretty cool-looking black hair. When we next see him at 37, he noticeably still has dyed black hair even though it doesn't suit him anymore or match his blond beard, reflecting his DiscoDan-levels of obsession with TheNineties, as well as how he [[ManChild acts like a teenager despite being almost forty]]. This is his look for the rest of the movie, and his personality is what ends up saving humanity from the Network. However, when we see him AfterTheEnd, the offscreen change in his character is signified by how he now has a clean-shaven face and his natural blond hair colour - as well as how he's asking in a BadGuyBar for a glass of tap water.
* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'':
** Storm begins with [[LongHairIsFeminine hair which is long and loose]] in ''Film/XMen1'' and it later becomes a more practical pixie cut in ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'' as everything around her and the other X-Men goes FromBadToWorse. Her hairstyle gets even [[BoyishShortHair shorter]] in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' because she lives in a CrapsackWorld where mutants are being hunted down to extinction.
** ''Film/XMenApocalypse'': Creator/JamesMcAvoy's Professor X is finally bald, which means that his transformation into Creator/PatrickStewart's character is complete, albeit with a few tweaks to his personality because his experience in the AlternateTimeline is quite different.
** In ''Film/XMen1'', Rogue has brown hair, but when she's trapped inside Magneto's forced-mutation machine, the device's [[LifeDrain draining properties]] give her the iconic streaks of white that her comic-book counterpart has always possessed. By the next film, she's taken to dyeing the streaks blonde, signifying her acceptance of them.
* The title character in the movie ''Father Stu'' wears his hair messy and unkempt when he's an alcoholic boxer/struggling actor. It gets neater when he starts to get his act together and starts dating a woman from his church. By the time he enters the seminary, it's in a neatly cropped style and finally, as he develops a progressive muscle disease, it's in a buzzcut (likely because he can't maintain anything else).
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