(July 2003) Actress or Activist?: Keiko Agena Fights Racial Stereotyping On And Off Screen

Actress or Activist?: Keiko Agena Fights Racial Stereotyping On And Off Screen

By Sara Stokoe

Five foot one inch Japanese-American actress Keiko Agena is not one to underestimate. In addition to her recurring role as Lane Kim, Rory's best friend on the WB's "Gilmore Girls," Agena is also somewhat of an activist, and is very involved in the Asian-American community.

When she is not filming episodes of the hit television series, Agena spends her weekends traveling to Asian festivals around Los Angeles with Blacklava clothing company; a grassroots organization whose mission is to raise questions as to how Asian-Americans are viewed in today's society. Their t-shirts contain clever counter-stereotypical slogans such as, "I suck at math" and "Asian is not oriental."

Although she is no longer with them, Agena once belonged to an Asian-American theater company called hereandnow. She performed at colleges and festivals around the country with the theater group, performing interwoven stories from an Asian-American perspective, many of which were taken directly from the lives of the performers themselves. Even though she has successfully moved on from hereandnow Agena continues to support their cause, and Blacklava sponsors them.

Her activism against racial stereotyping also plays a major role in her career as an actress. "As an actor, you have certain responsibilities to choose roles that will be positive images. I wouldn't do anything that was stereotypical or demeaning." In a recent interview with APA, Keiko commented on how she chooses the roles that she will play and the ones that she will pass up. "I call up my friends and ask them, 'What do you think, should I do it? Is it really cheesy? Is it really stereotypical?'" But she notes that it is very difficult in choosing which roles to let slide because "there are not many roles out there."

But because of this lack of desirable, un-stereotypical roles in Hollywood for Asian Americans, Keiko appears to be reluctantly accepting of some of the stereotypes, and acknowledges that some may criticize her for her stance. She commented on how she believes that what Lucy Liu is doing for Asian American actors is great, because "if you prove that you are marketable, and people will pay money to go see you then that will give you some amount of power, and then you can go on to the things you want to do" She notes that while Asian-Americans do not want to be "pigeon holed in just one area…it is really an important first step."

So, while Keiko fights to promote greater racial understanding and end stereotyping, she also has to work with what is out there, and hope that for her, being a high profile success doesn't mean being restricted by her ethnicity.

http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/070303/20030703_keiko.html
________________________________

Full Interview with Keiko Agena (May 16, 2003)
Interviewed by Lynna Kim
Transcription by Carol Soon

Lynna: Can you please introduce yourself?

Keiko: Sure. Hi, I am Keiko Agena. I play Lane Kim on "Gilmore Girls."

Lynna: First question, can you tell us where we may have recognized your familiar face?

Keiko: I am from "Gilmore Girls." I have also been on "Felicity"; I had a small recurring role on that, and then just little guest star roles, stuff like that and short films. I am doing more short films now.

Lynna: Tell us something about yourself that the public would never expect, like quirks or eccentricities?

Keiko: Well, I usually say that I ride a motorcycle or that I had a motorcycle, but I've said that a lot so I don't know if people do know that about me, but I used to have a GS 500 Suzuki, black and white motorcycle. That was my primary mode of transportation for a few years and I play the drums, but that's not kind of quirky because that is on the show. I play the drums.

Lynna: How long have you been playing and do you play professionally?

Keiko: Amazingly enough, we have been trying to put a group together. Well, I do have some actual musician friends. I have been playing for about a year, but the name of the band is "Mosaic" and we are going to be playing in June on Tuesday nights at the café, which is a great event, first and third Tuesdays in front of the East West Players building, do a quick plug for that. But the curator for that is letting us play. So we are going to play like three songs, I think. "Mosaic"!

Lynna: Do you play professionally or just as an amateur?

Keiko: I think a lot of people want to play, especially the drums, because the drums are a lot of fun. But there is such an awkward period at the beginning that if it wasn't for the "Gilmore Girls" that kind of forced me to practice, I don't think I would have gotten past that very awkward stage where you are so bad and loud. But because of the show, I kind of had to practice and so now it's getting to be a little bit more fun. Yeah, it's that secret desire that's coming out.

Lynna: The penetration of Asian Americans into the film and television industry finally seems to be breaking through with well-known celebrities such as yourself. But compared with the infiltration of Caucasians, African Americans, and Europeans, the number of Asian faces still remains slim. How were you able to make it as one of the few Asian American regulars on television?

Keiko: Well, for me, I was just lucky enough to get the part. I mean, I like "Gilmore Girls" because it feels like it is kind of an eclectic cast. I like the way they cast it and the way they wrote it. I wish I can take credit for that, but unfortunately I can't. Amy Sherman-Palladino has a best friend by the name of Helen Pai, who I have gotten to know very well. So my character is actually based on her, and unfortunately, some of the things that have happened to me on the show have actually happened to her in her life. But obviously, we stretch it for comic effect on "Gilmore Girls." Her parents were very strict, and the fact that she was Korean was Amy's idea. She was a good friend of hers, and Amy was just fascinated with her life, that she grew up in such a different way. So she brought that storyline into it. And I would like to see more characters, just more on television and film, just so that we had some variety. That would be nice.

Lynna: On the all-to-popular WB series "Gilmore Girls" you play the role of Lane Kim, the knowledge-hungry, word-hungry, eccentric best friend of Rory Gilmore. How accurately do you feel Lane Kim embodies a typical Asian American 16-year-old?

Keiko: Well, it's T.V. so a lot of the things are not exactly the way they are in real life, but I don't know. That would be a good question to ask other people, like how they perceive the way it is played or written. I kind of get both, as far as feedback. Some people recognize aspects of it, certain things about the relationship that they can relate to, but not the whole thing. Every comment I get is that Mrs. Kim is way too strict, you know, she is just extreme, and your mother is never like that. But there are certain little things that people can relate to.

