Comments

1. Cynthia wrote:

   Jack Yang/Jason Chun looks like your stereotypical metro Asian male (from the hair, anyway.) Can’t they have someone normal looking?

   Posted 10 Jan 2008 at 11:45 am ¶

2. Latoya Peterson wrote:

   Cynthia Nixon was the normal looking one on Sex and the City. People called her ugly. Moral: People say one thing and like another.

   Besides, the Asian guy came in at a disadvantage. How is he going to compete with the model looking white guy if he’s an average looking guy?

   Posted 10 Jan 2008 at 11:54 am ¶

3. bradski wrote:

   The show is boring and most of the actresses are bland. Since all of the female characters are power players, there’s no tension.

   They’re all power players, no one is striving for success and there’s nothing fun about the show.

   I was really prepared to hate “Big Shots” because it seemed like a poor wealthy white guy show, but it’s sexy, soapy, and has Nia Long.

   This show misses on many levels.

   Posted 10 Jan 2008 at 1:25 pm ¶

4. bradski wrote:

   Oh, to the person who said that Jack Yang was average looking, are you kidding?

   http://imdb.com/gallery/hh/1555268/HH/1555268/iid_1031598.jpg?path=pgallery&path_key=Yang,%20Jack

   The guy is a model and is much better looking than Tom Everett Scott, who was once cast as a Tom Hanks look-a-like.

   TV could use another sexy Asian power couple. Hell, TV surely needs more Asian men in better roles. I hope his character succeeds and that he never has to chop a wood block or carry a sword.

   May be MTV could catch a hint and include an Asian male on one of its realities shows.

   Posted 10 Jan 2008 at 1:32 pm ¶

5. Cynthia wrote:

   Did I say he was average looking? I said he looked metro…as in metrosexual. I find that most modern, good looking Asian guys fall into the metro category and not the normal good looking category. I don’t really like guys who spend more time in front of the mirror than me.

   Posted 10 Jan 2008 at 2:56 pm ¶

6. Anonymous wrote:

   Asian American female here, and have to say that Jack Yang is very good-looking. Awesome to see a handsome Asian male on TV.

   As for the “metrosexual” angle, some women do prefer more rugged, masculine men. I find Daniel Dae Kim, for instance, to have more of a masculine, angular handsomeness, while someone like Jack Yang has a more smooth, youthful appeal. No big deal. There are, of course, those women that simply don’t feel comfortable being with someone much prettier than they are themselves

   Posted 10 Jan 2008 at 7:56 pm ¶

7. Question wrote:

   What is a “normal looking Asian guy” ? I am Asian and I have no clue.

   Posted 10 Jan 2008 at 10:52 pm ¶

8. R. Prince wrote:

   Great review Latoya… you touched on all of the key problems I had with the show, most importantly the writing. Like what your title says, It’s a lot of what we’ve seen before. Even down to the up beat background music, Sex and the City remnents seems to find it’s way on Cashmere Mafia.
   Nevertheless, I’m still excited for Lucy Liu’s upcoming relationship, even if he is a little metro, because as sad as it sounds it’ll be the first time I see an asian woman and man together on screen….
   Lastly, oh I actually loved that tacky outfit… I though it was cute.

   Posted 11 Jan 2008 at 2:12 am ¶

9. Daomadan wrote:

   Jack Yang=Gorgeous! Probably one of the only reasons I’ll try to catch the show. (I know I know…so shallow, so sue me. ;P)

   Posted 11 Jan 2008 at 9:04 am ¶

10. Rob Schmidt wrote:

    I thought the pilot was okay, but nothing special. What really bugged me was that this ostensibly pro-woman show actually seemed anti-woman. Let’s look at three plotlines:

    1) Lucy Liu and her fiancé compete for the top job. Hello? How unrealistic is this? How often does a corporation take two equally matched executives and decide to promote one and fire the other?

    How about promoting them both into jobs that use their talents? How about Lucy and fiancé mutually deciding to tell their boss to shove it? If he doesn’t promote them as a team, they quit and join the company’s rival.

    How about someone, anyone, knocking some sense into the head honcho? If one exec wins and the other leaves, their home
    life will be a shambles and the winner will resent the hell out of the boss. In reality, the winner will leave the company in a few months and the head honcho will lose both his talented executives.

