model_minority – Grace Lila Redman
model-minority by Grace Lila Redman
Capstone 2022
model_minority empowers users to confront their implicit biases towards minorities, visible immigrants and the Other through the challenge of creating a “perfect” model minority.
Description
The model minority myth is pervasive in American culture. The concept uplifts one minority group due to their proximity to the majority while oppressing others for not assimilating or behaving properly. Yet, the actual criteria to be a model minority is less clear. Consequently, model_minority turned to investigating immigration, and native citizen sentiments towards immigrants. The main arguments for immigration are business based, claiming that more ethnic, cultural and ideological diversity results in more workplace creativity, leading to better workers and more profit. The arguments against prominently feature fears of losing American culture and freedoms. model_minority tries to understand American sentiment towards model minorities by investigating what a good, non-white passing immigrant is.
The project confronts each user’s unique biases and beliefs by challenging them to make their own model minority through a character creator interface. Moving different interface sliders affects the character’s appearance based on a series of abstracted metaphors. After the users create their model minority, their image is uploaded to an instagram account to create a gallery of model minorities. The resulting character is a reflection of the user’s own beliefs- their own model minority.