Lynna: You have played the brainy Lane, a romantic lead in "Red Thread," an inspirational college student in "Felicity," and recently a comedic role. What role would you like to pursue in the future? What role fits you best?

Keiko: Well, there are certain things that I feel I can play better just because of my whole life experience, so I tend to gravitate toward those types of roles. There are certain things that I won't audition for because I am just like, "Ugh, I can't" and I struggle. Believe me I struggle! I call up my friends and ask them, "Well what do you think, it has this kind of character name, it has this sort of attribute. What do you think, should I do it? Is it really cheesy? Is it really stereotypical?" And I have some really good friends who go, "Yeah!" and I say, "Ok I won't do it. I won't audition for it." But it is hard because there are not that many roles out there! So you really have to decide that you really don't want to do it if you going to pass on something.

Lynna: Do you think your own personality resonates with the character, Lane? If so, in what way?

Keiko: I think she was written in a different way, but I think this sort of happens with television. It's that it sort of becomes who you are and a little bit with what they envisioned. I always think, and I haven't talked to Amy about this, but I always think that Lane originally was much more cool. I don't know, a little more sarcastic and more laid back, but whatever they gave me, regarding things that were quirky or extreme or goofy, I think I kind of excelled at that for whatever reason. So I think it becomes a little bit of a mix of that aspect of my personality and Lane, however she was originally intended to be.

Lynna: How do you feel about playing a Korean American actress, when in reality, you are Japanese American? Why do you think it was pertinent to the show that you play a character of this certain nationality?

Keiko: I still think that it was just that Helen happens to be Korean American. I don't really know, but I think Amy sort of just saw a good storyline. I think writers just go around and say, "Well that interests me or that doesn't interest me." Amy Palladino and Dan Palladino are married and are two of the executive producers and, just from observing them, I see that this is how they sort of go about doing things. Whatever resonates with them and clicks with them, and is going to hold their interest over a long period of time, that is what they are going to write about. If is sort like, "Eh, I don't know," it has got to hold their interest for a long period of time. Apparently, the storyline is going to hold on to their attention for a very long time.

Lynna: Once a year, Ammy Awards, a take off of Emmy Awards, honors Asian American talent in film and television. Congrats on your win as the Best Female Actor in a TV production!

Keiko: Why, thank you. Whoo!

Lynna: Finally, Asians are being recognized as being phenomenal talents in Hollywood. What did it mean for you to win this award?

Keiko: I was surprised and really happy. I mean you always… Always? Like I get nominated for these things, but when you go, you want to play it all cool, but inside you are like, "Please pick me, there is no chance but please pick me!" So that was kind of the situation I was in. Even though you don't want to be, you heart is kind of racing. I don't know, I was really surprised. I was really glad that people were watching the show and don't hate you. I don't know about other people, but actors are always like, "Do they hate me? No? Alright, I am safe, I am alright. I am ok."

Lynna: Did winning this award make you more confident in your acting abilities?

Keiko: Well, thank goodness, I have gotten a little more confident over time. In general, because you know in this business, in any business you kind of have to increase your confidence level, so I think that is one aspect among other things that has sort of helped me be more confident or at least appear more confident.

Lynna: Who do you see as role models in Hollywood, particularly to Asian Americans? Why?

Keiko: Oh, I might get a lot of criticism for this, because I know that there are better role models (oh but now I am going to get criticism for what I am going to say), but I think it is great what Lucy Liu is doing because she is making money for studios and people are going to argue with me about stuff like that. But I think that if you prove that you are marketable and people will pay money to go see you, then that will give you some amount of power, and then you can go on to do the sorts of things you want to do. So I think that everyone who serves as a high profile actor or performer, who is proving that they can be successful is a big help to all of us. I know that it may not be what we want ultimately because we don't want to be pigeon holed in just one area, but I think it is really an important first step. I support everyone who is going out there and working, you know, doing well for people.

Lynna: What would you say about the B-rated films that aren't as marketable as other films, but are still great films?

Keiko: Well, that is a good question, because I think talent always rises. I wouldn't call it a B-rated film, but I know a lot of people who are watching this or you guys know, but "Better Luck Tomorrow" just came out. It's an independent film, it's an amazing film, it's so talented, it's getting so much buzz because it is good. It is Asian American but I don't support it because it is Asian American, but because it is good, because talent is there, direction is there, the production value is there, and the actors are good. And when you have a product that is like that, people are going to notice, whether it got the funding originally or not. I think it is hard because we are harder on ourselves, sometimes we are too hard on ourselves and on the people of our community, but on the other hand, I think that when you support something it should be for the right reasons. I want to support it because it is good, the talent is there, and that primarily, and of course, because it is helping all of us in the community as Asian Americans.

Lynna: How do you decide what movies you want to be a part of?

Keiko: Most actors would say this, primarily it has to be a good script and you like the writing, and secondly, it's a part that you think that you can shine in, bring out the best in, and I guess the question of whether or not it is going to be successful comes after that. The first two things need to be there, otherwise, why do it? Maybe in two years, I will think "Yay! Big budget. Give me the money," I don't know.

Lynna: How much do you challenge yourself, in regards to taking roles different from what you normally play?

Keiko: That is a good question. I am a little bit of a chicken. I challenge myself all the time, but not where there is evidence. If you get me something like an improv class or some place where it is a friendly environment, I think I let myself go a lot farther. If it is for something, even like a short film or something like that, or television, I think I am much more conservative. I'm much more protective of that, which is something I just shoot for, being experimental in that field. I don't know, everything is a balance.

Lynna: Many critics may say that the entertainment industry does not fuel the minds of young people; in fact, they claim that it fills their minds with violence, sex, profanity, and a warped sense of reality. How do you respond to these attacks?

Keiko: That is really a hot button issue. You are talking about like "Jack Ass" and stuff like that, that are kind of like violent movies?

