In a recent Marie Claire article, beauty director Ying Chu poses the provocative question, ”why are the West’s most powerful men coupling up with younger Asian women?”

Chu cites many Hollywood couples as examples, such as Nicolas Cage and Alice Kim, Zhang Ziyi and venture capitalist Vivi Nevo; and most famously, Woody Allen and his once-adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn. And while these couplings aren’t exactly breaking news (nor is the concept of “yellow fever” for that matter), the article investigates the concept of an Asian trophy wife — are these older men dating younger Asian women as an exotic status symbol?

“After two or three failed attempts at domestic bliss with women of like background and age, these heavy hitters sought out something different. Something they had likely fetishized,” says Chu.

Furthermore, Chu goes onto to speculate why the women go along with it regardless:

“Maybe these outsized, world-class moguls are stand-ins for emotionally repressed Asian dads (one cliché that is predominantly true). Or… are these women just glorified opportunists?”

Chu points out that many of these Asian trophy wives are highly educated and successful, which goes against the idea of a traditional trophy wife who is much less educated than her husband.

As you probably can tell, this article has incited some pretty strong comments both in the blogosphere and in the articles comments section. There are some out there who don’t take too kindly to Ying Chu’s generalizations. Read TheFrisky.com’s rebuttal to Chu’s piece here. The popular relationships site argues that this article needlessly marginalizes the interracial relationships that ARE genuine:

“Not all interracial relationships between whites and Asians deserve to have doubt cast upon them,” says Frisky writer Jessica Wakeman. “Lots of men simply think Asian women are beautiful — just like lots of men simply think blondes are beautiful —which doesn’t necessarily qualify as a fetish.”

I tend to agree with Wakeman. Sure,  there are a handful of men who fetishize Asian women according to the most stereotypical terms, but isn’t there a difference between dating an Asian because she’s submissive/hypersexual/whatever and merely finding them more attractive?

For more commentary on this article, check out Disgrasian, 8Asians, Jezebel, doubleX, Korean Beacon, and You Offend Me You Offend My Family.

Here are some of the many negative reader comments from this article on Marie Claire’s website so far:

“This article does nothing but drum up the same awkwardness that Spike Lee and other closed minded people in the media have used to make Asians, Blacks Whites and Latinos feel ashamed for “dating outside of their race.” — katty852

“This is embarrassing, both for the writer and the editors. As a piece of written work, this would be laughed out of a freshman gender studies class. As an Asian-American female, I read the comments regarding “emotionally unavailable fathers” and “always respecting our elders” with disgust. Really? All of us fit into this box? I used to be a huge fan of Marie Claire, but the level of this article makes it clear why the magazine has lost its draw.” — saracee1

“As an Asian American woman in my late thirties, I was disturbed at how immature and insecure Chu’s writing was an extension of her own self image. Is she speaking about herself, asking if she could not understand why a white man would want to date her? ” — missmodern

“Who are you to judge whether or not people are in love or not just because two people are of different ethnicity?” — mp314

“Although I too have rolled my eyes at some of the aforementioned pairings of late, this piece really does a disservice by recycling hackneyed stereotypes without offering any real analysis, insight or even basic facts. It reads like the rant of someone taking a freshman course on race, gender and identity politics.” — d7253

What do you think readers? Is Chu hitting on an uncomfortable trend or she hitting a career-low with this article?

Photo via Marie Claire

Fresh from a highly publicized breakup with “10,000 B.C.” actress Camilla Belle, the Joe Jonas rumor mill is suddenly a-twitter over his latest rumored romance — this time with Disney Channel starlet Brenda Song! [Read Mochi's interview with the "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" star].

Starpulse.com reports that the pair were recently spotted on a sushi lunch date on Sunday. They apparently tried to stage separate exits to prevent rumor-mongering, but the paparazzi caught Brenda getting into Joe’s car later. (Better luck next time, guys.)

Straight out of left field, right? Well, maybe not so much. Since both Brenda and Joe are of Disney Channel fame, they naturally have some mutual friends, including Selena Gomez, who introduced the two to each other, according to AceShowBiz.com. In late 2008, Brenda and Joe attended a Lakers game together and a video of the two holding hands on the Tower of Terror ride caused a minor internet sensation. Nothing ever seemed to come out of it in 2008, and perhaps nothing will come out of this recent flurry of reports either. Brenda Song’s publicist has already tried to squelch the gossip via GossipCop.com. But still, two romance rumors with the same person in one year? One can speculate right?

