Name : Dyandra Malika

Class : 11A
SOAPS ANALYSIS: ASIAN DOESN’T START WITH AN A+
The Asian community, particularly Asian-American communities, are often perceived as
the “model minority” as they are often regarded as child prodigies who dwell into classical music
and maths and sciences. This could be perceived as two things; a positive and encouraging
stereotype, or something pressuring that could take over a person’s life. It is without doubt that
the stereotype that is pressed against the Asian-American children generalizes them as geniuses
and perfect students, but what about the others who do not fit in this picture? Olivia Lai took this
matter as a topic in her TEDx Talk titled “Asian Doesn’t Start with an A+”, in which she rebutted
the stereotypes that are pressured upon Asian people.
In her talk, Olivia, who was then a freshman at Phillips Academy, told the audience that
she graduated middle school with perfect grades, had piano lessons since she was seven years
old, dreamt of becoming a doctor as a child, and is good at drawing. This, she said, is a no-brainer.
She belonged to a family of Chinese descent and has always been expected to achieve more than
her non-Asian peers. These stereotypes, though positive, has an underlying dark side that would
impact the lives of these children as they grow up. She briefly told an anecdote in which she was
playing at a recital and made several mistakes. She felt petrified and described the experience as
if it had seemed like it was the end of the world. The problem was, she had set the standards too
high for herself, as she was always conditioned to accept for herself nothing less than perfection.
The problem with the “model minority” stereotype was that it was normalized for Asian-
American students to have high achievements, hence the ones who are not able to fit in this
image are seen of people of less value.
Despite the positive stereotype, the pressure that is given to these children starting from
an early age has the capacity to normalize unhealthy habits, such as going on long streaks of
studying and forgoing their social lives. During the talk, Olivia stated that these habits leave
behind a psychological imprint during the developmental years that occurs due to pressure of
the expectations given to them. With this, she concluded that the normalization of the “smart
Asian” stereotype has led to schools and teachers not being able to provide and facilitate and
recognize for their needs; hence the feeling of isolation in school. All of these would eventually
add up to create a deep academic, emotional, and psychological impact that could be the root of
several mental health problems, some of them being depression and suicidal tendencies.
This speech was brought up during a TEDx Talk, which (different to the usual TED Talk) is
an independently-organized event. This particular TEDx Talk was held in Phillips Academy in
Andover, Massachusetts, which was where Olivia went school. Interestingly enough, the theme
for that particular talk was “What is our generation’s mission statement?” Olivia Lai took this
theme and constructed a speech that deals with the glorification of the “model minority” type
and how it affected people in the Asian-American community. With this, she was able to confront
the tendency to stigmatize Asians who did not fit into this image as “bad Asians”, as she herself
had experienced along with her peers and other Asian-American children.
In the TEDx Talk, Olivia Lai investigated how cultures carried out in Asian families had led
their children to believe that they had to excel in contrast to their non-Asian peers. They
experienced different upbringings, in which they were expected to be the perfect student. She
chose this theme as it is a recurring issue in the majority of Asian families; it is a culture that has
occurred in the past generation and the generation before. Because of this, it is presumed that
the exact culture will be carried out by their children and their children’s children, hence isolating
the people who does not conform to this culture. This is a cycle that she felt needed to stop. The
fact was, kids should be treated like kids, and their worth should not be defined by math
competitions or academic excellence. In a way, she centered her speech around the importance
of putting a stop in this toxic behavior, as a way to better her generation and the future
generations.
This speech regards in certain matters that only applies to certain communities in
America. With this, it would be safe to assume that her target audience would be people of said
community. However, due to the nature of the speech being a TEDx Talk, the audience that
attended that speech would be from a wider range of people from various different communities.
Because of this, the speech would have to be delivered in a way that it would trigger emotional
responses from the audiences, such as sympathy and empathy, as so she would capture the
interest and appeal of the audience. Even if her speech is only intended for the Asian-American
community, she would design her speech in a way so she could educate her non-Asian-American
counterparts.
In the speech, she suggested the media to bring attention to the Asian-American
communities, not just as mere sidekicks, but as normal human beings- flaws and all. She implied
that mainstream media culture has shaped the “model-minority” image, in a way that it
normalized the “smart Asian” stereotype and did not make room to represent the actual diverse
Asian community. In a way, this speech is also a medium in which Olivia Lai used to speak out
about Asian representation in mainstream American media, as opposed to just merely educating
her peers about the impact of stereotyping.
Olivia Lai’s talk is intended to educate her peers in regards to this stereotyping issue that
has been recurring in American-Asian families. She spoke with anecdotes and firsthand
experiences as if she wanted the audience to catch a glimpse of the Asian-American lifestyle and
culture. It is apparent in her speech that she made various comparisons among the people in her
community and her Caucasian peers. She stated that the fact that the upbringing of the Asian-
American family, in contrast to her Caucasian peers, is very demanding in regards to academic
excellence. This is a way for her to show the audience her main point of speaking; that the Asian-
American lifestyle is different than those of other communities.
In effort to solve this issue, she ended her talk with the suggestion for her peers to create
a network in which they are free to talk and vent. She also encouraged the media to fix their
askew representations of Asian characters, as they are often pictured as geniuses and sidekicks.
With this, she had a certain purpose in mind; she spoke out for the need of media representation
for Asians that do not fit the “model minority” stereotype in order for audiences to not hold
certain stigmas and stereotypes against them.
In delivering this speech, Olivia Lai used certain methods of approaching her audience as
so she does not come off as aggressive and menacing. Being a freshman herself in Phillips
Academy, she would deliver her speech in a way that she could educate other in regards to the
matter she brought up. Her overall talk sounded very indignant, as she had strong beliefs in
eradicating this stereotype and believed that people of other communities should participate in
this movement as well.
 Her overall attitude in her talk was calm and poised. She maintained her composure
throughout and managed to get the audiences’ emotional response, in form of sympathy and
empathy. I would imagine that the problems she was facing is similar to what many Asian-
American children are experiencing. With this, she was able to use her talk as a media to voice
the thoughts and concerns of people belonging to the same background and upbringing as she
did.