Lynna: Yeah, yeah, but even normal series, TV series that people might look on and say, "Oh that contributes nothing, it is just entertainment, you don't learn anything or gain from it."

Keiko: I think for myself, I have been thinking about that question a lot, but to be honest I don't really know where I come down on that issue because it is really hard to say. I don't think you can go either way a hundred percent because to say that it is the responsibility of the media to educate us on how to raise our kids, I can't go there, but then I can't completely excuse the images that are being pumped into our minds from all kinds of media, video games, television, and film. So I think there is a responsibility, but I haven't decided where I stand completely on that. I am still thinking about it. I think it is an important question to answer, but I think there is a lot at stake.

Lynna: How did you decide to pursue acting?

Keiko: I just decided that I was going to act professionally just this year, to say to myself that this is what I really want to do. I don't know how other people feel but this is actually a hard question to really commit yourself to because the chances are so slim. I think a lot of people have crazy ideas of how easy it is in this business, but the odds are so slim to be successful, and even just to make a living doing what you like to do. That is what I want, I want to make my money, my income doing creative things and if I can do that and be eighty-eight years old sitting on my rocking chair and looking back on my life, and can say that "I have done that!" and done things that I am proud of, I think that will make me feel successful. So I am putting that out there. That is what I want.

Lynna: What did you want to be when you were younger, before you starting acting?

Keiko: I was pretty young when I did my first play; I was ten. There is that famous quote that someone told me when I was in high school, that Betty Davis said that if you can imagine yourself doing anything other than acting, then you should do it. I kept thinking about that: "Is there anything else? Is there anything else that I can possibly do besides this business, because I should do it" and I think that is kind of what happened in the beginning of this year when I decided, "No, it has been a long process, but this is what I really like to do and you only go around once, unless you believe in reincarnation, but you only go around once, so you should go for it." If you are going to go for it, the time is now to make that decision so I finally decided.

Lynna: Tell us about your future plans.

Keiko: There is a short film by writer and director of "Red Thread," which I am in, and I think she was calling me on the way over here that it was in the film festival coming up here in LA, so you can go check it out there. The other film that I am working on, which I think will be good anyways, even though I am doing costuming for it, but go see it, is going to be called "Sad Happy Sucker." It is going to come out in a while.

Lynna: Thank you for your time

Keiko: Thank you.

http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/070303/20030703_keiko_a.html

(June 2005) Emily Kuroda: The Trained Thespian behind Gilmore Girls' Mrs. Kim

Emily Kuroda: The Trained Thespian behind Gilmore Girls' Mrs. Kim
by Ada Tseng

So who is the actress behind this one-of-a-kind character? A respected theater veteran. APA talks to Emily Kuroda -- who in real life, thank goodness, doesn't resemble the intense, intimidating character that she portrays onscreen.

Gilmore Girls is no stranger to high drama. The season five closer was no exception with the seemingly unbreakable Lorelai-Rory bond was shaken before our eyes. Knife through Lorelai's heart as Rory drops out of Yale. Then, double daggers through any other organ capable of feeling anger and betrayal after the heart has been punctured as Rory moves into her grandparent's house, as Lorelei watches her daughter merge into the claustrophobic old-money world that Lorelai had rejected her entire life.

But in the same episode, there was a brighter subplot. In contrast to the Rory debacle, there was the less intense, but just as notable development of Lane and Mrs. Kim's strained mother-daughter relationship being unexpectedly mended. This is where Emily Kuroda comes in, playing the incomparable Mrs. Kim character, bringing humor, heart, and an element of reality to an otherwise insane character.

Recap Alert! So last year, Lane (Keiko Agena) had been kicked out of the house when her uber-conservative mother (Kuroda) painfully realized that Lane had been lying to her her entire life, living a secret identity where she was fraternizing with non-mother-approved boys who were not Korean doctors, watching TV (instead of reading the Bible), eating french fries and pizza (aka food of the Devil), and acting as a drummer in a rock band (aka music of the Devil). Lane had been living in sin in an apartment with her two male bandmates for a year. Eternal damnation and hellfire. At the end of this season, Lane realizes that the band is not going anywhere, and comes back to her mother, wanting to move back home even if it means going back to her strict rules. However, in a surprise turn of events, Mrs. Kim demands that Lane not give up on her dreams, organizes a tour for them to play on, and ultimately helps Lane inject the passion back into group members so that the band does not go the way of the trilobites. It's beautiful, really. Especially when Mrs. Kim literally breaks down the door of their apartment and storms it like a crazy person, scaring the crap out of everyone -- her specialty.

Although Gilmore fans love her, make no mistake, Emily Kuroda has had a steady career in theater, film, and television way before her Mrs. Kim days. A Japanese-American who grew up in Fresno, California, she's had roles on Doogie Howser, LA Law, and was recently on Six Feet Under. However, Kuroda is most known for her extensive theater work. She is a veteran of East West Players, Los Angeles' premier Asian-American theater, acting in over 35 of their productions over the years. She's received five Dramalogue awards, a Garland award for outstanding performance, and a LA Ovation nomination for Best Lead Actress. Kuroda has become a staple in Asian-American theater -- most recently in David Henry Hwang's M Butterfly and playing Wardina in Chay Yew's A Distant Shore. We can see her on the big screen soon in Shopgirl, the adaptation of Steve Martin's novel starring himself and Claire Danes.

APA: When did you know you wanted to be an actress?

Emily Kuroda: I started out directing and performing in high school. And then I went to college, and I was in drama, and they said, "Oh well, you should be a teacher." And all I could do was get the little crap roles. But then, I saw East West Players come along, and I said "Wait a minute...." I went there for a summer to study, and I said "Oh my God, they were wrong. I can actually act and make a living at it." So, that kind of changed my life. And that was 1978 and I've stayed ever since.

APA: Would you say that theater is your first love?

EK: Yea, because I studied for a long time. Their thing was that you should study first, don't just try to go become a TV star or a soap opera star. So I spent the first few years working odd jobs, and studying and doing theater. So I think I am at home on the stage.

