• Home
  • Videos
  • Pics
  • Blog
  • Modules
  • About Us
  @TheSocyCinema

@thesocycinema / videos

Asian-Americans and the "Model Minority" Myth

11/9/2013

1 Comment

 
PictureThe model minority stereotype hurts Asian-Americans.
Tags: biology, culture, education, immigration/citizenship, race/ethnicity, asian-americans, model minority, stereotype, 00 to 05 mins
Year: 2007
Length: 5:40
Access: YouTube

Summary: Because Asian-Americans are often better off educationally and economically than whites and other minorities, many people believe in the racial stereotype that Asian-Americans are the model minority. This stereotype argues that Asians are naturally smarter or always fare better because of their strong “family values” and work ethic, with some arguing they are a “superminority” and have been “outwhiting the whites.” This CNN news clips analyzes and critiques the model minority stereotype. The video accurately notes there are no biological or genetic differences between Asians and any other so-called race (see video on race as a social construction). It cites psychological research from Hazel Markus (featured in the video) documenting how racial/cultural identity does shape some Asian-Americans' educational performance. The video further adds that the Asian-American classification is comprised of individuals from more than 12 countries, and that not all Asian immigrants or Asian-Americans performed equally well in education or economic success (a distinction that the stereotype ignores). However, the video fails to note the recent changes in Asian immigration that also affect educational and economic differences between Asians, whites, and other racial minorities. Specifically, many early Asian immigrants came to the US with relatively higher levels of education, English language skills, and occupational skills. More recent Asian immigrants tend to have less educational and economic resources, which again, is overlooked by the racial stereotype. Viewers are encouraged to consider: how does this seemingly positive racial stereotype actually hurt Asians (and other minorities)? As noted in this video interview with an Asian-American advocate, the stereotype prevents resources from being directed into the Asian-American community because "people are not aware of the critical needs" that exist. It also hurts other racial minorities (e.g., African-Americans) because the stereotype gets used to legitimate the opportunities of racial minorities in the US and to argue against the need for resources distributed to those communities.

Submitted By: Paul Dean

1 Comment
Valerie Chepp
11/16/2014 07:36:48 am

This video pairs nicely with Bettina Chang's (2014) short article “The Problem With a Culture of Excellence,” which echoes some of the main themes raised in this video, and offers additional information on the limitations of such cultural essentialist perspectives.

http://www.psmag.com/navigation/books-and-culture/tiger-mom-asian-americans-achievement-education-the-problem-with-a-culture-of-excellence-83744/

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Tags

    All
    00 To 05 Mins
    06 To 10 Mins
    11 To 20 Mins
    21 To 60 Mins
    61+ Mins
    Abortion/Reproduction
    Aging/Life Course
    Art/Music
    Biology
    Bodies
    Capitalism
    Children/Youth
    Class
    Commodification
    Community
    Consumption/Consumerism
    Corporations
    Crime/Law/Deviance
    Culture
    Demography/Population
    Disability
    Discourse/Language
    Du Bois
    Durkheim
    Economic Sociology
    Education
    Emotion/Desire
    Environment
    Food/Agriculture
    Foucault
    Gender
    Globalization
    Goffman
    Government/The State
    Health/Medicine
    Historical Sociology
    Immigration/Citizenship
    Inequality
    Intersectionality
    Knowledge
    Lgbtq
    Marketing/Brands
    Marriage/Family
    Marx/Marxism
    Media
    Methodology/Statistics
    Multiculturalism
    Nationalism
    Organizations/Occupations/Work
    Political Economy
    Politics/Election/Voting
    Prejudice/Discrimination
    Psychology/Social Psychology
    Race/Ethnicity
    Religion
    Rural/Urban
    Science/Technology
    Sex/Sexuality
    Social Construction
    Social Mvmts/Social Change/Resistance
    Sports
    Subtitles/CC
    Theory
    Violence
    War/Military
    Weber

    RSS Feed

    Tweets by @TheSocyCinema

    .

    Got any videos?

    Are you finding useful videos for your classes? Do you have good videos you use in your own classes? Please consider submitting your videos here and helping us build our database!

     

    Creative Commons License
​About Us      |      Facebook      |      Twitter      |      Pinterest      |      Tumblr
Creative Commons
  • Home
  • Videos
  • Pics
  • Blog
  • Modules
  • About Us