Slanted

Chinese-American high schooler Joan Huang struggles to connect with her white peers, which has left her feeling ashamed of her appearance. Having dreamed of becoming prom queen since she was a child, she sees an opportunity when the most popular girl at school, Olivia Hammond, reveals she will not be running for prom queen. Hoping to get Olivia's endorsement, Joan first dyes her hair blonde and gets Olivia a discounted mani-pedi at a Chinese nail salon, but Olivia mocks her efforts. Meanwhile, Joan fields messages from the creators of an ethnicity-changing social media filter, Ethnos, who offer her a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity. She eventually reaches out and learns Ethnos is a clinic that specializes in ethnic modification surgery; its creator, Dr. Willie Singer, was an Indian-American doctor who grew tired of being passed over for opportunities as a person of color, and has co-created a groundbreaking plastic surgery that can turn their clients white, which he used on himself and all of his employees who had expressed similar issues. Desperate for camaraderie, Joan tricks her mother, who cannot read English, into signing a consent form and undergoes the procedure.