APA: How would you describe your character on Gilmore Girls?

EK: I started doing Gilmore Girls in March 2000, in Toronto. Over the five years, she has grown from being a mean mom, to a mom that has to deal with a daughter who wants to date white people, a daughter who wants to play music, who wants to dress like the other kids. So, the mother is having problems trying to keep up with the times. She still wants to do the right thing for her kid, but she's not sure what the world is like anymore, so it's a constant struggle.

APA: Do you feel like the character is softening, over time?

EK: Yea, I think the character is starting to soften -- even though she kicked her daughter out of her house, for lying to her about her band -- and I think the writers have done something really interesting for the last episode of the fifth season.

APA: How did you go about creating the character? Isn't Lane's character actually based on the life of one of the producers? How much of it is true to her real life and how much of it is made up?

EK: Yes, Helen Pai, who's one of the producers. So it was really great, because usually when they have an Asian family in a show, they put all this "Oriental" stuff in it. But this one doesn't, since it's based on a real person, and also because I think the writers and producers are so with it. When I read for it, I just automatically assumed that I'd have an accent, and the creator said, "What are you doing?! No!" [laughs] I mean, the character does have an accent, but it's not a Korean accent. It's her own specific "goofy mom" accent, which I thought was really cool.

Helen's involved in music, or her husband is. I met with her mom, who was like, [imitates] "Oh God.... What are you going to do? They fall in love. What are you going do do? I don't like it, but OK." [laughs] Her mom's helped me with my Korean, during the few times that I've had to speak Korean.

APA: What is it like working with Keiko Agena?

EK: Oh, she is the best. She's a wonderful actress. She's one of the most down-to-earth girls I've ever known. She's just the most giving, most supportive person. She's just terrific. I wish all stars were like her.

APA: Do you get recognized a lot?

EK: Yea I do. All over. I get people writing me from all over Europe, from Singapore. Gilmore Girls is really hot in Singapore. It's huge. So I get really good treatment in Singapore. Better than here. [laughs]

APA: What is it like being part of a successful TV show for five years?

EK: It's really great. It's like a big dysfunctional family. Everyone knows each other. One guy who was a camera guy is now directing. So, except for all the dialogue we have to memorize, it's great.

APA: Yea, Gilmore Girls is known for the characters talking really fast...

EK: Yea, it's very fast. And it's word-perfect. Letter-perfect. They demand it. So that makes it a little hard. But we're kind of used to it.

APA: How would you describe the differences between working in theater and working on the TV show?

EK: Theater usually has a big rehearsal period, so you can think about things. You can talk to the director and work out things. You can talk to the writer if there's any problems. You can really flesh out a character. Versus TV -- I get the script the night before, and it's about trying to memorize the lines really fast. And time is money, right? So they say, here are your marks. Go! Go! Go! Talk faster. Hit your key lights. OK go. And in between takes, if you mess up, you've got the script person telling you, "You said the instead of and," you got the make-up people there, the director's giving you acting notes, the camera person's saying, "You didn't hit your mark. Can you go there?" "Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh," and they say "Go on again!" and it's like, here I go.... So, it's really fast-paced, versus stage, where before you go on, you can actually take a moment and think about what you're doing.

APA: In terms of most the roles you get and also the ones you audition for, do most of them still want you to do an accent?

EK: Yea.

APA: Is that frustrating?

EK: Yes. But you know, it doesn't happen all the time, and in fact in a lot of my roles, I do the generic roles, where I don't need an accent. But whenever it's a family, they usually have the parents first generation

APA: Since the time you started acting, how has the industry evolved, in
terms of Asian-American roles? Have there been vast improvements?

EK: There's been some improvements. I'm very excited about the things Lucy [Liu]'s been doing. She's been breaking through some of the barriers. My good good friend John Cho has broken down some barriers, and I'm just so proud of him. And he's at the point where he can actually help implement changes with the producers and the writers, and he's doing it because this is very important to him. So, it's slow, but we're getting there. [pauses] But it's very slow.

APA: What other things can we expect from you in the future?

EK: I'm doing some producing now, and some directing. Little things here and there. I keep myself busy.

APA: Thank you so much for your time.

http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=25456

(August 2006) Ode to Gilmore Girls: Behind the Musicality of TV’s Beloved Show

Ode to Gilmore Girls: Behind the Musicality of TV’s Beloved Show
by Ada Tseng

As a smart-talking, endearingly-pretentious, pop-culture reference machine, Gilmore Girls has always taken its music very seriously. You are what you listen to -- especially when it comes to Lane Kim, who best encapsulates the ‘audiophile’ mentality of the show, acting as a mouthpiece for the Gilmore writers/producers who aren’t shy about separating the real deals from the poseurs.

LANE: [On phone] "No, wait, wait, wait. Progressive rock is a really passé style now, but I listed it as an influence because it was a progenitor of great things that came afterwards. I mean, I contend that you can draw a straight line from Yes to Jethro Tull to the Jam to Nirvana, bing bang boom… [pauses]. Who are the Jam? That’s disturbing."

Lane Kim (played by Keiko Agena) -- lead character Rory Gilmore's best friend -- is obsessed with music. Snap judgments made on the account of less-than-stellar musical taste, while a habit of many of the inhabitants of the Gilmore world, is taken to extremes when you’re dealing with Lane. She lives for music; she breathes music; she regularly orchestrates intricate, elaborate schemes, mobilizing friends and fellow townspeople to implement her strategic secretive missions, in order to get her hands on new music that her mother forbids her to listen to.

Music has had many different functions in Gilmore Girls. Plot-wise, the show has, on many occasions, made use of music’s deep-seeded powers to explain motivations and drive a story forward in ways that words and actions might fall short.

