Wieden+Kennedy Dismantles the Insidious 'Model Minority' Myth With a Powerful Short Film

For creatives Titania Tran and Dan Koo, the AAPI Heritage Month project is a personal one aimed at healing racial rifts

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America, like many colonized countries, has a centuries-long tradition of pitting minorities and marginalized groups against each other. Sometimes it’s codified by law or economic policy, but often it’s perpetuated in ways even more sinister and lasting.

The “model minority” myth—which locks people of Asian origin into specific, usually servile stereotypes—is one that hovers over millions of Americans each day and also plays a key role in acts of violence across the country.

“It is this nefarious thing that lurks and seeps into every day of your life, and you barely realize until it does hit you,” said Dan Koo, art director for Wieden+Kennedy Portland.

To put a spotlight on the “model minority” myth during Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Koo and copywriter Titania Tran created “The Myth,” a potent short film that shows how the issue can cause both personal harm and dangerous cultural divisions.

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