Written By: Wendy Xie
There is no truer narrative that immensely captures the struggling reality in rising above Western media’s perception of hegemonic masculinity than through the lens of the titular Ugly Model Kevin Kreider.
“The Ugly Model” concentrates on Kreider’s frustration of racial oppression from growing up as a Korean-adoptee at a predominantly white neighborhood in Philadelphia. For the majority of his life, Kreider spoke out about how he felt oppressed by the public’s eye, as Asian-males are seen as less physically attractive compared to white males, ranking Asians at the bottom of the hegemonic masculinity pyramid.
From his childhood, Kreider felt inferior compared to the people around him because they are different from him. Because he felt different, he felt alone and insecure, making it difficult to embrace being Asian. In an interview with Kreider, he expressed to me, “We, as Asians, always have to think about this everyday. White people don’t get what we go through. They don’t have the opportunity.”
Disturbed by this racial prejudice, Kreider devotes his life and career as a fitness model and life coach to inspire change and justice for Asian males in the Western media spectrum of hegemonic masculinity.
Channeling into the racial frustration, Kreider reflects on the initial stage of his modeling career and how he lacked landing more gigs compared to his white male friend who skyrocketed shortly after he became a fitness model. This competitive oppression drove Kreider to the lowest point of his life when he was diagnosed with Alopecia Areata (hair loss syndrome), felt a sense of self-hatred and encountered many other unpleasant circumstances of feeling “ugly.”
At a point when he felt silent and underrepresented, director Doris Yeung documented “The Ugly Model” to share Kreider’s experience highlighting the paradox of Asian males and Western media’s universal unconscious bias towards white people.
“No one was listening to him,” director Yeung said in our conversation, “No one was telling his story. As he told me his story, I saw a bit of myself in Kevin and I knew I wanted to help him.”
After the release of Yeung’s latest film on “The Ugly Model,” we discover a new role model shattering the Asian masculinity stereotype in the Asian American community. His philosophy quickly resonates with many Asian males around the world who share this similar desire to dismiss their Asian identity because they often feel embarrassed and bullied for their weak, effeminate attributes.
Throughout Kreider’s soul-searching journey, he learned from interviewing Brian Yang, an Asian American actor/producer, that people are not used to viewing Asians uniquely as celebrities in the mainstream Western media. Yang said in an interview with Kreider, “It is like a shock to their [Americans’] system.”
It is ironic how Asians continue to excel in many aspects of life ranging from getting accepted into prestigious institutions to inventing original products and are also viewed attractive in the international Asian market. Yet somehow as Asians, we still continue to feel second-best when it comes to competing against white Americans in the Hollywood mainstream Western media. Kreider knew this is no longer an issue about himself but a larger topic on discrimination against Asians in the Western media. It is also ironic how Asian Americans feel the need to dedicate their time to live up to the standard of American “perfection” when the dynamic of it is completely flawed.
From Kreider’s role of breaking into the American modeling industry as an Asian-descent, his story sets a contending trailblazer for every Asian out in the world. Kreider’s example is analogous to another interviewee friend in the film, Jeremy Lin, who is a well-recognized Asian American basketball player in the NBA. Jeremy Lin started off undrafted out of college as an American basketball player.
Lin tried out for different NBA summer league teams and eventually had an opportunity to play for the Golden State Warriors. Unfortunately, the Warriors were loaded with point-guards so Lin was cut from the team. However, as one door closed, another opportunity opened when the New York Knicks, which was disseminated with injuries, decided to sign Lin for a ten day contract. From there, the dawn of a new era of “Linsanity” began as he scored 25 points off the bench leading a victory for the New York Knicks against the New Jersey Nets. Despite this newfound success as an Asian American, Lin struggled to find equal employment pay in the NBA. After bouncing around from different teams, he signed a three year/$36 million contract as the starter point-guard with the Brooklyn Nets, but injuries derailed his time in his basketball career. However, this is considered a discounted contract under market value compared to other basketball players because it was the same year the NBA decided to inflate their salary restrictions per player. This repeating theme of Asian Americans being downplayed in mainstream Western media has sparked a new conversational topic of Asian Americans feeling inferior and second best.
So why does this irony of Asians being viewed second-best in America happen? The law of nature indicates that the Western media standardizes a cultural norm where white Americans are supposedly the dominant attractive race in the nation. This nurturing media practice displaces Asians as supporting beta characters who are grouped as a “model minority” in the Western mainstream. In the current century of being classified as a “model minority,” what should we do to speak our truth?
There is no linear process to achieve representation for the Asian American community and this is definitely depicted through Kreider’s journey. In Kreider’s concluding thoughts on the film during the Q&A of the 42nd Asian American International Film Festival screening, he stated that he “… needed to keep remembering to just share your truth.” His recipe to seek bravery in himself led him to practice self-love and spread that positivity to his peers. It is only when we embrace our difference that we can make a difference.
Director: Doris Yeung
Stars: Kevin Kreider, Jeremy Lin
Running Time: 1 hour 32 minutes
Genre: Documentary