‘Slanted’ director Amy Wang wants you to confront your Asian shame

There are side effects, of course: losing her best friend, Brindha (Never Have I Ever’s Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), and most of all severing her relationship with her immigrant parents (Fang Du and Vivian Wu), who see Jo’s cosmetic procedure as a rejection of her roots and ultimately them, as well. Maybe being white isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, even when it is, in accordance with the expectations and mores instituted by a society curated by whiteness. The better sentiment, perhaps, is that white privilege comes at a cost, and through Slanted, Wang interrogates that cost while taking pride in her Asian roots at the same time. 

I spoke with Wang about the personal source of Slanted’s narrative, as well as the films that inspired her to make it in the first place–body horror movies, certainly, and other, more unexpected choices, too.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Andy Crump: The premise [of the film] reminds me a little bit of the movie Grafted, a horror movie, and the Netflix series Altered Carbon. Slanted puts those ideas on a human level. It's a high school movie. That’s a good place to explore these issues, but they're still complicated to unpack. I wonder how you started out approaching that concept of whiteness as the ultimate social safeguard?
Amy Wang: The entire film is really kind of an autobiography of my life, and what I went through as a teenager, and the thoughts and emotions I felt as a 16-year-old, 17-year-old girl. That’s where it all started. I grew up in Sydney, Australia. I was an immigrant. I couldn't speak a word of English when I moved to Australia when I was 7, and I really had to assimilate and integrate myself into that culture, that society. I definitely felt very othered throughout a lot of my life. So the concept is grounded in that experience and my own personal experience of being an Asian Australian. 

But it really came out in 2021, when there was a shooting at a spa in Atlanta. I'd been living in America for probably, at that time, seven-ish years. For the first time I felt those same emotions that I felt as a teenager flood back. So out of that, that's where the core concepts really came from.

AC: How do you adapt that experience into a mixed-genre setting? The themes and motifs are tricky. On one hand, the narrative acknowledges something true: racism and color bias are both very real. At the same time, people treat depiction in media as a form of endorsement. I think the point comes across; what you’re trying to say is clear. But were pains taken to ensure that clarity?
AW: Yeah, definitely, definitely. I think the biggest thing that's been interesting is people misconstruing the concept as almost being ashamed. I think that's part of it, absolutely, and that's honestly something I wanted to explore. I feel like in recent times, there have been so many incredible movies, like Crazy Rich Asians and The Farewell, that really celebrate being Asian, and celebrate that culture. But I don't feel like you get to a place of pride until you've gone through a journey of feeling ashamed and working through those emotions. Because we're really existing in a culture and a society that makes us feel those emotions, whether or not we like it. So that's been a challenge, I guess. Like you said, I hope once people watch the movie, they understand the journey, and where it goes, and what happens at the end.

AC: I hadn't connected this film with those movies, but they’re identity positive. They embrace those roots. I don't want to talk too much about where Slanted goes, either, but the back half of it winds up embracing the same pride. Do you consider those other movies necessary influences for getting your film to that point? I wonder how much they affected you while you were writing it.
AW: I think so, definitely. It gave me the confidence, for one, to be able to tell a story with a mostly Asian cast. I think before those movies existed, I definitely was questioning if I made a movie like this, would it ever get financed? Would I get made? So (Crazy Rich Asians and The Farewell) definitely gave me the confidence to be able to even tell a story like Slanted. On top of that, it was just great to see that sort of representation coming out, because when I was growing up, all I had on TV was probably Lucy Liu. That was kind of the only representation I grew up on. So it was really cool to see that and feel that pride, and then out of that, have the confidence to be able to create a story like this and know that it might actually get made.

AC: How much did genre play into the film’s calculus? I got the press release and immediately thought: “Hell yeah, body horror, I love this stuff, cosmetics horror is such a thing now!” But genre is more downplayed, and while it surprised me, it works to the movie's benefit. Were there points where those details, whether the sci-fi technology or the actual, face-peeling parts, occupied greater space in the narrative?
AW: Yeah. So, there was a version, or many versions, where there was a lot more body horror, and to be totally honest, I had to scale it back for scheduling reasons and budget reasons. So if I had my way 100 percent, I think there would be a lot more body horror. Not to the extent of something like The Substance, though, because that whole film is grounded in body horror. Whereas, like you said, Slanted is about race. It's more grounded the way I shot it. But I definitely would've pushed it a little bit further. To speak to that, when I came up with the concept, I don't know if The Substance had already been shot, but I had no idea that movie existed. 

It’s been interesting. I think we were in post when the trailer for The Substance came out, and I was like: “Sh*t.” It’s in a way, similar in a few of the themes, right? Body image and beauty standards and all of that. I thought, “They did it before us!” But now I'm really happy that they paved the way and introduced audiences to that type of horror. So I feel like that really was the breakthrough. Obviously you have all the Cronenberg films from back in the day, but I think The Substance introduced modern audiences to that. So now I’m really happy that it's opened a lot of doors for me and the film.

AC: The element of horror, maybe not in a genre sense, but a human, emotional sense, is rooted in the parents' reactions to (Joan’s) surgery. I’d love to see a version of this movie where you hit the gas on body horror elements, because I think what is in here is great. But do you, in a way, appreciate the film that you made more, even if you weren't able to do all the things that you wanted to do?
AW: Yeah, definitely. When I came up with a concept, I always wanted to make something that was a mix of satire and body horror. One movie that was really influential was (Kristoffer Borgli’s) Sick of Myself.

AC: I love that movie.
AW: It's great, right? It’s awesome. And it really balances those two tones. So I always knew it wasn't gonna be, again, like The Substance, where it goes full-on body horror, but it also wasn't going to just be a satirical comedy. I wanted to blend the two. My vision for the film was that I wanted people to think they were watching Mean Girls, and then for them to realize it wasn't that, and for them to slowly descend into the darkness with McKenna. So I think I've achieved that, and that's something I'm really proud of. Whether or not, yeah, if I could go back in time and we had more money or more time, maybe things would've changed a little bit. But I think my intention and the core of the film is there. I'm really proud of it.