It can act as a catalyst to unlikely friendships. When Lorelei encouraged Rory to invite her Chilton classmates to a Bangles concert, it was the first step to smoothing over animosities, and it allowed Rory and former nemesis Paris Gellar to forge a lasting connection of loyalty and trust.

It can symbolize inherent incompatibilities. When Lorelei rejects Christopher’s marriage proposal, she argues that he cannot possibly be ready for marriage, because The Offspring is his favorite band. "The Offspring have, like, one chord progression. They use it over and over. They just popped on new words, called it a single and… I don’t want to talk about this anymore!" The lesson here is this: "Metallica" (one of Lorelei’s favorite bands) and "The Offspring" can never be on the same level.

It can separate the mundane from the exquisite. When Lane puts up an ad to form a band, she must sort through the idiots who don’t know that Kim Deal was in the Pixies before the Breeders, or that Jackson Browne actually wrote some of Nico’s best songs, and ultimately finds a male counterpart that is just as intense as she is. And sparks fly.

But in Lane’s case, it’s more than that. Music is her dream. In season two, Lane passes by a music shop and feels a magnetic pull to go in. Moments after laying eyes on the shiny red drum set, she begs the store-owner, guest star Carole King, to give her drum lessons, and it’s a turning point that changes her life forever: "I have found my calling… My future, my path, my destiny, my thing, my scene, my bag. I’m talking about the number one item on my cosmic to-do list…. I am Keith Moon, I am Neil Peart, I am Rick Allen, with and without the arm, because I am rock ‘n roll, baby!"

The fact that music is such an integral part of Gilmore Girls reflects the seriousness in which the Gilmore team – especially wife-husband executive producers Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino -- takes their music choices in reality.

Breaking from the network format -- other WB shows unabashedly use music for marketing purposes and advertise for the artists at the end of each episode -- Gilmore Girl’s tendency leans towards bringing back the old, edgy and true, rather than promoting the young, pretty, and brooding.

Carole King records a special version of her hit "Where You Lead" for the show’s opening credits, and Sam Phillips provides the background music and score for the show. Over the years, they’ve secured the talent of Grant Lee Phillips (picture below) to play their town troubadour, and well as Sebastian Bach (of Skid Row fame) for a reoccurring role as one of Lane’s band members. Other notable figures who have guested on the show include The Shins, The Bangles, John Gion, and Paul Anka (also the namesake of Lorelei’s dog).

But, the essential piece of continuity that has tied everything together musically, providing a constant outlet for the Gilmore "official" opinions, is none other than Lane Kim – the "Nico-obsessed, Exene wannabe with forty Korean Bibles under her bed" -- who will always express what is right and belittle those who do not understand or meet the standards of artistic eruditeness.

"Dan is hugely into music," says Helen Pai, a co-producer of Gilmore Girls and the inspiration for the Lane character. "You walk into their house, and they get a new speaker every week. I think Amazon has a direct line to their house. Once Amoeba moved in, it was over, essentially. He has, like, 100 ipods."

Pai, herself, is a music fanatic, which is fortunate, because, "with the show, [music] takes up a lot of time." With Pai’s involvement behind the scenes of the show, fact and fiction intertwine. In season two, as mentioned above, Lane meets Dave Rygalski (played by Adam Brody) who becomes her first boyfriend and helps form her first band -- along with bassist Brian (John Cabrera) and lead singer Zach (Todd Lowe.)

Dave Rygalski is actually the name of Helen Pai’s real-life husband, a comedy writer who currently works on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The real-life Rygalski, who is also a musician on the side, plays the bass for Brian’s character on the show.

"Dave and I got married during the first season of Gilmore Girls," says Pai. "And when you become family, you start having to go to these family events. And my parents would ask him to do insane things. They’re very active in the religious community, but we’re not religious, so it would be one of those things where I’d be dragging him out. So, one week, they wanted to go perform for a retirement home, and they wanted us to sing. And Dave was so sweet, he’d say, ‘Oh, I’ll play the guitar!’ And I, was like, ‘No, we’re trying to get out of this!’

"So Amy would hear stories about this, how Dave gets pulled into so much of this stuff, and he does it so willingly. So, that’s where the character of Dave Rygalski comes from. And they just decided to name the character after him."

So Dave on the show volunteers to play guitar for Mrs. Kim’s church services so he can spend time with Lane. He pretends to be a devout Christian in order to get Mrs. Kim to allow him to take Lane to the prom. Although the Lane’s onscreen relationship didn’t last – Adam Brody departed for The O.C. -- her band, Hep Alien (an anagram for Helen Pai), continued on without the fictional Dave Rygalski. They replaced him with guitarist Gil (Sebastian Bach), and Zach eventually became Lane’s new love interest.

When Gilmore Girls first started, Pai was a script coordinator, taking notes in the writer’s room: "I type like a madwoman," says Pai. "My typing speed is insane, and I think Amy was always impressed by that." Through the years, Sherman-Palladino grew to trust her, and the producers put her in charge of outside projects, like the Gilmore Girls novels, one of which Pai wrote entirely herself. By the end of the sixth season, and now continuing onto year seven, Pai had become involved in everything from set design, publicity, DVD special features, and legal clearances, to sound mixing and post-production tasks.

Pai is also the coordinator who is in charge of any scene in Gilmore Girls in which Hep Alien performs on-camera.

"She’s pretty much been there consistently from the beginning to help out with that aspect of the show," says Agena. "She’s at rehearsals trying to translate what Dan is envisioning, and to make sure we know what we’re doing."

"We get together and work out the kinks," says Pai. "A lot of shows, when they have music on, they’ll go into a studio, pre-record it, and then play it back in their ear. But we actually will try and shoot it live, which is a real challenge."

Agena started taking drum lessons. "It was definitely a highlight when I got a phone call saying that they wanted to teach me how to play the drums," says Agena. "Because I would never learn to play an instrument this late in life, unless it was for something like this."

"These are the things that Amy wants," says Pai. "It was a reality factor. We wanted her to learn so it looked more realistic."

