Debbie Lum, a Chinese-American filmmaker, captures it:
The male lead was a mixed blessing:
Steven was, Lum says, her worst nightmare — the kind of guy she’d spent most of her life trying to avoid. But he was also an irresistible character, and, she thought, a perfect subject to illustrate the deeply dubious nature of the "yellow fever" phenomenon. "He seems to have a broken filter," she says — freely giving Lum unabashed access to thoughts that others might discreetly choose to keep in the vault.
The Dish 