    The point is that this plotline exists to prove a woman can be as tough as a man. Lucy wins by playing the man’s game better than her man. If she were something other than a plot device, she would’ve taken charge in a noncompetitive way. She would’ve won using a stratagem such as one of the above.

    Posted 11 Jan 2008 at 9:20 am ¶

11. Rob Schmidt wrote:

    2) One of the Mafiettes (?), the only one without a husband or boyfriend, complains of being an old maid and a spinster. She’s so hard up for a man that she begins a lesbian affair. Good thinking…that way she doubles her chances.

    What’s the message here? That finding a good man is so hard you should reconsider your sexuality? That being alone is so horrible that any alternative is preferable?

    How sorry do I feel for all the bright, beautiful TV women in their 30s who are unmarried? Not a bit. Wait till you’re fiftyish, not so beautiful, and still single, then tell me your problems.

    Posted 11 Jan 2008 at 9:34 am ¶

12. Rob Schmidt wrote:

    3) Another of the Mafiettes learns her husband is having an affair. Does she throw him out because she has too much self-respect to ever tolerate a lying scumbag? No, she declares that she’ll have an affair too and then they’ll start over with the slate wiped clean.

    Shades of 1996! It’s Hillary Clinton all over again. Stand by your man, because the alternative is too terrible to contemplate. Being spurned by your cheating spouse is better than being divorced.

    So we have one woman who competes ruthlessly, one who can’t stand being a spinster, and one who tolerates infidelity. Women, meet your role models for 2008. You’ve come a long way, baby…not.

    Posted 11 Jan 2008 at 9:47 am ¶

13. Renee wrote:

    I agree that Cashmere Mafia is too much like other shows like Sex in the City. I read another great article about this at Cashmere Mafia

    Posted 11 Jan 2008 at 12:47 pm ¶

14. tasha wrote:

    Enter Scully . . . Rob (Mulder) I watched both episodes last night. The only reason why you’re saying that Liu’s character competed “ruthlessly” is because she won. Had the fiancée won, would you have called him ruthless? What about that scene in the last segment of the second episode where Liu complimented an underling’s work and gave that subordinate an opportunity to prove herself by letting her handle an important account? What about how Liu was so hesitant to fire her mentor that she had to be lectured by her superior? That’s hardly the mark of a ruthless wench to me. Though there was some concern about the possible bruising of her fiancée’s ego, not once did it occur to her that she would be sacrificing her engagement to climb the corporate ladder. The two had previously agreed that their competition would not affect their personal relationship, only for him to renege when he lost. Competition is not solely the domain of men, and I object to you saying that she would’ve taken charge in a “non-competitive” way because she was female. I agree, the “one gets promoted-the other fired” gimmick was a plot device, but what makes you think that it was used only to prove that a woman could compete in a “man’s game” and not just to write the fiancée out of the script quickly because he was a guest star and not a cast regular? If the writers really wanted to keep him around, then don’t you think that the two characters would have merely competed for a promotion within the company and not for their employment status at the company?

    And if one of Mafiettes wants to stay with her cheating husband, that’s her business and Hilary’s, I might add. Like there aren’t any women on tv that don’t leave their cheating husbands or boyfriends. This one just chose not to. I commend the show for letting the jilted spouse voice her opinion on the matter. Often on tv, the wife who’s complacent with her husband’s infidelities rarely voices her frustration in such a manner. The last thing that the mafiette with the cheating husband struck me as was a victim. And is the lesbian Mafiette really afraid of becoming spinsterly, or is she more upset that she’s been in nothing but failed relationships for the past 20 years?

    Posted 11 Jan 2008 at 1:01 pm ¶

15. Katie wrote:

    Cynthia - your distinction between “metro” and “normal good-looking” seems really divisive and borderline homophobic, in my opinion.

    Your “normal” isn’t everyone’s.

    Posted 11 Jan 2008 at 3:01 pm ¶

16. donna darko wrote:

    Metro fits into SATC demographics. Unless you’re talking about Aidan, the country boy in SATC.

    Posted 11 Jan 2008 at 7:04 pm ¶

17. Robert wrote:

    Perhaps you should post pictures which explains the difference between metro good looking and normal good looking.

