Velvet
Velvet (2018)
Created by: Allie Dunn, Tyla Landry, Dru Greenwood, Sydney Levison, Clio Lyons, Becky Schultz, Leo Gilbert
There can only be one.
It’s a phrase that can send shivers down Black folks’ spine. We fear that, in spaces where we are in the minority, we will be pitted against each other. There is a long history of spaces and neighborhoods that do not welcome us, and if they do, only in numbers small enough so we cannot organize or cultivate support systems. In corporate America, this dynamic is widely accepted as prevalent.
It can be hard to make Black friends at work.
This subtle dynamic is the base note underneath Velvet’s bright and breezy comedic narrative. Demetra (Gail Bean, before her glow up) and Cymone (BrittneyLove Smith) encounter each other at work and they know instantly that they are very different people. Cymone is unapologetic, direct, and brave, whereas Demetra is more uptight and cautious. It’s a familiar pairing, but one we less often represented among Black women.
Despite initial hesitation, Demetra and Cymone end up as friends. They help each other see the good in the other person, and open up to new ways of being. Demetra helps Cymone deal with her anxiety attacks, and Cymone encourages Demetra on her path to bravery, culminating in a public speaking scene in which Demetra states:
“I’ve become pretty palatable to white people. My hair is always straight and I speak in a manner that makes white people feel comfortable,” she said. She then goes on to tell the story of reading A Raisin in the Sun with her white classmates and realizing her perspective will always be different than theirs. “It is only through my own resilience that I will break the barriers before me.”
There is a long pause in the audience. Cymone breaks it with a loud clapping yaup!
Velvet was inspired by the real world friendships of the large creator team. As a group they represented multiple friendships and friend groups coming together across lines of race, class, and gender.
So it is telling that the series ends with Cymone and her friends welcoming Demetra into their group. They’re all very different, and that’s what makes them stronger.