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Final Paper

Throughout the course of this project, I have read through multiple academic journals

that have tackled various aspects of Asian American media representation. After reading

through examples of both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, multiple

articles not only confirmed the presence of repeated stereotypes across American media, but

further utilized these findings to better understand how these representations alter our real-

life interactions. While my topic originally focused solely on identifying how the “model

minority” stereotype is played out across US-based television shows, my synthesis of other

sources has helped guide me to an updated, refined version of my research question: How

does the “model minority” stereotype of Asian American characters on current scripted, US-

based television shows influence the social perceptions of ethnic minority groups within the

United States? This paper will delve deeper into how previous research has influenced my

project topic and method of examination. Furthermore, it will begin to set the foundations to

argue that adherence to the “model minority” within these media texts contributes to the

creation of a social hierarchy that impacts all minority communities. Considering the work of

previous researchers, I argue that a hermeneutic theoretical approach would be most

beneficial for my study as it focuses on meaning-making through media. This will not only

allow me to identify trends within Asian American television representations, but also further

understand how culture is created and perpetuated through these characters.

Comparing Joann Lee’s (2001) research findings, which showed Asian American

actors were complicit in carrying out the model minority stereotype in their roles, with

Chyung Sun, et al.’s (2015) research, which pointed to a general acceptance of the

perpetuation of this stereotype by both Asian American and non-Asian American minority

audiences, revealed an important commonality amongst the research. Active participation in

carrying out these stereotypes as actors and engaging with them as audience members points
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to a shared lack of regard and motivation to address this problematic and stereotypical

presentation. This further supports the idea that these stereotypes have become normalized

into our social reality. As such, the authors neglect to point out that society has become

increasingly conditioned to these representations within popular media and thus, our

perception has become incredibly skewed. The effects of these normalized character tropes,

formed from misconceptions based on cultural and ethnic characteristics, are harmful not

only for Asian Americans, but for all minority communities. Qin Zhang (2010) also hinted at

this in his research, which utilized cultivation theory to illustrate the idea that Asian

Americans are increasingly perceived by American audiences to have decreased interpersonal

socialization skills and an increased level of academic success. Though these results point

towards an important aspect of how this community is commonly perceived by society,

Zhang (2010) does not take into consideration how the perception of other ethnic

communities are impacted by these representations.

The perpetuation of these stereotypes, Lee (2001) suggests in her critical theory

approach, points to issues rooted in powerful political structures within society. The resulting

racial inequalities, I suggest, then become assumed of anyone that falls within this ethnic

group and therefore, the model minority stereotype stigmatizes those who do not fulfill these

expectations. Similar to Lee (2001), author Thomas Nakayama (1988) also utilized a critical

media frame in his analysis of the model minority stereotype. Inherently political, he suggests

that “...the discourse defines Asian Americans as performing a particularly unsettling social

function: Asian American success affirms the workability of American social institutions”

(1988, p. 70). This directed me to further begin to think of how all ethnic minorities are

impacted by these representations within American television.

While Lee (2001) and Nakayama’s (1988) articles both utilized the critical media

theory to identify the issue of Asian American actors as vehicles for the perpetuation of racist

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and stereotypical ideologies, many of the other articles contrastingly took a normative theory

approach to look at ways to improve existing media representations. In doing so, their

research acknowledges the existence of the model minority stereotypes in American media.

Additionally, it seeks to understand its implications as a baseline for understanding how we

can prove the existence of media effects and further learn how to evolve our current media

structures to better represent these communities. This lead me to another aspect of my

argument, which suggests that these stereotyped ethnic character traits, consequently creates

a standard of success for communities that many cannot achieve because the very same

power structures that are relaying this message, continue to belittle and neglect them. As

these messages are continuously perpetuated and normalized across our popular culture,

monopolistic media companies keep these perceptions alive.

As a consequence of these stereotypes, societal perceptions of ethnic minority groups

not only become skewed, but lead to the creation of a social hierarchy that, I argue,

transcends our social reality. Taylor and Stern’s (1997) coding of primetime television

advertisements ultimately reaffirmed the existence of “model minority” motifs carried out by

Asian American actors and similarly concluded that this has led to a division amongst ethnic

minority communities as it contributes to harmful expectations. Similarly, Francis Dalisay

and Alexis Tan’s (2009) findings contributed to the creation of a social hierarchy as they

found that those exposed to the model minority stereotype within media were more likely to

have a positive regard for the Asian American community, compared to other ethnic minority

groups. While these findings provide valuable insight on the existence of a perceived social

hierarchy across ethnic minority communities, neither of the articles focus directly on the

model minority in-action within US-based scripted television shows. Nonetheless, I predict

that my project will delve deeper into the creation of these social perceptions as the television

shows I intend to focus-on present situational and interpersonal interactions involving Asian

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Americans, providing an even more nuanced version of the media representation of this

demographic.

Through reading journal articles covering previous research projects that have tackled

similar concerns, ideas, and themes throughout Asian American media representation, I

concluded that my project would benefit from a combination of multiple research methods.

