When I was little, my mom told me that if I spoke more English than Chinese, I would eventually lose my Asian features and turn white. At the time, I was just heading into preschool, a place where I wouldn’t be at home conversing with just my family anymore. As a naive child, I didn’t know she meant this only metaphorically — I thought I would get blond hair and blue eyes if I stopped speaking my mother tongue. I don’t know why my mom used this as a threat, because to me it seemed more like an enticing possibility than an undesirable punishment. For the first six years of my life, I grew up as one of the few Asian Americans in my town, and I wanted more than anything to blend in.
With “Slanted,” I guess I (and many others) don’t have to keep pondering what life would be like if race change was a possibility (and no, I’m not talking about race-fishing makeup). Amy Wang’s directorial debut film is a funny and heartfelt comedy-drama mixed with body horror that lays out what life would be like if race transition was possible.
Set in hyper-patriotic and predominantly white America, “Slanted” takes us along Joan Huang’s (Shirley Chen, “Dìdi”) coming-of-age journey as she grapples with the challenge of peer acceptance, all while struggling to hold onto her racial and cultural identity. From a young age, she was taught that her lunch was smelly, that her eyes slanted at an odd angle and that her nose was unnaturally flat. Essentially, Huang was taught that she was a far cry from the “ideal American” plastered on posters and billboards throughout her suburban town.
As such, Joan grows insecure about looking “odd,” eating “repulsive” foods and having parents who work blue-collar cleaning jobs. When the mysterious organization Ethnos Inc. reaches out to Joan, promising to transform her into a popular white girl, Joan ecstatically seizes this opportunity to better her life. After the transition, she renames herself to Jo Hunt, played by Mckenna Grace (“Gifted”), and lives out her dreams: receiving invitations to parties, male attention and the opportunity to actually have a chance at winning prom queen. However, the so-called benefits of the treatment start wearing off as Joan (or Jo, after the transition) gradually realizes how much she stands to lose in the pursuit of popularity.
Wang also introduces other characters to highlight why Joan is torn between her lineage and the allure of blending in with the “it” crowd. Joan’s friend Brindha (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, “Never Have I Ever”) unapologetically embraces her different features and happily eats Joan’s lunch for her — at the cost of being made an outcast. On the other hand, Olivia Hammond (Amelie Zilber, “Grown-ish”), the school queen bee, conforms and conceals parts of her identity to garner social points. The contrast between these characters’ chosen lifestyles demonstrates the different consequences of sacrificing either your race or your sociality. It’s as if it is imperative to erase an essential part of yourself or risk total alienation. Unfortunately, this is a sobering lesson that is imbued into the minds of many immigrant youth.
Unlike Joan, her parents, played by Vivian Wu (“The Pillow Book”) and Fang Du (“Madam Secretary”), see their Chinese American identity as a mighty strength rather than a debilitating weakness. Their unique backgrounds give them the necessary resilience to stay rooted in the face of adversity. After all, the unique way they raised their daughter gives her a vastly different worldview from her peers, and isn’t that worth something in a monochromatic world devoid of diverse perspectives?
On top of its well-written characters, “Slanted” advances its emotional and comedic storytelling by highlighting relatable childhood memories of Chinese Americans that both tugged at my heartstrings and made me laugh out loud. Sure, the idea of race transition in the synopsis drew my attention, but what really kept my eyes glued to the screen was the human reality I felt through the scenes: From singing along to “The Moon Represents My Heart” in the car to celebrating “coming to America” anniversaries to having a blond-hair stint, Joan’s interactions with her parents felt like a window into my own adolescence. By humanizing its characters, “Slanted” stays grounded while staying true to its high-concept premise.
In light of recent political moves around removing DEI programs and legislation in the United States, “Slanted” plays a critical role in media activism, calling to action societal injustices through art and attempting to answer questions like “What does creating equality mean?” and “What does it really mean to be American?”
At the end of the screening, director Wang answered a couple of questions about the creation of “Slanted.” She shared that the film was incredibly personal, being filmed in Atlanta following the spa shootings that raised fears of anti-Asian bias. Although this happened more than four years ago, “Slanted” is still a timely yet controversial piece, sparking conversations about the challenges people of Color face, the strides we’ve made in this country and how far we still have left to go.
“Slanted” is much more than a film about a girl fighting her Chinese American identity crisis. It questions the values we place on a pedestal. It teaches us how to advocate for ourselves when no one else will. It tells us to step up and be our own role models when we don’t see anyone else who looks like us.
Daily Arts Writer Michelle Wu can be reached at michewu@umich.edu.