What do you think, readers? Are Joe Jonas and Brenda Song a good match?

Photo from AceShowBiz.com

High god and goddess of the Geek pantheon, Michael Cera and Charlyne Yi, in a romantic movie together? And not just any movie, but a part-documentary, part-indie flick in which the two Apatow-approved stars actually fall for each other? Be still my heart. “Paper Heart,” that is.

I’ve been seeing promotions and posters for this movie since the Sundance Film Festival. And with the limited premiere coming up next Friday, it’s time for the official Mochi plug. Just based on the trailer and Michael Cera’s awkward-but-adorable personality, I would say this movie will cater to geek-chic elite. Think “Borat“ shooting style meets Judd Apatow humor meets Michel Gondry romance (Gondry directed “Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind” and “The Science of Sleep“). On a completely biased note, I will probably adore the socks off this movie.

“Paper Heart” follows “Knocked Up’s” Charlyne Yi in her cross-country quest to determine whether true love exists in the modern age. Charlyne and director Nick Jasenovec interview people from all walks of life about love, including some of Yi’s comedian friends, Seth Rogen and Demetri Martin. Shortly after filming begins, Charlyne meets Michael Cera of “Superbad” and “Arrested Development” fame. As their relationship develops throughout the docu-drama, her mission to understand real love takes on a new meaning.

Is your hipster heart melting yet?

Click here for an awesome interview with Charlyne Yi, posted by Hulu.

However, I do know how to distinguish reality from 2-D.

In this New York Times article, writer Lisa Katayama has uncovered a very peculiar relationship. Nisan is a 37-year-old Japanese man whose obsession with a particular anime character has led him to treat a pillow of said character as his girlfriend. He carries her around at all times, buys her lunch, and even talks to her as if the pillow is real:

“Nisan knows she’s not real, but that hasn’t stopped him from loving her just the same. ‘Of course she’s my girlfriend,’ he said, widening his eyes as if shocked by the question. ‘I have real feelings for her.’”

While this situation, in of itself, seems ripe for ridicule, I applaud Katayama for exploring the psychological reasoning behind Nisan’s obsession.

As it turns out, Nisan isn’t the only one with a 2-D complex. Apparently, 2-D love is a thriving subculture (of otaku culture – the obsession with anime, manga and video games), which may be possibly indicative of some deep-seated cultural issues between opposite sex communication. The truth is more than a little heartbreaking:

“‘Of course I want to get married,’ he said as we drove back to West Hachioji station listening to his favorite Eurobeat CD. ‘But look at me. How can someone who carries this around get married? People are probably wondering what psychiatric ward I escaped from. I would think the same thing if I saw me.’ He widened his eyes in self-ridicule, then, the next moment, his expression became somber. ‘I’m pretty conflicted inside. People say there are some otaku who don’t want to get married, but that’s not true. Some have so little confidence that they’ve just given up, but deep inside their souls, they want it just as much as anybody else.’”

Photo (top) courtesy of www.anime-wallpapers.ws; photo (bottom) by Masato Seto for The New York Times

“Claustrophobia”

As festival openers go, Ivy Ho’s “Claustrophobia” was certainly a darker choice. Ho is one of Hong Kong’s most esteemed and award-winning screenwriters, and in her directorial debut, she tells the story of a secret romantic affair between a young marketing secretary (played by actress Karena Lin) and her boss (played by actor Ekin Cheng). Shown in reverse chronological order, the movie keeps the audience guessing when the moment of infidelity will come, as the awkwardness between the two main characters is maintained at an uncomfortable high. “I always wanted to write suspense stories, but as a woman writer, I was always assigned to write romance. So I tried to combine the two with this [script],” said Ho in a Q&A following the screening.

