美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Kim's Convenience' Is A Sitcom About Asian Immigrants — With Depth

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The third season of the sitcom¹ "Kim's Convenience" debuted² last night on the CBC in Canada. The first two seasons are available in the U.S. on Netflix. Now, the show focuses on the Kims, a Korean immigrant family that owns a convenience store in downtown Toronto. It is Canada's first-ever show with an all-Asian lead cast. NPR's Ashley Westerman has more on this one-of-a-kind sitcom.

ASHLEY WESTERMAN, BYLINE³: "Kim's Convenience" is not your typical show about Asian immigrants.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "KIM'S CONVENIENCE")

KEVIN VIDAL: (As Roger) Mr. Kim, are you homophobic?

PAOLO SANTALUCIA: (As Kevin) Roger.

PAUL SUN-HYUNG LEE: (As Appa) What word you using?

WESTERMAN: In the first episode, Mr. Kim, played by Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, has been accused by a customer of being homophobic for refusing to put up a gay pride parade poster in his store. But Mr. Kim honestly just thinks the poster is ugly and that parades are annoying and to prove it, he comes up with a clever ploy⁴ on the fly.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "KIM'S CONVENIENCE")

LEE: (As Appa) Yeah, yeah, yeah, look, look, look, I am not homopebek (ph). Look, if I am a homopebek, then why - why do I give a gay discount?

WESTERMAN: The episode takes off from there into a humorous look at stereotyping⁵. The first two seasons of "Kim's Convenience" take on everything, from running a convenience store to class issues in Korean church to generational differences between immigrant parents and their children. At the start of Season 3, daughter Janet, an aspiring⁶ photographer played by Andrea Bang, wants to change her name.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "KIM'S CONVENIENCE")

LEE: (As Appa) This website - it belong to (speaking Korean).

ANDREA BANG: (As Janet) Yeah, me.

LEE: (As Appa) You Kim Janet.

BANG: (As Janet) That's my English name. This is my new, unique Korean name. It means Justice Treasure.

LEE: (As Appa) Who give to you this name?

BANG: (As Janet) I did. I need it to stand out because my parents gave me a super boring English name.

INS CHOI: I came in with an idea - write what you know.

WESTERMAN: That's Ins Choi, who adapted his play, "Kim's Convenience," into the show.

CHOI: My father is a pastor⁷. He used to be a pastor of an immigrant church in downtown Toronto. All my friends growing up in the '80s, '90s, their parents owned convenience stores, and I wanted it to be funny. My family's funny.

WESTERMAN: Paul Sun-Hyung Lee has played Mr. Kim, or Appa, meaning father in Korean, both onstage and on TV. And no, he doesn't really have a Korean accent.

LEE: I read the first two scenes, and my heart - it exploded because that was my appa. And I'd never heard him represented that way before. And it was like a key turning in my head, and his voice just started coming out.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "KIM'S CONVENIENCE")

LEE: (As Appa) Korea used to be spelled C-O-R-E-A. Then Japan tell England Korea spelled with a K so that Korea come after Japan in the English dictionary.

BANG: (As Janet) That's your most messed up conspiracy⁸ theory yet.

LEE: (As Appa) I'm not conspiracy theory - conspiracy truth.

WESTERMAN: In Canada, like the U.S., Asians are the fastest growing minority group. Lee says this is why it's important for viewers to see well-written and well-rounded roles for Asians.

LEE: They're three-dimensional characters with wants, with hopes, with needs, with fears, and that's what's so exciting about playing them as, you know, an actor of color because we've been so cut off from playing real people.

WESTERMAN: Nancy Wang Yuen is a media critic and author of the book "Reel Inequality." She says "Kim's Convenience" is refreshing⁹.

NANCY WANG YUEN: Compared to the U.S. family sitcoms¹⁰ with the Asian-American families, they tend to resolve everything kind of in one episode. And the humor, even when it takes on social issues, they're more I guess light. And I think that "Kim's Convenience" takes on a little bit more complex layers.

WESTERMAN: Yuen says she came to "Kim's Convenience" binge-watching it on a plane. You can binge-watch the first two seasons on Netflix, but then you'll have to wait for Season 3, unless, of course, you're in Canada.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "KIM'S CONVENIENCE")

LEE: (As Appa) OK, see you.

WESTERMAN: Ashley Westerman, NPR News.

1 sitcom   

n.情景喜剧，（广播、电视的）系列幽默剧

参考例句：

• This sitcom is produced in cooperation with Hong Kong TV.这部连续剧是同香港电视台联合制作的。
• I heard that a new sitcom is coming out next season.我听说下一季会推出一个新的情境喜剧。

2 debuted   

初次表演，初次登台（debut的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• In late 2003 a full-size SUV, the Pathfinder Armada, debuted. 2003年末，全尺寸SUV的探路者无敌舰队，推出。
• The album debuted at number two and quickly went platinum. 专辑一亮相就荣登排行榜第二名，很快就取得了白金销量。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 ploy   

n.花招，手段

参考例句：

• I think this is just a government ploy to deceive the public.我认为这只是政府欺骗公众的手段。
• Christmas should be a time of excitement and wonder,not a cynical marketing ploy.圣诞节应该是兴奋和美妙的时刻，而不该是一种肆无忌惮的营销策略。

5 stereotyping   

v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I realize that I'm stereotyping. 我认识到我搞的是老一套。 来自辞典例句
• There is none of the gender stereotyping usually evident in school uniforms. 有没有人的性别刻板印象通常是显而易见的。 来自互联网

6 aspiring   

adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求

参考例句：

• Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day. 想当音乐家就要每天练许多小时。
• He came from an aspiring working-class background. 他出身于有抱负的工人阶级家庭。 来自辞典例句

7 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

8 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

9 refreshing   

adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的

参考例句：

• I find it'so refreshing to work with young people in this department.我发现和这一部门的青年一起工作令人精神振奋。
• The water was cold and wonderfully refreshing.水很涼，特别解乏提神。

10 sitcoms   

n.情景喜剧( sitcom的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This is the stuff most stadard TV sitcoms are made of. 这是大多数标注的电视幽默剧所采用的题材。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In most countries, prime-time Monday night television is dominated by sitcoms. 在大多数国家，周一晚上的电视黄金时段都由连续剧所占据。 来自互联网