The Horror of Wanting to be White in Amy Wang’s “Slanted”

High schooler Joan Huang is tired of being Asian, and the Chinese American teen desperately wants to win prom queen. When a mysterious corporation offers her the chance to become a white girl, she jumps at the opportunity. From the mind of director and writer Amy Wang, “Slanted” is a body horror thriller that explores the privileges and biases, often internal, about race. 

Although the premise allows for an easy comparison to “The Substance,” a body horror film around ageism, Hong Kong-born Wang shared that the comedy film “Mean Girls” was a big influence. 

“I grew up on American films, American teen films,” she shared. “When I came to America, I made a lot of short films … set in high school. I got to visit high school in America, and I just found it so fascinating how different it was to Australia, and also just the American fascination with the prom queen and prom king. That, to me, just felt like such a great example of whiteness. You know, historically, because I think a lot of schools, their kings and queens tend to be Caucasian, and so it was kind of the perfect motif for me.”

Shirley Chen, who plays Joan, grew up in a small town in Washington without many other Asian families. For her, the portrayal comes from a mix of her own experiences and questions. 

“I really vividly remember thinking that when I turned 16, I’d have blonde hair and blue eyes. I didn’t know how puberty worked,” she admitted. “I’ve grown away from that mentality and I grew up to really accept the things that make me different and lean into those things. Joan is totally rooted in that experience.”

Dismantling the Perfect Immigrant Narrative

It is not the first Asian American–centered high school story that Chen has starred in. “Dìdi” followed the antics of a teenage boy, and Chen played the main character’s sibling. When asked about the similarities between the films, Chen acknowledged that in both cases the protagonists are “embarrassing.”

But being in that awkward teen phase with the added burden of navigating our racial identities allows for authentic storytelling — if the audience can remember that these are adolescents who are bound to be a bit cringe. 

Moreover, Asian American teens do not need to be perfect nor should we expect or desire them to continue the model minority stereotype. As Chen reflected, “People really responded to [‘Dìdi’] like, we don’t have to be this perfect thing. Leaning into the things that make us naughty is actually kind of fun and cool. The same thing with ‘Slanted.’ With Joan, I think she’s learning who she is by learning who she’s not.”

Wang agrees and goes a bit deeper, adding that it might even be normal to feel ashamed of who you are — and it can be hard to admit it. However, without admitting to this feeling, it can be hard to rationalize internalized racism as a product of external forces, whether that is through rituals such as prom royalty or American media’s overrepresentation of whiteness. 

“There is this idea of like, we have to be proud, we have to rally, we have to sing our praises and celebrate who we are and our culture. And I think that is absolutely true and what we all strive to believe and practice, but at the end of the day, I think for the majority of us growing up as a teenager, there were definitely moments when, I’m sure most people have questions [about] their looks or their body or their race, or whatever it is,” she explained. 

Especially for teenage girls, who like Chen, may not have had the best understanding of puberty, it can be hard to navigate the multiple pressures of becoming a woman and being a person of color. Leaning into the body horror genre feels definitely appropriate for a film that navigates a period of a young girl’s life that can feel quite vulnerable and at times skin-peelingly horrifying. 

Watch “Slanted” in a theater near you.

Cover image credit: Bleecker Street and Tideline Entertainment