How would you like to change races? This is a question I would LOVE to pose to any white person who has ever complained that DEI folks have an unfair advantage. I think the argument ends right after a horrified reaction. Because if race doesn’t matter, then -all else being equal- you would much rather be the race of the people you perceive as having an advantage, no? Even hesitating a little at the question means internally you have acknowledged on some level the advantages to being a white person in the modern world … and your argument isn’t just disingenuous; it’s evil.
Joan Huang (Shirley Chen) ain’t having the best of first days at school. Joan is Chinese-American. Her family is struggling. The don’t speak a whole lot of English. Joan often has to adult for them. Dad is the high school janitor. That wasn’t a ticket to popularity in my day and, guess what? It still isn’t. Go figure.
This is a normal American high school in which the blonde, built, and snobby rule the school. The same was also true in my day. Being none of these things makes Joan an automatic outsider. That is not the way to be prom queen, which wouldn’t be of any interest except that’s what Joan most desires. At this moment, however, she has no connection to the Queen Bee, and has to audition just to be her clique. Turns out that Joan can get discounts at the Asian mani-pedi place in town. Well, that will get her foot, or at least her toenails, in the door with the popular kids.
Her dyed blonde hair, however, will not. “I can see your dark roots. Ew.”
When the head Mean Girl decides not to run for prom queen and instead endorse somebody else, Joan thinks she has a chance. All she has to do is … be white.
Can you do that?
Well, you can in this Slanted universe. And we’re back to the opening question: would you change races if you could? All else being equal, of course. I have no idea how I would answer that question, so I certainly can’t expect such of my readers, but it is something to think about. Slanted is a wicked exploration of ethnic perception. This film is, essentially, the 2025 version of The Substance, a sci-fi body horror so “out there” it commands your attention by sheer weight of the premise. In
a way, Slanted is softer and less of a risk than Substance, and in yet another way, it is a much greater statement for in this film, body image isn’t tied necessarily to vanity or employment so much as actual identity.
We accept that there are things we can change about ourselves to make us “better”; some changes are physical – you can dye your hair; you can wear colored contacts; you can have leg extensions and liposuction and a nose job. Where do you draw the line? If I fault Slanted for anything, it is that Joan isn’t actually hindered so much just for being ethnically Chinese. I mean, she’s naturally ignored, but Mean Girls ignore everyone, so Joan isn’t exactly eating it on that account. Joan simply envies whiteness and the social advancement it can bring if played correctly. I think Slanted makes a stronger statement if Joan starts out Black or Native American.
And yet, this film is both sharp and cringe-worthy at the same time. This is one of those films I wish I could see anew just to re-live the horror with fresh eyes. Easy choice for top 10 of 2025 for me.
There once was a teenager named Joan
Whose race she would prefer to disown
She perceived not one please
From being Chinese
She gladly walk through the “White” door if shown
Rated R, 102 Minutes
Director: Amy Wang
Writer: Amy Wang
Genre: Peer pressure!
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Sociologists
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: People who like to pretend racism isn’t a thing any more
