In order to understand the model minority myth, it is important to recognize its emergence and why it was created. World War II, the Cold War, and the social movements for liberation during these times have allowed political opportunities in which the assimilation of Asian Americans could surface. This assimilation created a way for Asian Americans to show loyalty to the United States while maintaining distinct differences to White Americans. Asian Americans were used for political power by associating them with success and linking them as an extension of Asian nations and potential links or ambassadors between the United States and Asian countries during the time of these wars. [3] Thus, the model minority myth was created.

The link between Asian countries and the United States that Asian Americans provide has interplayed with the view of being considered a middle ground of White people and Black people. This creates the idea of racial triangulation. Racial triangulation means Asian Americans are viewed as inferior to White people while superior to Black people. Black people and White people are considered insiders while Asian Americans were considered foreigners. Racial triangulation has constantly evolved. Before the civil rights era, the depiction of racial triangulation occurred more openly. After the era, it developed to be coded and concealed. This model has acted as a blueprint to decipher what treatment minority groups should receive, which reproduces White supremacy and privilege. [4] The myth could serve the purpose to show that the United States is devoid of racism and provide the framework to make comparisons between minorities. This creates a space where minorities are forced to compete against each other. [5] The model minority has been used to create a “racial wedge – to minimize the role racism plays in the struggles of other minority groups, such as Black Americans.” When this happens the myth creates a singular narrative of Asian Americans that Asian Americans are smart, wealthy, and above other minority groups, which fabricates statistics that are not accurate. Some of these stereotypes include: Asian Americans as being educated and having high incomes; Asian Americans do not experience the same systemic racism; and Asian Americans are thought to be represented in leadership roles. [6]

In order to understand the model minority and its origins, it is also important to recognize the reasons why Hollywood continues to portray Asian Americans in a way that appeals to White supremacy. “‘Whiteness’—which is not, necessarily, synonymous with ‘white’ people—is associated with an unjust social system and a resistance to change, with the denial of accountability, with closure, with violence, with hypocrisy, and with ignorance of other cultures. This is not to demonize whiteness but rather to catalogue negative associations resulting from historical, social, and legal occasions for the construction of whiteness over and against blackness and other ‘other’ categories in American society for the purposes of protecting ‘white’ interests and power.” [7] White privilege allows itself to render its relationship with power while maintaining and producing the power mechanisms in America at the same time. [8] White power strives to stay masked allowing this power to discretely use the media’s characterization of the model minority as a tool for its continuing existence. The racial profiling that is intertwined with white power is prompt to present itself in the media and is used to divert attention from the truth behind racial profiling because this maintains such power that American society is afraid to abolish. [9] The media is creating a way to control Asian Americans in the interest to keep White supremacy, which displays the intersectionality between the two concepts and why it is desired to keep the model minority intact.

The model minority myth is harmful to Asian Americans in the workforce. All minorities are told “make sure any characteristics of a non-white American culture that you possess are left at the door when you come to work. Essentially, be the model minority so leadership won’t have to adjust their behaviors to create an inclusive environment.” One Asian American, Minh Vu, commented “I felt the need to balance the societal pressure of being a model minority alongside the pressure of living up to what it means to be a man, in order to feel safe in this world. If that meant I needed to be silent, obedient, and non-threatening, or be at the top of my class and engaged in math and science, then I tried my best to meet that expectation.” [10] The hostile corporate environment creates a fear of failing to fit the model minority.