Taking our hats off is an ancient tradition. When the king walked into a room, his subjects took off their hats and bowed their heads to show reverence. When our National Anthem plays at ball games, we remove our baseball hats during the song. We take off our hats for dinners, prayers and formal introductions. We may also take off our hats to celebrate a graduation or special event. Today the phrase “hats off” applies to more than just customs. It’s used in museum exhibit titles, movie titles and nonprofit organization names.
There is a “Hats Off: Salute to African Headwear” exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art in Washington DC. Adorning the body with creative crafts has been a longstanding tradition in African culture that expresses pride, individualism and cultural ideals. Some hats are meant to represent certain skills, as farmers and blacksmiths will wear different mens hats, for example. Different hats also indicate different status, as chiefs and royalty have their own special head-dresses. Materials used in hat-making are from the local landscape and additions like teeth, claws or hide are believed to give the wearer special powers. Imported shells, glass beads and buttons indicate wealth. At the exhibit, people can see Kongo hats dating back to the 15th century, 19th century Zulu tribe hats and a number of other special artifacts.
“Hats Off” has also been the title of several films. In the 1920s, one of the earliest Laurel and Hardy films was dubbed this. The title should be taken literally because it features an explosive argument where the two men continuously knock off each other’s signature derby hats. Soon others get involved in the melee in a hilarious slapstick showcase of events. In 2008, another “Hats Off” film came out — this time as an inspiring documentary of a 93-year-old actress who began her career path at age 65. The movie title is not only meant to be a complimentary “hats off to Mimi Weddell” for her achievements, but it’s also interesting because Mimi is rarely seen without some sort of top hat, black hat, floppy hat or vintage hat.
“Hats Off” is also a title for several non-profit organizations. For instance, Hats Off Theatre is a nonprofit children’s performing arts theatre based out of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Here kids aged 4 to 16 learn to appreciate and experience storytelling, acting, screenplay writing, improvisational comedy and puppetry. Kids dress up in accessories apparel and participate in dramatic performances. Additionally, another nonprofit group called Hats Off For Cancer donates hats to children survivors of cancer who have lost their hair from chemotherapy. Over the years, over 690,000 hats have put smiles on the faces of young children in need. So you see, the phrase “hats off” means many different things to many different people.
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