    In all honesty, I think there is a difference but being a guy, I don’t know what it is. It’s like when women say there is a difference between cute, hot, handsome, pretty, and gorgeous.

    To be honest, most of the men on there are considered model material and I think it would be a disservice if the Asian guy wasn’t of the same caliber.

    Posted 11 Jan 2008 at 8:04 pm ¶

18. Rob Schmidt wrote:

    I haven’t watched the second episode yet, so no fair bringing up incidents from it. Undoubtedly the show will round out the characters as it progresses, but viewers have a right to judge it based on the first episode.

    Yes, if the fiancé had poached Lucy’s accounts the way she poached his, I would’ve said he was ruthless. I’m an equal opportunity critic.

    Lucy didn’t think the competition would hurt her engagement, but she also didn’t think of an outside-the-box solution. Her behavior was pretty stereotypically male, if you ask me. You play the game to win, hard but fair, and let bygones be bygones once it’s over.

    I didn’t say competition was the sole domain of men. I said or implied that showing male-style competition as the only way to succeed is poor writing. A better character would’ve competed as hard as she could, but also would’ve found a way to safeguard her relationship.

    Lucy was naïve to think her fiancé’s losing and going home to be a house husband would have zero effect on their relationship. That sounds like a dumb man’s thinking to me, not a smart woman’s. If the show wants to portray its lead character that way, fine, but don’t expect me to applaud it.

    I think the plot device existed to write the fiancé out AND to establish Lucy’s character. But I don’t think it established exactly what the writer thought it established. I think it showed the writer’s unconscious bias.

    Are you surprised to learn men wrote and directed the first episode? I’m not. It purported to tell the women’s stories, but it did so from a decidedly male perspective.

    Why did the fourth Mafiette handle the nanny situation by herself? Because women take care of the domestic matters and she’s a super-mom? How about if she insists her husband do it because he’s an equal partner and she’s too busy?

    That didn’t happen. Why not? Because these women are types, not fleshed-out characters. There’s the dedicated career woman, the “can’t find Mr. Right” single (who’ll be the most bitchy and promiscuous of the lot, I bet), the long-suffering wife, and the super-mom. None of these women will turn out to be as complex and interesting as, say, Dr. Bailey on “Grey’s Anatomy.”

    Posted 12 Jan 2008 at 8:20 am ¶

19. tasha wrote:

    Alright Robert, I’ll bite.

    Non-metro, “normal” looking guy (scroll through to picture #158 if it doesn’t automatically appear)

    http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/greys-anatomy/photos/191535/157

    Metrosexual guy

    http://hotandnerdy.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/hn-cashmere-jack-7.jpg

    http://hotandnerdy.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/hn-cashmere-jack-4.jpg

    Though you would never know it by looking at those photos; that’s the same actor. Whoever styled Yang for that scene with Liu needs to be smacked. It does not look at all natural. I know that the show is going out of its way to portray a stereotypically, sophisticated, New York aesthetic, but damn. For a more wholesome, believable change, let’s begin with a visit to the barber to get Yang’s hair looking like it did for the “Grey’s Anatomy” shoot. All of that hair is not necessary and it draws attention away from his pretty face. (Think of all the money he’ll save on product with shorter hair) Second, let’s take him out of that suit jacket and, instead, put him in a black Ralph Lauren or any V-neck sweater to contrast with the solid grey, dress shirt. Those high fashion-ey, pointed toe Prada-Ferragamo looking shoes need to go too. Let’s replace those with some nice, simple Kenneth Cole loafers or some Cole Haan cap-toe Oxford lace-ups in black or brown. Subtle changes such as those keep his polish but also make him look effortlessly cool, not contrived like he looks in that scene. Dude plays a doctor on the show. So it’s not like he has to wear a suit and tie to work, anyway.