“Fruit Fly”

I confess, the following opinion will be completely swayed by the fact that I wish my life played itself out like a musical. That is to say, I wish “Fruit Fly” director, H. P. Mendoza, would write my life to catchy songs and dance numbers. In his second major self-penned production, the Filipino American paints a quirky portrait of a young Filipino woman named Bethseda (played by actress L.A. Renigan), who tries to find traces of her biological mother in bustling San Francisco. Weaving in elements of a San Franciscan upbringing, gay culture and Asian American identity, Mendoza kept the energy of the film at a sugar-happy high while still infusing a very meaningful message about self-discovery.

Photos courtesy of Asian American International Film Festival

I’m generally fine with snarky humor about Asians, but something about the “funny” hate crime scene in the trailer for the upcoming comedy, “The Goods,” makes me feel a little uncomfortable.

The movie stars Jeremy Piven as a used car salesman who is brought in to turn a lackluster auto dealership around. In the particular scene in question (at 1:07), Pivens pumps up his fellow salesmen by comparing the upcoming car sale to a war. “Don’t let me get started on Pearl Harbor. We are the Americans; they are the enemies,” Piven’s character, Don Ready, says. As he delivers his speech, one of the older salesmen displaces his excitement by taking it out on the Asian co-worker. Then there is a quick shot where it appears as if the rest of the members join in on the beating.

Perhaps it’s because incidents like this have happened in the U.S. before. Perhaps Pearl Harbor also conjures up the injustice of the internment camps in its aftermath. Either way, the humor seems a little off-color to me. Check it out for yourself and sound off in the comments.

The film opens Aug. 14, so trailers are in high rotation on major networks.

As the only explicitly Asian character in the Harry Potter books, I immediately latched onto Cho as “my” character. Since she first appeared in the third book and right up until the sixth, I remember fervently wanting it to work out between her and Harry. Whether it was because I tend to put myself in the shoes of Asian female characters or because I wanted more Asian representation in general, the point is, I rooted for her until the very end, even when Rowling wrote her out to be an emotional wreck.

I understand that Cho Chang isn’t a central part to the story now that Harry’s moved onto Ginny. But it’s disappointing that we couldn’t get at least a little closure to the relationship — a small scene, a brief mention of the break up, something. According to imdb.com, Scottich actress Katie Leung, who plays Cho Chang, did do some filming for “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” but it looks like the scenes got cut out for time’s sake.

Which is a damn shame. For a movie that focused so much on the budding love lives of the Hogwarts habitués, it doesn’t seem right that it pretended as if the Harry/Cho thing never happened. Plus, Katie Leung is completely absent from any scenes; I couldn’t even spot her in the background. The only Asian-looking actress was the girl who plays Leanne (Isabella Laughland), who’s with Katie Bell when she touches the cursed necklace.

As a long-time Potter nerd and a big supporter of Cho Chang/Katie Leung, I must say, I’m more than a little bummed.

Ed’s note: Online research says Katie Leung’s name appeared in the end credits, but no one recalls actually seeing her in the movie.

Photo from The Internet Movie Database

“In an Asian world, only three white heroes can save the world.”

This past Saturday, I was able to attend the inaugural Asian American ComiCon event in New York City. Celebrating a long legacy of Asian Americans in the comic book industry, the day was packed with workshops and panels featuring many industry heavy hitters, including Larry Hama, the creator of “G.I. Joe.”

Throughout many of the sessions, a conversation thread kept cropping up: despite so many Asian Americans working behind the scenes, how come comics rarely feature any Asian American superheroes? One panel went so far as to have the guest writers re-imagine popular superheroes as if they were Asian.

And then, this interesting cause involving the upcoming “Avatar” movie fell in my lap. Now, I’m too old to have caught onto this, but some readers may know of the hit Nickelodeon show, “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” It’s an animated fantasy-fiction series that draws heavily on East Asian and Inuit settings and culture — to the point where the main character, Aang, and the supporting characters are, by all appearances, Asian. A live-action movie based on the animated series has been in the works for a few years now and is scheduled to release in July 2010.

Do you see where this is going? In Dec. 2008, the cast list was released. Lo and behold, fans discovered that the  live-action adaptation will feature no Asian American actors playing any hero role. Instead, all three leading characters will be played by white actors.  Dev Patel of “Slumdog Millionaire” is the only Asian who has been cast thus far — and as the main villain.

