New TV show “Ugly” unmasks the ugly face of colorism in Hollywood
Hollywood may have embraced diversity in the last couple of years, but prejudice against darker-skinned people of the same race has endured. When casting racial minorities, it’s not about the color of a person’s skin, but its shade that determines who gets the job.
First coined by author Alice Walker in 1982, the term colorism was defined to mean the “prejudicial or preferential treatment of same-race people based solely on their color.”[1]
The challenges that darker-skinned blacks face compared to their lighter-skinned racial peers date back to slavery. Black slaves were often assigned jobs based on the tone of their skin. Lighter-skinned slaves got the better jobs. They also got privileges that were denied to those with darker skin.
This preference for lighter-skinned blacks over darker-skinned ones has endured. From beauty standards to professional opportunities, “colorism” is pervasive in Hollywood.
“Ugly”, a new TV series that premiered on December 5, 2021 at New Vibe Studios in Los Angeles addresses just that.
The pilot episode, “Black2theback” starts with a rapper, Lil Mumble, recording his track as several black models take turns to act in his music video.
In a dimly lit room, he sits on a vintage red and gold settee, looking straight into the camera as it records him rapping. The red backdrop hung against the wall behind him complements the bordello kitsch interior of the room.
As the camera slowly zooms out, two lighter-skinned female models facing each other, sitting on either side of him, become visible in the frame. They sensuously dance to his track until the director yells “cut!”
He seems pleased with the performance and reads out the name of the next model scheduled to perform. The camera pans on to Zuri; she is the darkest shade of brown of all models seated in a row. No sooner does she walk on set, the director, also black, is visibly upset at having to work with a dark-skinned model. He takes a jab at her appearance, the cameraman sniggers.
The opening scene of the first episode of “Ugly,” sets the tone for the central theme of the series, which revolves around colorism.
The bias against darker-skinned blacks is a real-life challenge for many. Preference for lightness within non-white races may have its roots in white supremacy but even within black communities and families, those in appearance with closer proximity to whiteness are preferred.
They are associated with romantic desirability, have better job opportunities, and earn more than darker-skinned black people.
Zuri, the protagonist, played by Bella Maori, is unceremoniously ejected from the music video set because she is a dark-skinned black woman.
Throughout the taping, we see that she puts up with the director’s taunts and demeaning attitude, “stand behind the couch…make sure the only thing I see is your arms wrapped around his chest.”
While he complements the lighter-skinned models throughout, “you have a beautiful face,” he tells her to “go at the back.”
As she exits the studio, Zuri meets her childhood ex-boyfriend, Shannon, played by Shon Evans who’s just been released from a 5-year prison sentence. They reunite under their shared love of skateboarding.
Shannon is hiding a secret from Zuri, which will become clearer as the series progresses.
Bella Maori is the creator of the “Ugly.” In addition to playing Zuri’s character, she is also the writer, producer, director, and actor of the series. Raised in Los Angeles, Maori started her career as a model. Since, she has written and produced several independent projects.
Maori played the lead role in her first independent feature film, The Internship Games in 2015. This year, she appeared on the album cover trailer for Grammy-nominated rapper Baby Keem’s debut album, The Melodic Blue.
Premiered on December 5, 2021 at New Vibe Studios in Los Angeles, the pilot episode for “Ugly” was nominated for Best Web and New Media, Best Web Series/TV Pilot, Television — Pilot Program, and Best Series-Web-Pilot by LA Independent Women Film Awards.
“Ugly” also won an award for Best Pilot-Series from LA Independent Film Channel Festival, in addition to winning the Best Cinematography Award at the BRNO Film Festival.
At the Independent Shorts Awards on December 12, 2021 Bella Maori won an Honorable Mention as Best First Time Director. She also picked up Bronze Awards for Best Web and New Media, and Best Web Series/ TV Pilot.
