Aahana Swrup
Tyler Perry’s Netflix drama show ‘Beauty in Black’ presents the story of two women who lead drastically different lives yet inevitably fall into each other’s orbits. Kimmie, a stripper, is used to fighting for survival every day. Nonetheless, she’s done with living a life in the shadows and finally wants out. On the other hand, there’s Mallory, who runs a successful cosmetics business built from her family’s empire. However, underneath the public eye, her family engages in darker dealings that keep them on a precarious edge. As a result, once the two women’s exceptionally different worlds collide, it makes way for a whirlwind, entertaining spectacle.
Throughout every plotline, the show remains ripe with fiery drama, plot twists, and revelations that keep viewers captivated and engaged. Simultaneously, it retains elements of substance through its complicated family dynamics and themes of struggle, survival, and strife. As such, the show ends up offering a well-rounded mix of drama and authenticity. The same naturally leads to piqued interest in the possibility of the show’s origins in reality.
Beauty in Black: An Entertaining Drama With Fictional Roots
The base premise of ‘Beauty in Black’ explores the different worlds of the beauty and stripping industries as the narrative integrates a criminally overwhelming point of overlap between the two. Consequently, the show retains a sense of realism even as it delves into more outlandish storylines. Nevertheless, despite its more grounded elements, the show remains a complete work of fiction across most narrative components. As such, Tyler Perry—who served as a writer and director for the project—preserves credit for the creation of the show’s fictitious characters and narrative.
Perry is popularly known for consistently enriching African-American stories through his films, TV shows, and plays, which vary in subject matter and genre. As such, his work continues to resonate with a wide range of audiences, depending on where his inspirations and motives lie in the project’s creation. ‘Beauty in Black’ is no different and carries forward the filmmaker’s ability to deliver relatable and compelling media with African-American stories at its center.
Perry initially mined inspiration from Atlanta in the 90s and its dual strip clubs for this show. Likewise, the filmmaker is also close to some families that have built real-life hair care dynasties. Therefore, some real-life sources remained as an impetus that ignited the creation of the instrumental aspects of ‘Beauty in Black.’ Nonetheless, aside from inciting inspiration, Perry avoided further real-life connections for the show. Reportedly, the filmmaker wanted to “have some fun” with his first Netflix series and created it with the explicit intention of providing entertainment. Thus, the show ultimately remains a work of fiction with little origins in reality.
Beauty in Black Offers Relatability Through Its Characters
Despite a lack of real-life inspiration behind ‘Beauty in Black,’ the show maintains a sense of realism through its characters. The show thrives on dramatically elevated storylines that constantly put the central characters in jeopardy. Even so, the narrative remains grounded when creating complications for its characters. Therefore, the characters maintain a point of relatability even when faced with more criminally-charged challenges. The same remains most apparent in Kimmie’s storyline. As a stripper caught in a bad situation, Kimmie’s story finds roots in real-world issues surrounding the sex work industry and its real-life complications.
Reportedly, Actress Taylor Polidore Williams, who helms Kimmie’s role, educated herself on the relevant real-life stories of survivors like her character to ensure a more authentic approach to her performance. As such, her story has plenty of opportunities to resonate with a wide range of audiences. Similarly, the other co-lead in the story, Mallory, presents a different but equally relatable narrative that revolves around the highs and lows of running a tense business. More importantly, her character’s interpersonal relationships throughout the story allow space for compelling storytelling that highlights family dynamics.
Consequently, despite their fictionality, Kimmie and Mallory emerge as fleshed-out characters. The same applies to various other supporting characters—from the shady Horace to matriarch Olivia. In that way, the show significantly draws its appeal from the variety of complicated and nuanced characters that drive the narrative forward. As such, between the central storyline and the many added subplots, viewers are bound to find some relatability within the story. Still, despite their sense of realism, most characters aren’t based on reality and sport the same fictionality as their storylines. Therefore, the show is ultimately confined to a world of fictionality, with its dramatic and criminal storylines retaining no counterparts in reality.
Read More: Beauty in Black: Where is the Netflix Show Filmed?