Given that my research project proposes a hermeneutic theory approach to American

television shows, I intend to use the ABC sitcoms, Fresh Off the Boat (2015) and All-

American Girl (1994), as my main resources. As two of the only scripted shows on primetime

American television featuring a majority Asian American cast, utilizing these sitcoms as my

media text will provide the opportunity to study trends within the representation of these

characters. I will not only look at how Asian Americans interact with other characters within

the same ethnic group, but more importantly, how they interact with people outside of their

ethnic demographic. Multiple factors, including how they are treated, how they speak (with

or without an accent), what their job is, how they are perceived by other characters, and what

their hobbies are, will all be critical elements to observe within the content analysis.

While Lee (2001) utilized qualitative methods through participant interviews to

further understand the motivations of Asian Americans actors, Taylor and Stern’s (1997)

research of representation within television advertisements outlines a quantitative content

analysis that provided a great framework for my project. Taylor and Stern (1997) developed a

set of themes and key words that performed as codes that could be used to identify trends

within Asian American representation on television advertisements. This led to their

conclusion that although the minority group has seen an increase in media inclusion, they are

still commonly presented through a lens that perpetuates the model minority stereotype. This

has influenced my decision to conduct a content analysis utilizing ten randomly selected

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episodes from each series to identify the ways in which the representations of the Asian

American characters on both shows compare and contrast.

Given that the two shows both revolve around the lives and dynamic of an Asian

family living in the U.S. in the 1990s, I predict that they will share many similarities, despite

the fact that were produced more than two decades apart from one another. Examining the

titles of each show, for example, provides an opportunity to begin my research. Notably, both

titles touch upon certain aspects of Asian American identity. All-American Girl (1994)

suggests a need/urge for an Asian to assimilate to American culture and prove their

nationality. Fresh Off the Boat (2015), in contrast, calls out a seemingly racist stereotype

commonly used to describe Asians in the United States. While both titles capture different

angles of the Asian American experience and perceptions of the community, they each

identify aspects that have become part of a general understanding of this ethnic minority.

A combination of quantitative data collection, through coding, tracking, and counting

how many times common stereotypes appear, and qualitative data, through understanding the

storylines and character development within each episode, will provide a beneficial

opportunity to understand how various aspects of the show influence one another. Within the

21 years that have gone by since each show began production, it can be argued that society

has become more accepting of diversity and grown intolerant of political incorrectness. As a

result, it will be interesting to see whether or not Fresh Off the Boat (2015) provides less

blatant examples of model minority stereotyping. Examining these texts in-depth, through

taking note of the actions and personalities of each character, will provide invaluable data for

my hermeneutic approach to understand how racialized perceptions of Asian Americans

transcend the media to the social reality of those within minority communities.

While my research seeks to identify the ways in which the model minority stereotype

on scripted television shows works to create cultural meaning within the reality of Asian

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American relationships and interactions, my focus has also extended beyond this. After

reading through various journal articles pertaining to my topic, the lack of information on the

impact of this stereotypical representation on other ethnic minority communities. Utilizing a

hermeneutic theory lens will empower me in studying how meaning is made and, as a result,

translated into our mainstream social perceptions of one another. Because scripted television

shows are still such a prominent and influential aspect of American media aand popular

culture, it is necessary to analyze the meaning-making ways in which it shapes its audiences.

To reiterate, I argue that the stereotypes set in place by the model minority on television

shows has detrimental implications to all ethnic minorities. This includes, but is not limited

to, the creation and perpetuation of an “ideal” and a social hierarchy that sets unfair and

unrealistic expectations of these communities. Through a research design carried out by a

content analysis of the ABC television shows, Fresh Off the Boat (2015) and All-American

Girl (1994), my study hopes to not only identify the characteristics of Asian American

characters as singular beings, but distinguish how these representations change as they

interact with others. I firmly believe that the media continuously shapes our social reality

through creating cultural meanings that ultimately inform our interactions and perceptions of

others. The various sources have shown how this is made true through the existence of the

model minority stereotype and the commonalities amongst Asian American characters on

mainstream American media. Through the hermeneutic media theory lens, I think it is

important to analyze media texts analytically and furthermore, acknowledge the dangers of

these representations and the inherent social implications it has on the lived experience of

minority groups.

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Works Cited

Dalisay, F., & Tan, A. (2009). Assimilation and Contrast Effects in the Priming of Asian

American and African American Stereotypes through TV Exposure. Journalism &

Mass Communication Quarterly, 86(1), 7–22. doi: 10.1177/107769900908600102

Lee, J. (2001). Asian American Actors in Film, Television and Theater, An Ethnographic

Case Study. Race, Gender & Class, 8(4), 176–184. Retrieved from

https://www.jstor.org/stable/41675001

Nakayama, T. K. (1988). "Model Minority" and the Media: Discourse on Asian America.

Journal of Communication Inquiry, 12(1), 65–73. doi: 10.1177/019685998801200106

Sun, C., Liberman, R., Butler, A., Lee, S. Y., & Webb, R. (2015). Shifting Receptions: Asian

American Stereotypes and the Exploration of Comprehensive Media Literacy. The

Communication Review, 18(4), 294–314. doi: 10.1080/10714421.2015.1085778

Taylor , C. R., & Stern, B. B. (1997). Asian-Americans: Television Advertising and the

"Model Minority" Stereotype. Journal of Advertising, 26(2), 47–61. Retrieved from

https://www.jstor.org/stable/4189033

Zhang, Q. (2010). Asian Americans Beyond the Model Minority Stereotype: The Nerdy and

the Left Out. Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 3(1), 20–37.

doi: 10.1080/17513050903428109