Documentary screening, panel discussion on Asian racism happening Thursday at Museum of Idaho

IDAHO FALLS — An award-winning documentary, “Not Your Model Minority,” is screening Thursday evening at the Museum of Idaho.

The documentary dives into anti-Asian antagonism and rhetoric that spread during and after the COVID-19 pandemic — including how it spilled into violence against minority Asian women.

Filmmaker Jon Osaki is flying in from San Francisco, California, for the event. The free showing starts at 7 p.m. and doors open at 6:30 p.m.

The 30-minute video also touches on themes of the “model minority,” often used to describe Asian-Americans.

“This whole narrative originated with Japanese Americans who were trying to reassimilate into American society after being incarcerated during World War II,” Osaki told EastIdahoNews.com in an exclusive interview.

He said they were upheld as hard-working and patriotic as they tried to assimilate following the war, but many of their core concerns and needs were disregarded by society.

“The women in my family were taught very young to be seen and not heard,” said Brittany Nelson Campbel, a first-generation Asian-American and law student, in a review. “After watching this documentary, I realized how common this was and how detrimental it is to our society as a whole trying to conform to this model minority myth.”

The film explores themes of integration and the struggle of first-generation minority families.

“The country as a whole has been so poisoned by this notion of the model minority racist myth,” activist and author Helen Zia said in the film.

The event will feature a panel discussion and interaction with the filmmaker following the viewing.

The film has won 12 awards, including “Winner of Excellence” by the Accolade Global Film Competition and Impact Docs and the “Humanitarian Award for Outstanding Achievement” by the Best Shorts Competition.

The event is co-sponsored by the Idaho Falls Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) and the Snake River chapter of the JACL, along with Friends of Minidoka.

“This screening is a meaningful opportunity for people of all backgrounds to reflect upon the shared responsibility of dismantling prejudice and creating a more equitable society, at a time when these issues are at the forefront of conversations in Idaho and nationwide,” Friends of Minidoka Project Manager Shannon Reagan shared in a release.

The viewing nearly coincides with the “2025 Day of Remembrance,” marking the 83rd anniversary of when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on Feb. 19, 1942. The order “authorized the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II,” the news release stated.

“When Japanese Americans were being persecuted in 1941 and 1942 really there was no organized opposition in support of our community,” Osaki said.

You can learn more about the film and register online here to attend.

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