    I don’t think that pointing out the distinction between a man that’s metro vs. one that’s non-metro is any more homophobic than pointing out the difference between a woman who is high maintenance and a woman who’s not high maintenance. The distinction between metros and non-metros can be vague. It’s like porn, not always easy to describe, but you know it when you see it. Wearing a suit does not automatically make a man a metro, and men who are non-metros aren’t automatically scrubs. Though, there are many metros that wear suits and many non-metros that are scrubby. You savvy? Depending on how keen your eye for fashion is, you can often spot a metrosexual by how many high end or name-brand looking pieces he’s wearing at once. And like I said, we’re not necessarily talking about suits. When I was in high school, I had a male friend that was into Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica, and such, brushed his sneakers with a tooth brush, the whole nine, and he wouldn’t leave the house unless he was perfectly coordinated. I mean the lining of his cap would match his socks, even if no one knew besides himself, and yes, he was straight. If a man looks like he stepped off of a fashion runway in Milan, than he’s probably a metro. Look at Jack Yang in the “Cashmere” photos. He’s dressed in head to toe, high end designer gear. Even his hair looks like a shiny accessory. That screams metro. He would emit a completely different vibe if he was wearing brands without those high fashion touches, classic clothes that are more understated and less gimmicky. He’s a beautiful man. He does not need to try that hard. There’s also a misconception that a man has to be physically pretty to be a metro, but that’s not necessarily true, case in point Sean P.Diddy Combs, who, while not the most attractive man, is quite the dandy when it comes to his grooming habits and wardrobe. Metrosexual does not mean gay, cause if a man was gay and well dressed, then he would be a homosexual, not a metrosexual.

    Posted 12 Jan 2008 at 4:13 pm ¶

20. Robert wrote:

    Well, damn.

    I need you as my personal fashion consultant.

    Posted 13 Jan 2008 at 8:23 am ¶

21. tasha wrote:

    Rob Schmidt, women are conditioned to be “supermoms.” It’s a side effect of a post second wave feminist era. Because women can now do anything, a lot of times they feel the need to do everything . . .themselves and do it well. After all, the slogan says, “We Can Do It,” and to not do it well is to admit defeat.

    Is your grievance that the show is not idealistic enough, because It’s not uncommon for wives to handle the lion’s share of the domestic responsibilities and tasks while working full time. There was nothing unrealistic about the fourth Mafiette handling the nanny situation on her own, at all. In fact, there have been quite a few books devoted to the subject of “Lazy Husband Syndrome.” Often type A women (really women in general), like the ones on the show, don’t delegate more tasks to their spouses because of controlling, perfectionist tendencies. They want things done, the way they want them done, because in their minds, only they can do it right. The children, having observed the wives doing the lion share of the household work, become disproportionately dependent on their mothers. Husbands, in turn, become reluctant to get involved for fear of not doing certain tasks according to their wives’ standards and being spurned by their children with the common retort, “That’s not how Mom does it.” So a lot of the time, it’s just easier for the husbands to sit on the sidelines, seeing as that, they can’t fold the towels properly and the kids ask for mom anyway, but the husbands’ complacency breeds resentment in the wives who then may withhold affection from their spouses or complain of being fatigued for sex, which agitates the husbands and around and round we go. It’s a vicious cycle, but quite common. In reality, the kids don’t ask for mommy because daddy is inferior. They ask for mommy because unbeknownst to them, they’ve been conditioned to ask for my mommy. The “lazy husband” would get more sex if he helped out more, and the wife would be less frustrated and fatigued if she would stop nagging and relinquish some control.

    I’m telling you Rob, poaching, backstabbing, etc. are not solely the domain of men. Women have been doing that since the dawn of time, just maybe not in the corporate world. Didn’t you see “Heathers” or “Mean Girls?” Liu’s behavior did not strike me as masculine at all, perhaps a little desperate, but not unethical. Just because Liu is a woman doesn’t necessarily mean that she would have thought “outside the box,” for an alternative solution to safeguard her relationship because she didn’t think that he would dump her if he lost. Why should the burden of creative thinking to possibly keep them both employed fall on her shoulders and not his? I love how you think a woman’s supposed to be so noble in competing for a promotion, simply because she’s female. What kind of mixed signal is that? “Sweety, you need to compete for your employment status, but not too hard, cause you have to consider your boyfriend’s feelings.” Meanwhile, is the boyfriend getting the same lecture about his woman or is he simply being told to win?

