How I Met Your Mom Analysis

Americans tend to believe there is an explanation for the success or failure in their lives. Since the country allows them the freedom to create their own paths, citizens predict situations to happen a certain way. It is common for people to feel the desire to gain complete control over future outcomes, and this is especially true in American society. Television shows portray many different aspects about society. The series How I Met Your Mother and the episode “Lucky Penny” in particular from season 2, describes the relationship of typical American friendships and reveals various cultural issues such as American superstition. Creators of the television shows present arguments about society by appealing to their audience within the context of entertainment. How I Met Your Mother makes satirical arguments about the character’s lives by appealing to an audience that enjoys comical entertainment.

Although television shows are meant for the viewer’s enjoyment, messages are hidden in the episodes which draws in different types of audiences.

How I Met Your Mother is a comedy about a man named Ted, and his long journey of falling in love. Throughout the seasons, Ted narrates his life to his children and describes all of the conflicts he has dealt with, along with all of the incredible relationships he has built with his best friends. An audience that loves comical shows with a realistic story line would appreciate How I Met Your Mother because of how they relate many of the episodes to his or her own lives. The specific episode from season 2, “Lucky Penny” is an excellent example of how this show does a good job of making arguments about American society. It shows that citizens can be very superstitious and feel that they have control over future

outcomes.
At the beginning of the episode, Ted reminds his children to never underestimate the power of destiny, because when they least expect it, the littlest thing can cause a ripple effect that will change their life. Ted is a very hopeful and optimistic character in the show. Although a series of bad events can impact his life, he still continues to believe there is greatness ahead. Robin, Lily, Marshall, and Barney, the other main characters of How I Met Your Mother, also help to reveal the issue about American society in the episode. They all make an impact on each others lives. Without his friends, none of the stories Ted tells his children could have been possible.
The questions began as Ted couldn’t seem to catch his flight to interview for his dream job, so him and Robin contemplate why that is. The story unfolds through flashbacks as they remember all of the bad events that occurred. From Ted having to rescue Barney that was stuck on the subway, to Marshall breaking his toe, to Robin and Lily getting no sleep hunting for a wedding dress, it was all traced back to Ted discovering the “lucky penny”. Ted found that all of the unfortunate luck meant his destiny wasn’t to go interview for his dream job. His destiny was to stay in New York, because if he hadn’t, he would have never met his wife. Americans can be superstitious in this same way Ted is. They also like to believe that the good and bad situations in life happen for a reason, because their end result is his or her destiny.
The setting of the show also helps show the argument about society. If another country were to imagine a city in America, they would picture New York City. Many young adults striving to build careers and create a new; fulfilling life for themselves live in this particular area. They have multiple of the same characteristics as Ted does because that’s the country allows him or her to live freely and be open-minded to different possibilities.
The director appeals to value through Ted to help portray the message about American society. It is obvious throughout all the seasons of How I Met Your Mother that Ted’s wife is of major value to him. He repeatedly claims to his children that their mother was his destiny and that everything in his life led up to Ted meeting her. The stories an events leave the audience and his children in suspense as they wait to hear the exact moment Ted found his wife. The episode “Lucky Penny” uses Ted’s appeal to value to prove that nothing in the world, especially a disaster, is a random meaningless event. The director also uses rhetoric to develop the idea that superstitions are accurate. The show communicates the thought that Americans blame he or she’s future on what has happened in their past.
Superstitions are strongly related to perceptions of, and the desire for control. In the journal article “Conditioned Superstition: Desire for Control and Consumer Brand Preferences”, Eric J. Hamerman and Gita V. Johar discuss their thoughts on how consumer products associate everyday situations with successes or failures. “People who express a preference for these lucky products form an illusion of control over future outcomes, so that they perceive superstitious behavior to be an effective strategy to achieve the desired result” (Hamerman and Johar). Although this article is about products and how superstitions effect consumer’s purchases, it connects to the episode of How I Met Your Mother in the way it describes peoples desire for future possibilities. Ted picks up a penny thinking it will bring him luck ahead (which is a well-known superstition), but instead a series of bad events falls into him and his friends lives. Robin and Ted remember all that had happened to them and what had led to Ted missing his flight for the big job interview, they traced it back to him picking up the lucky penny. This gave them a sense of relief because they felt they could have prevented everything that occurred and Ted believe he effected the result.
“Most people believe that everything happens for a reason. Whether it is “God’s will,” “karma” or “fate,” we want to believe that an overarching purpose undergirds everything (Giberson).” In the article “Chance, Divine Action, and the Natural Order of Things” Karl W. Giberson explains how Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and the story of Job in the Bible both push back against the idea that everything happens for a reason. These examples can reflect back to the episode of How I Met Your Mother and Ted’s thoughts on why he missed the opportunity to go interview for his dream job. Aside from superstitions of lucky pennies, Ted truly values the idea that it was his destiny in life to know his wife. Americans are very similar to Ted in this way because although not everyone believes in superstitions, most everyone can relate to having faith in situations having random chance.
Fate is another common belief of American society. In the article “The Interactive Effect of Beliefs in Malleable Fate and Fateful Predictions on Choice,” the authors use horoscopes as an example to describe fateful predictions. “As many as 75% of people believe in fate, and about one-third of American adults, strongly believe in horoscopic fateful predictions (Kim, Kulow, and Kramer).” The directors of How I Met Your Mother created Ted’s character to be one that sees everything happen for a reason and sees fate playing part in his life. The “Lucky Penny” episode clearly portrays American society as people who imagine fate in their own lives. This article can help back up the argument of the episode because it discusses modern day American citizens as being hopeful for their futures, just as Ted is. Each scene in the episode reveals more about the characters and how they can relate to Americans. Bad situations and events are brought on everyone; and the way Ted, Robin, Lily, Marshall, and Barney deal with the tragedies are ways the audience has also handled he or she’s own similar experiences.
“Lucky Penny” is an episode that truly shows how the creators of American television shows present an argument about society while appealing to their audience within the context of entertainment. How I Met Your Mother is a popular and well-known television series that draws in many American citizens. Each episode is filled with messages through the main characters lives and their personal situations, in which the audience can relate to. Specifically, “Lucky Penny” makes the argument that Ted believes in fate and that everything in his past; whether a tragedy or a blessing; had happened for a reason. The articles explaining superstitions, everything happening for a reason, and fate prove that much of American society has these same beliefs as Ted does.
The three articles help to reveal the argument about society within the How I Met Your Mother episode. Although each piece of writing states different views and examples of superstitions and fate, they portray the same idea that citizens have similar characteristics as the characters in the show. A major way the creators of American television shows gain popularity is because of the arguments built in each individual episode. When an audience can relate to or understand a story line that pulls on their emotions and values, the entertainment grabs their attention. Comedy, romance, and horror may have different effects on an audience, but it is possible for all the genres to attract the same audience because of the themes and arguments within the entertainment. The television shows change in style and themes every generation so that they can connect to the modern day society. The directors and producers factor in multiple different aspects about their audiences, to ensure that their shows are up-to-date and will receive as much attention as possible.