1
False stereotypes definitely have a negative impact on people’s self image. These stereotypes enable other people to question our identity when they have no right to do so, and create seeds of self doubt about ourselves when there would otherwise be none. All stereotypes, regardless of “niceness”, make the individual who they apply to the object of a gaze, rather the subject of their own life, rendering their own opinions moot.

2
The model minority myth is a concept created by the proliferation of images of Asians, particularly Asians-Americans, aspiring to whiteness and disparaging blackness. Additionally, aspects of certain Asian cultures that align with a philosophy of obedience, such as respect for elders, unwavering discipline, and non-violent religions, are heavily fetishized as “cool” by the white gaze. Finally, in order for this to happen, the rich history of Asian and Asian-American radical organizing and disobedience must be swept under the rug and ignored, and not recognized as the truly incredible thing that it is.

3
I think in order to work towards a solution, people need to start at the truth. So clearly expressing the reality of a situation is important, but a more important question is for who and why? Clearly, people who are oppressed understand their situation, and maybe everyone is not on board right away, but there are people within those communities doing that work. Then it begs the question is it our responsibility to show the truth to oppressive parties, or work together to circumvent their will.

As far as casting goes, I believe actors as close to the role as possible should be casted. That’s just on principle, no one else should be compensated off of someone else’s identity. But the problem isn’t just casting, it’s all of mainstream media. There are tons of independent artists producing works that accurately reflect their communities, but they don’t get the money or attention hoarded by the mainstream. Should we celebrate the ones that make it all the way there, or wonder about all the works we’ll never see because we’re spending energy trying to accommodate to a system that clearly doesn’t work?