Starring:  Van Vicker, Jasmine Burke, Brad James, Cycerli Ash, LisaRaye McCoy

Synopsis: 

A woman struggling with image insecurities bleaches her skin to further her career but later lives to regret it.  

Review:

Jolie (Jasmine Burke), a black woman, was born dark-skinned. She was darker than those in her household and it made her feel different. Verbal digs from peers about her complexion led her to bleach her skin for acceptance.  

Although Jolie carried her insecurities through adulthood she still became a successful model and got married. When she tried to conceive she discovered she was ill due to chemicals from bleaching creams she used. It was then that she reached out to a psychiatrist who provided closure to her past.    

Let’s Talk. Color. Why is it still an issue? Why does the shade of someone’s complexion matter? This is a story about a woman’s deep insecurities about her dark skin. Deep enough that she used bleaching creams to achieve a lighter look. The heart of the matter is that her insecurity wasn’t originally her own; it was other people’s. Her peers had a problem with dark skin, scorned her for hers, and then she adopted their insecurity and made it her own.  And while they carried on with their light-skinned lives, she was left with the anguish of feeling inadequate. 

The adage that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” is true. Dark skin is attractive but it can also be intimidating and somehow that intimidation correlates with ugly.  Some dark-skinned people may not think they’re attractive but there happens to be a lot of very attractive, dark skinned people in the world. It’s funny because when some light-skinned people see good-looking dark-skinned people their prejudice becomes muddled. It’s as though dark skin doesn’t coalesce with a pretty face and then the confusion propels negative criticism. 

I’m sure there are plenty of dark-skinned women who have been told “you’re pretty…for a dark-skinned woman.” The comment didn’t stop at “you’re pretty” and end there; the dark skin was referenced because dark is supposed to be unattractive. So basically, it’s a compliment retracted with an insult. The truth? Dark-skinned people are powerful. And why fade power?? Think about it. If dark skin can dredge up all sorts of feelings in other people then they are a remarkable class of people. Dark skin isn’t inferior; it’s feared. 

But what if we didn’t have skin? What if God decided to wrap our bodies in Saran wrap? First of all, we’d all be ugly since our insides would be transparent, right? Therefore, we’d all look like we’re starring in a horror show. So if we’re blessed with skin and some are brown, white, beige, or black, what difference does it make? Skin is a vital organ. 

We can’t control people’s behavior but we’re responsible for our own. We can’t allow someone else’s perception and ignorance to alter our lives. We can tell who’s been bleaching because we saw them five shades ago. Do they look any better? Or do they just look insecure? To think that other races spend hours in the sun or on tanning beds for color and we’re just fading our God given melanin away. 

But is bleaching skin any different from straightening our hair? Relaxers and hair color are chemicals that alter our look too. Should this be an issue? Are these efforts to negate our “blackness” or are we just enhancing our look? 

Ultimately, we all want to look and feel our best and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s this desire that constitutes the billion dollar beauty industry.  From make-up, moisturizers, weight loss, and the like, manufacturers are raking it in. And then there’s botox, liposuction, fake boobs, and butt implants so in the grand scheme of things, a little bleaching cream is the least of it. It’s left to the individual to determine if the risk is worth the reward. 

Maybe we all have a thing or two that we’d like to change about our appearance but the truth is that you are your worst critic. The faults we see in the mirror are things most people don’t even notice. Perhaps we’re allowing society to define beauty for us. 

Sooo, the movie? It felt like a public service announcement that warned of cancer producing chemicals in bleaching creams. I have not researched the validity of this, nor do I plan to, but it’s something to consider if someone plans to use such products. 

Clearly, the movie was constructed around an issue as opposed to a solid story injected with conflict. It jumped around a bit with flashbacks that became a bit untidy. The outcome of the story was revealed at the start so there was no suspense to be on edge about. 

The movie touched on racism within the black race and it’s such an unnecessary discord. We shouldn’t have to deal with discrimination from other races and then deal with it in our own backyard. Light or dark, we’re all God’s children.

There was also a reference to Black mens’ preference of light-skinned women. People can’t help what they’re attracted to, but having an open mind expands the pool of options and may prevent missing out on a viable mate. Black women have to remember to keep their options open too.

“Skinned” is a Hollywood production that starred Ghanian actor, Van Vicker. Performances were adequate – just enough to express the story. On a whole, it wasn’t particularly engrossing but it raised a topic that unfortunately, in this day and age, still needs to be addressed.

The topic of skin color has been an issue forever and again, why is it still an issue? There are many beautiful hues of Black skin in the world and people just need to get over it.  RECOMMEND