Fans (Asians and non-Asians alike) have immediately threatened a large-scale boycott of the film. The movement’s site, Racebending.com, points out how the casting choices are essentially a racist move:

“In the animated series, the Inuit-based nation (Water Tribe) and Tibetan-based nation (Air Nomads) are the heroes. In the movie, both the Water Tribe and Air Nomads will be completely white-washed and populated with white actors. Conversely, the genocidal, evil Fire Nation will be entirely populated with darker-skinned actors, who actively oppress and destroy all other Nations.”

Given Hollywood’s tendency to cast Caucasians for roles that are supposed to be for Asian characters, this is no surprise to me. Just look at the major slights with “21″ and the recent “Dragonball” movie. I was particularly affronted by Goku being played by obviously white Justin Chatwin, if not only because they tried to pass off an old Asian man as his grandfather.

Anyway, here’s the biggest rub for me with “Avatar.” When asked about the controversy, actor Jackson Rathbone (who will play Sokka) offers up this gem:

”I think it’s one of those things where I pull my hair up, shave the sides and I definitely need a tan. It’s one of those things where, hopefully, the audience will suspend disbelief a little bit.”

Really? Just get a tan? Why don’t we tape up your eyes while you’re at it?

I’ll forgive the boy because he looks like he’s about 13-years-old and doesn’t know any better. But the producers? No way. Are you as frustrated as I am, readers? How long are we going to let the film industry deny Asian American actors leading roles under the assumption that they can’t have mass appeal?

Check out racebending.com for more info about the anti-Avatar film movement.

Photo from Racebending.com

Want to bet that the name’s John Cho?

With just a decade-long career behind him, Cho has somehow become the face of Asian American men in entertainment media without having headlined a single movie by himself. From his breakout appearance in the 2000 film “American Pie” to a co-starring role in the “Harold and Kumar” movies, the 37-year-old actor is almost always the supporting actor, never the leading man.

And yet—based on the sheer number of mainstream movies he’s appeared in—the Korean American actor is the closest thing to a “household name” we have for Asian American male actors. (For women, I nominate Lucy Liu for the honor).

Although Cho has made a career out of being the token Asian goofball, in many ways, he’s been the flag bearer for the modern movement to raise Asian American representation in the media. So what if “Harold and Kumar” contained about as much depth as a contestant on VH1’s “Rock of Love?” For the first time, we saw an Asian American’s name above the movie’s title, right?

Asia Pacific Arts recently sat down with John Cho for an illuminating in-depth interview. Addressing his rise to fame as “American Pie’s” MILF guy, he said:  ”And as I look back now, it’s odd, I’ve had more vulgar touchstones, but the “American Pie” series just seems to have changed the business, and “Harold and Kumar” is a bit of a game changer too, and to be in “Star Trek.” It’s been a strange career, now that I look back.”

Most recently, Cho took the role of George Takei 2.0 in J. J. Abrams’ acclaimed reboot of the sci-fi series. Playing a slick young Sulu with a flair for fencing, Cho showed us an action hero side of himself he’s never been able to before — and a non-Kung Fu hero at that. One small step for Cho, one giant leap for our demographic.

“It’s almost perverse how much I’ve thought about my Asian American audience, and my whole career, every job — every audition— that I’ve ever been offered, I think about how it will serve the community or not,” the actor said in the APA interview. “If people will appreciate it or find it offensive, and it’s almost the single factor by which I take jobs or not. Because as soon as I started, I realized it was so important to people.”

For the rest of the interview, check out “The Game-Changer: An Interview With John Cho.”

Half-Korean hottie Daniel Henney is poised to conquer U.S. hearts this October when he stars in CBS’s new medical series, Three Rivers.

The show deals with the trials and tribulations of transplant surgeons, organ donors and the recipients. Think of it as CBS’s contender to ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. Henney will be playing Dr. David Lee, “a womanizing surgical resident who’s broken as many hearts as he’s replaced,” according to the CBS web site. A fitting role for such a gorgeous man.

The 29-year-old model and actor made his first stateside splash earlier this year with a role in X-Men Origins: Wolverine as Agent Zero. We think Daniel’s turn as a sexy surgeon will do wonders for combating Asian male stereotypes, despite the fact that he’s playing another doctor.

Three Rivers will run on Sunday at 9 p.m., starting October 4. Check out the promo for the show below!