Los Angeles culture is utilized as a backdrop to guide in telling the story about the affects of colorism seen through the eyes of an actress navigating through the perils of colorism, racism and classism in the entertainment industry.

UGLY, isn't your typical tale about feeling sorry for the struggling actress. Instead, the story challenges Zuri's reluctance to accept her identity by slowly removing her unconscious reliance on an ascribed identity muddied on a history of colorism and stereotypes. Throughout her journey to self-recognition Zuri re-imagines colorism through her own explicit and sometimes comical fantasies of what her life could be like if her skin tone was light enough to garner a leading role in Hollywood. There is madness to her resistance of self and we painfully witness Zuri spiral out of control inflicting internal and external harm to her body to assimilate into a world that excludes "other." However, the consequences from her actions do more damage than good and she must come to terms with who she is before it's too late.