The biggest, and most exciting, Gilmore Girls musical project to date, occurred during the Season 6 season finale, "Partings" [original airdate, May 6, 2006], where they had their own "Gilmorepalooza" in conjunction with Amy Sheman-Palladino and Dan Palladino’s last episode with the show.

"It was something Amy and Dan had been thinking about for a while," says Pai. "Having a troubadour contest." The story they came up with was that Grant Lee Phillips, Stars Hollow’s town troubadour, is discovered by Neil Young’s manager; as a result, musicians from all over the country flock to the small town thinking it is the new hot spot to display their music. The story essentially gave the Gilmore crew the opportunity to fulfill a wish list of all the musical acts that they would want to cameo in the show, to bring them in as street musicians.

"Sonic Youth somehow got in touch with us, because they love the show and wanted to come visit," explains Pai. "They happened to be there when Sebastian Bach was singing ‘Hollaback Girl’ – which was fantastic.

"And they [Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore] were so unbelievably nice. So, somehow Amy got on the topic of – ‘Would you guys like to be on the show?’ And, they said, ‘Sure!’ And from there, we started finding others. I am friends with the bass player of Yo La Tengo, and I knew that he was a huge fan of the show and that Amy and Dan loved them, so I thought we’d see if we could throw that into the mix. And, we loved Joe Pernice and his music...

"The Sparks had contacted us, not to appear on camera, but because we had been working with them on a musical collaboration for the show. So, when they called, we went after them to appear on the show. And lastly, there was Sam Phillips, our music composer, who we weren’t sure would be interested in appearing in front of the camera. But she said, ‘Absolutely. I’ll do it.’"

"I loved that episode," beams Pai. "Musically, that was it. I don’t even need to do any more. This is the top of what it’s going to ever be."

The crowning touch of the musical Gilmore episode is probably the most unnoticeable troubadour performance of them all. But, it’s one that epitomizes the ultimate overlapping of reality and TV magic.

"Daniel Palladino was one of the troubadours," laughs Pai. "It was the scene that starts out with Sonic Youth, the night scene where Taylor (Michael Winters) is walking through. And, at the end of the scene, there’s Dan Palladino singing, with a guy playing stand-up bass, and another guy playing the acoustic guitar.

"The guy on stand up bass is my husband [the real Dave Rygalski]. And, the guy who plays guitar is the guy who plays Sebastian Bach’s guitar off-camera. So, with that scene, the guys who are literally behind the curtain, playing for Lane’s band, are finally out in front of it."

Fellow Gilmore Girls TiVo-ers, knock yourselves out.

http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=51438

(August 2006) You Break, You Buy: The Indelible Mark of Gilmore Girls

You Break, You Buy: The Indelible Mark of Gilmore Girls
by Ada Tseng

Over these past six seasons of "Gilmore Girls," viewers have gotten a glimpse of what Asian Americans on television can be. No token characters, no racial identity issues, just people who light up the crazy world we live in. Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino was just trying to find a funny story to tell, and as a byproduct, a door was creaked open. Helen Pai, Keiko Agena, and Emily Kuroda helped make it happen.

Sometimes things just creep up on you. The friendship that you suddenly realize is rare and more special than you had ever imagined. The black cat with the devil eyes you have to pretend doesn’t freak you out because you’re convinced it senses fear. Ivy. Old age. The sequelae of prolonged ecstasy usage. Often times, it’s the things we don’t notice and take for granted that have the greatest influence. And it’s not until we are able to step back and evaluate the bigger picture that we realize – in the end, it’s the subtleties that pack the most punch.

Even from the perspective of an avid watcher of the show, Gilmore Girls’ influence on society’s perceptions of Asian Americans as in-depth, three-dimensional characters was something that had, for the most part, flown under the radar.

Who knew that a charming family show about a mother-daughter duo in the small fictional town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut; a show that overcame dismal ratings only to become the WB’s second highest-rated series; a show that, before Arrested Development, obliterated all competition when it came to fast-talking dialogue and densely-packed pop culture references – who knew that this show would also become one of the most notable milestones for Asian Americans in the media in the last few decades.

True, there have been more high-profile landmarks. Margaret Cho in All-American Girl is the first that comes to mind. The Joy Luck Club. Better Luck Tomorrow. Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. All are great moments and important stepping stones. The irony of Gilmore Girls’ accomplishment, though, is that no one notices. That’s also what separates them from the pack. Isn’t that what Asian Americans have been fighting for all these years? To not be typecast? To be represented as normal people? It’s the very fact that these characters are so integrated into the storyline -- that their Asian-ness is not something that is seen as extraordinary or unusual -- which makes Gilmore Girls ground-breaking.

It’s not until you step back and think about the lack of precedents, that you start to realize what a big deal it really is. As a twenty-something, growing up in the ‘80s, the option of seeing Asians on television wasn’t even a luxury, it wasn’t expected at all. Six years of an Asian American family consistently on your screen, every Tuesday night, warming themselves into your hearts, saying and doing hysterical things? My poor eleven-year-old mind would have exploded.

Back in the day, you had your Full Houses, your Saved by the Bells, your Friends, your My So-Called Lives. Great shows; no complaints. But gradually, new and diverse faces started popping up. Lauren Tom in Friends. Lucy Liu in Ally McBeal. Ming-na Wen in The Single Guy. Kayla Blake on Sports Night. Parminder Nagra on ER. On the surface, it seems incidental. But in reality, behind the scenes, it’s an accumulation of years and years of fighting to break down barriers. For every small detail (even for something as recent as Justin Lin’s The Fast and the Furious 3), there has been immense struggle. But we’re starting to see the results.

Think about it: younger generations who have been following a show like Gilmore Girls will see stories about a Korean American character and her family on a mainstream television show and it’ll be completely natural to them.

