I'm really, really meh about Elementary and generally tend to be really unforgiving of the way it's centered on Sherlock (and the way that that just so happens to be rippling out onto women and poc's)...but to give credit where it's due, with the Chinatown episode - I actually thought it was a nice - and relatively subtle - touch with the evil prof's Asian fetish.

Like, theres all this Asian stuff, and it's oh-so-meaningful, yet also a bit tacky and deliberate: as you say, a lifestyle choice. But at that point, he's not the bad guy yet (er, I think? I watched this a few weeks ago now) and hey, being Interested In Other Cultures is a Good Thing, yes? And then we meet his wife and there's this uncomfortable undercurrent of, oh, wait, is she another Asian thing in the collection? And then it turns out that the relashionship really is appallingly abusive and exploitative, so going back it always seems like the Prof's collection of Asian stuff is meant to be a sort of...conspicous consumption.

Eh, maybe i'm overanalyzing.