    Both of their jobs were on the line, and she wanted her’s more. Never in a million years did Liu anticipate her fiancee being a house husband if he lost the competition. Most men who lose their jobs don’t become house husbands. They go out and find another job. As I recall, in the pilot, the fiancee thought that he would win and that she would have become a housewife because his hubris didn’t allow him to forsee the possibility of defeat. Liu’s fiancee couldn’t have been anymore of a crybaby about the whole scenario. Do you think that Liu would’ve thrown such a tantrum (braking off the engagement) had she been the one who lost? You should be mad at the male writers of the show for making men look like, well, you know. If and when you see the second episode, check out the response that the cheating husband gives for sleeping with a woman in his wife’s circle. I would’ve respected him more if he had just said that he wanted some on the side and his mistress was offering, but he gives a specific reason for why he chose that particular woman to cheat with, and boy, was it lame. The writers would have us believe that sorry men are the reason behind why the blonde Mafiette is exploring lesbianism. So no, if anyone’s looking particularly foolish on this show, it’s not the females.

    Posted 15 Jan 2008 at 8:46 am ¶

22. Robert wrote:

    Why are you addressing me? I didn’t say any of that.

    Posted 16 Jan 2008 at 2:09 pm ¶

23. donna darko wrote:

    She was addressing Rob Schmidt/Rob.

    Rob Schmidt, why are you watching Cashmere Mafia? Must be part of your job!

    Posted 17 Jan 2008 at 2:10 am ¶

24. donna darko wrote:

    I caught 5 min on the treadmill and it looks bad.

    Posted 17 Jan 2008 at 2:10 am ¶

25. Robert wrote:

    I’m only going to watch it for the Asian guy. Now, that coming from another Asian guy is odd but I honestly think I should take pictures and show this to my kids and get flashbacks of the first time I saw an Americanized Asian man on television.

    Posted 17 Jan 2008 at 7:26 pm ¶

26. Latoya Peterson wrote:

    Robert -

    My Uncle gets like that about Jim Kelly.

    http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0446485/

    Posted 17 Jan 2008 at 9:27 pm ¶

27. sundancer wrote:

    Too bad Liu’s character is almost as white-washed as they come (Liu herself noted in an interview that “Mia Mason” was initially written for a blonde woman). And all her roles perpetuate that stereotypical dragon lady/bitchy Asian woman. Yes, having a lead non-white character is a step forward for diversity, but it\’s just the same, tired stuff. I do have to say that Jack Yang/attractive Asian male romantic lead’s an interesting development…!

    Posted 24 Jan 2008 at 1:53 pm ¶

28. Janet wrote:

    I don’t agree. I’m an Asian new Yorker and I actually think the writers did a good job of making her pretty sweet, and likeable and relateable, despite being a high powered career woman. Just because she’s not displaying any obvious Asian stereotypes other than the overbearing Asian mother (what culture doesn’t have overbearing mothers?), I don’t think it’s fair to say she’s “white-washed”. I hate that term, it makes no sense to me. Asians who don’t act stereotypically “asian” are always termed white-washed. Can’t she just be a high powered career woman that also happens to be asian? She was born in Queens for goodness sakes. Her role is a step in the right direction but as the only Asian american woman in a leading role on primetime, she’s going to be criticized no matter what she does. I like it. I can relate. I’ll be watching.

    Posted 25 Jan 2008 at 12:24 am ¶

29. Jen wrote:

    Jack Yang is gorgeous - Hope that he stays on for lots of episodes I agree that cashmere mafia is very similar to sex and the city but so what? Cashmere mafia is one of those series that makes us believe (for the duration of an episode) that all women can be powerful, happy, fashionable and still remain good hearted…

    Posted 26 Jan 2008 at 9:02 pm ¶

30. Rosemary wrote:

    Jack Yang is gorgeous and he’s got style. A more dignified personality that he holds compared to the other co-actors. A real good choice to pick him as the Asian male partner for Lucy Liu.

    On the whole though, the storyline for Cashmere Mia is really entertaining and beautiful to watch but there is still something there that is missing which I can’t just yet grasped. Anyway, I hope Cashmere Mafia to be different.

    To Cashmere Mafia and its beautiful casts, carry on your good work!

    Posted 21 Sep 2008 at 10:21 am ¶

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