So how does the Gilmore Girls crew make it look so easy? They seem so immersed in the day-to-day aspects of creating a show that the bigger picture of societal influence doesn’t seem to penetrate their consciousness. According to them, it really is just about telling a good story in the best way that they can.

The Evolution

For the past six years, Lane Kim has been an integral part of the Gilmore world. An official member of the cast from the start, Keiko Agena plays Rory Gilmore’s best friend, a rock-and-roll obsessed teenager who constantly downplays her true self, out of respect (and fear) of her intensely strict mother, Mrs. Kim. It’s been a fully developed story, all the way through. Over the years, we’ve seen Lane through three relationships, we’ve seen her struggle with what she wants to do with her future and discover her passion for drumming, we’ve seen her hidden life discovered by her mother, we’ve seen the heartbreak from both sides as Mrs. Kim kicks her out of the house, we’ve seen her repair her relationship with Mrs. Kim and develop one that is closer than ever before, and we’ve seen her get married to the man of her dreams in what might possibly have been the coolest wedding ever.

Most of the credit goes to Amy Sherman-Palladino, the creator of Gilmore Girls. The character of Lane was inspired by her best friend and Gilmore Girls co-producer, Helen Pai. Ever since they met ten years ago working together on the short-lived Fox show Love and Marriage, Pai has been entertaining Sherman-Palladino with stories about her family. Before Pai knew what she was in for, Amy called to tell her that she had finished her pilot for Gilmore Girls, and she had written into it a Korean American family based on Helen’s life.

“Initially, it was very weird,” says Pai. “I’m not a limelight kind of person. During the first season of Gilmore Girls, we had a panel, and there were a lot of questions about Mrs. Kim and Lane and the stereotypes. And, Amy would then explain, ‘Listen, these are real stories. They’re based on a real person.’ And people came up to me after the panel, and I was very uncomfortable.

“And, I was a little frightened to tell them any more stories!” she laughs. “When she’d ask me about my family gatherings, I’d think, ‘I can’t tell her.’ But then it’d eventually come out. I can’t stop Amy. No one can stop Amy.”

“She’s brilliant,” says Emily Kuroda, who plays Mrs. Kim. “Amy goes out on a limb. Because, look at all the other shows on TV -- with all the young pretty people. Amy hires older people, fat people, ethnic people… Nobody does that! That’s unheard of!”

“One nice thing that I found out,” says Agena, “was that there was a very intricate scene in the pilot where Mrs. Kim is first introduced. They go into Mrs. Kim’s antique shop, they’re walking around in a big maze of furniture. And Amy was actually getting a lot of pressure to cut something. And since the Mrs. Kim scene was a quirky little side story that didn’t really advance the storyline, that would have been a really easy scene to cut. But Amy just really wanted to do it. So I was grateful that she stuck to it.”

Part of what makes the story unique and funny is Lane’s relationship with her mother. It’s an interesting contrast to the mother-daughter relationship of Rory and Lorelei Gilmore, the main characters on the show.

The character of Mrs. Kim has always been a bit of a foreboding presence in Stars Hollow, frequently known to be doing ridiculous things, like following people holding a bat and spraying Rory with a hose to keep her away from her house. Mrs. Kim has been known to break down doors. Once she told Zach he should “swim in the sludge with Satan’s hell-dogs and feed them [his] innards for eternity” for dating her daughter. Mrs. Kim is always around even when you think she isn't. Just when you think you’re safe from her, she pops up from behind a corner and barks something at you. One of her first lines from the pilot was a grave warning to Rory: “Boys don’t like funny girls.”

“The character of Mrs. Kim started out as very no-nonsense and very stiff,” says Kuroda. “I’m not sure where that came from. I’ve never done anyone like her before. In my head, she’s had a really tough life, and she survived it by being very methodical. So that’s the basic feel for her. She’s ‘military’ to me. She’s very practical and she has her rules.”

As a reaction to Mrs. Kim’s uber-conservatism and paranoia, Lane develops a hyper-sensitive fear of getting caught doing something wrong and setting her mother off. She’s always running away, sneaking around, trying to avoid being shipped off to Korea without a return ticket, conceding to a life filled with hymns and Bible passages, and reluctantly going on blind dates with potential Korean doctor mates and their extended families. Most of it is exaggerated for comedic effect; some of it is completely made up; and even when there are elements of truth to some of the events, the stories are told through Helen’s perspective, which, she’ll openly admit, is a slanted one.

“My parents are religious Seventh Day Adventists, and they were very strict,” says Pai. “So, in addition to the Korean culture thing, which is a very protective atmosphere, I kind of felt that I got hit with this double whammy. And yet, I was this American girl that just wanted to go out.

“But even though I was a little bit of a rebellious kid, I really do love and respect my parents. I understood why they were so protective. So I think Amy saw that and thought that it was an interesting character.”

And it is interesting because Lane isn’t your typical rebel. And Mrs. Kim isn’t your typical parental oppressor. There’s love deeply woven in the relationship despite the clear barriers. There’s an added layer of complexity between them because there is not only a generational gap, but a cultural clash as well. Mrs. Kim truly believes that junk food, boys, music, and dancing are influences of the Devil. Unfortunately for the both of them, Lane, a teenager immersed in American pop culture, truly loves: (e) all of the above.

But any small indiscretion results in Lane being locked up in her room and restricted from making any phone calls or having contact with the outside world (Psalm-a-day hotlines excluded). Everything, from something as simple as getting her hands on the new Belle & Sebastian album, has to be done surreptitiously. So, Lane has been forced to lead a double life.

One of Lane’s trademark moves involves hiding her CDs, make-up, and other non-Christian items under the floorboards of her room. She has a walk-in closet filled with psychedelic lights and posters, her personal haven and the only outlet in her household for expressing her individuality. What’s amusing, and impressive, about Lane is how comprehensive and meticulous she becomes about her secrecy.