Red carpet interviews of the cast of “Ugly.”
https://youtu.be/APw81306sx4 click link here to watch red carpet interviews
“She [Maori] is absolutely stunning. I’m excited to watch her from the beginning when everything started and be in this position now where everything’s come to life,”, gushed Irene Eclavea, E. D. F. Network Producer. “Everybody needs to get in touch with their inner self to be able to bring about excellence, and she was able to capture that.”
Answering a reporter, Ava Zingara at the premiere, Maori described her motive in creating the series, “it’s just so important to talk about colorism in the community and in Hollywood and how it prevents people from getting opportunity.”
Indeed, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar argues that “it’s well known among people of color that Hollywood prefers its coffee with lots of cream, not black.”[2]
A prominent black man himself, Abdul-Jabbar has seen remarkable career success. He’s an NBA Hall of Famer, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom who has appeared in Hollywood movies and TV shows.[3]
“Yes, Black lives matter in our daily lives, but they also have to matter in our art, in our culture, and in the stories, we tell, because that’s what informs each generation what values we are trying to celebrate and preserve.”[4]
As a dark-skinned black woman in the entertainment industry, Maori may have been inspired by her own life experiences to explore colorism in “Ugly.”
While she didn’t specifically allude to personal life experiences with colorism while speaking to reporters at the premiere, other actors did.
Deon Sams, the dark-skinned black actor who plays Michael, the director in the opening scene, recounted his own life experiences with colorism, “in my own experience, it was the lighter the better. I have light-skinned cousins and family members and just growing up with them it was, ‘he’s the cutest,’ and that sort of thing.”
Preference for lighter-skinned performers is not just limited to Hollywood. It’s the same in the music industry. Top-selling black musicians are lighter-skinned. Would Beyonce, Mariah Carey, and Rihanna get the opportunities they did if they were darker?
It also extends to other cultures that have historically lived under white subjugation or colonial rule. Nowhere more is this more pronounced than in India’s Bollywood.
Infamous for casting lighter skin toned actors in starring roles, Bollywood’s unabashed preference for light skin is driven by Indian society’s idea of beauty where light skin is associated with beauty, while dark skin is considered unattractive.
While the industry has a responsibility to embrace the diversity of skin tone, some argue that the impetus to change should come from within the community.
Shon D’Mario Evans, who plays Shannon, highlights the need within the black community to address colorism, before expecting society at-large to eradicate it.
“I think we have to look inward because there’s a lot of issues [with] light skin versus dark skin. I wish it wasn’t like that but unfortunately, it is something that we have to deal with. I think we have to take accountability. Like I said, we have to look inward before we can ask anybody else to accept us.”
While the association of light-skinned blackness with desirability and beauty is a serious problem, it’s certainly not the only problem.
According to a New York Times report, dark-skinned black girls are three times more likely to be suspended from school than light-skinned black girls. Moreover, research reveals that dark-skinned black women earn up to 25 percent less money than their light-skinned counterparts.
Dark-skinned black women are also more likely to be victims of police brutality and receive harsher prison sentences than light-skinned black women as they are more likely to be perceived as belligerent and menacing.[5]
Maori is a remarkable storyteller with a keen eye for detail. She has an extraordinary capability to capture raw human emotion, and this makes her characters more relatable to her audience.
Since we’ve only seen “Ugly’s” first episode, it is anyone’s guess what direction the plotline takes in subsequent episodes. However, the pilot firmly establishes colorism as the central thesis of the series.
Going forward, one can reasonably expect the storyline to revolve around the characters’ struggles with colorism in their daily lives, with a focus on those struggling to establish themselves in the entertainment industry.
Haider Ghaznavi is a freelance journalist who writes on culture, lifestyle, and current affairs. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of Chicago. A Karachi native, he is a lover of naps, coffee, and legal thrillers.’
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_globalstudies/vol14/iss4/8/
[2] https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/kareem-abdul-jabbar-in-the-heights-colorism-1234972118/
[3] https://kareemabduljabbar.com/
[4] https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/kareem-abdul-jabbar-in-the-heights-colorism-1234972118/
[5] https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5457607
