Alana (Margot Saxton-Federlla), an art student, explores sexuality, Western ideals of beauty, and her own self-worth in 1980's Los Angeles.
[1] Vincent (Adisa Anderson), her long-time friend, feels pressured to turn their platonic relationship into a sexual one which further intensified Alana's frustration with western, patriarchal beauty standards and gender norms.
Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times heralded it as "...extraordinary, a fresh and clear expression of an acute sensibility.
[4]" The Black Film Center/Archive preserved A Different Image, which included 16mm original color reversal A/B rolls and full-coat magnetic track elements.
[11] The script of the film was published in a 1991 compilation of collected works called Screenplays of the African American Experience.