“There were definitely elements of that [in my life]. Absolutely,” says Pai. “I had the closet where I put up all my posters. My dad knew about it, but he kind of turned the blind eye, until he got really mad at me and took everything down.

“My parents were so strict that when I wanted to go out, I had to sneak out. I couldn’t just walk through the front door. So literally, after they went to sleep, I snuck the phone up to my room, and my friends would be like ’11:00, we’re going to call. Synchronize your watches!’” Pai laughs. “It was kind of ridiculous.”

Because Lane is based on Helen Pai, the character of Mrs. Kim is assumed to be based on Helen’s mother. However, Pai thinks that Mrs. Kim is actually more like her father. “My mom was always the sweet Korean mom, always entertaining the kids. My father is far more the strict one.”

If that’s the case, that both Pai's parents are melded into one character, it might partially explain the mysterious absence of Mr. Kim, who has been mentioned on the show but has yet to be seen. He didn't even bother to show up to his daughter's wedding.

“I know!” laughs Agena. “Where is my dad?”

“Lane has alluded to her 'parents’ [plural] before,” says Kuroda. “That was when I shipped her off to Korea. So, when they told me they were going to have a wedding, I thought, ‘Oh wow, this is exciting.’ But then, I don’t know where her husband was. I guess Mrs. Kim is going home alone.”

“My theory,” says Pai. “And it's really never been solved, is that he is in an import/export business, and he's in Korea all the time. That's what I'm going with. But that has nothing to do with the show. That's just my theory.”

Mrs. Kim has definitely softened and grown over time. The first few seasons focused on the differences between her and Lane, their clashes in character. However, after season five, there was a turning point in Mrs. Kim’s character where suddenly, layers were unraveled, and the viewers started seeing more of Lane in Mrs. Kim, as well as more of Mrs. Kim in Lane. We started to see how similar they really are.

Even though Pai’s parents don’t watch Gilmore Girls– “It’s the same night as some Korean program.” – Pai’s mother has been involved with the show on numerous occasions. “We give her parts of the script, and she says, ‘Now Helen, you have to be very careful, because you’re representing the Korean community,’" says Pai. “She really wanted me to be cautious.”

Pai's mother coached Kuroda on an episode called "The First Date,” which was based on the fact that Pai's mother wasn't happy about Helen dating her now husband, because he wasn't Korean, but how she learned to accept it because he made her daughter happy. “We talked about that for a long time."

"And then she had to teach me Korean.” Kuroda, who’s Japanese American, groans. “I had to speak a lot of Korean for the wedding episode. It was very stressful. My Korean is very bad. I warned them. But I tried my best.”

“She was really nervous about that,” laughs Pai. “I felt terrible. I was like, ‘Emily, I’m sorry, we’re trying to get you stuff as fast as we can.’ She’s so sweet and she just wants to do a good job.”

In terms of keeping it truthful to Korean-ness, Agena says “I think with the show, the intention is there to represent it well, but not necessarily ‘accurately,’ because, after all, it is a comedy. It’s going to take elements of something and blow it up to the extreme.”

Kuroda says the show has Korean consultants -- especially for Lane’s big wedding episode at the end of season six. The wedding had three parts: a Buddhist wedding to please Lane’s grandmother, a traditional Church wedding for Mrs. Kim, and a reception, when Lane and Zach were able to let loose and put on a rock show for all their friends.

It was during this episode when we realize that Lane’s relationship with her mother was exactly the same as Mrs. Kim’s relationship with her mother. It was a long line of Korean mothers wanting their children to be a certain way, and the daughters not fitting into the mold, and therefore feeling the need to hide their lives in order to please them. The Mrs. Kim/Lane storyline had come full circle.

After all the ups and downs that Lane and Mrs. Kim have had in their relationship, this season dealt with Lane having broken up with her boyfriend Zach, coming back to her mother, begging for forgiveness, and moving back home. Seeing her daughter stressed out and going through a tough time, Mrs. Kim lets down some of her guard and exhibits some sympathy and compassion for Lane. In a moment of unexpected brilliance, Mrs. Kim, takes out a bottle of liquor from the cabinet and pours them both a shot: “You have grieved, and now we move on.”

It was that scene, Kuroda says, that drew some criticism from some young bloggers. “Seventh Day Adventists wouldn’t actually do that, cause they’re not supposed to drink,” says Kuroda. “So it really bothered them.”

“That was the best though,” laughs Agena. “That was a total moment. Because you would never think, from the beginning of the series, that those two people would ever get to that point. So it was a nice contrast of how they started. It’s kind of a capper.”

The Impact

Although the Lane storyline is only a subplot of Gilmore Girls, it has been a consistent one. It's given both Lane and Mrs. Kim a chance to blossom into authentic, complicated, well-developed characters that viewers really root for. Mrs. Kim – who Emily Kuroda makes sure to note doesn’t have a Korean accent, to the credit of the producers – is not limited to a caricature of a crazy, strict, backwards-thinking Asian parent.

Ultimately, nobody watches the Asian American characters on the show to see “what Asians are like.” They watch the show because it’s funny. It allows viewers to become emotionally invested in the eccentric characters. Ultimately, what Asian Americans have always wanted is to be recognized for their wide spectrum of qualities, to be appreciated for the quality of the work, and to not be pigeonholed or feel obligated to represent a specific image. Gilmore Girls is an example of mainstream media striking that balance successfully, and as it has shown through its longevity, that if it’s appealing and clever, people will watch.

“One of my favorite things right now is this Asian guy who’s been in a couple of TV commercials. A phone commercial and a Febreeze commercial. He’s just ‘the guy.’ And I don’t know why, but I like that," says Agena. "It’s a character you’ve seen a million times before, but it just happens to be him, and he just happens to be Asian American. And he’s funny.”

As long as we’re in on the joke, we’re in good shape. And besides, as far as positive representation goes -- Lane is a female drummer in a rock ‘n roll band. Who just married her lead singer.

It doesn’t get any cooler than that.

http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=51436