Blog #5 Joshua Lundell

Pop culture is everywhere around us, and there's absolutely no escaping it.  Even if you were trapped under a rock you'd still be fully aware that Justin Bieber's new album is coming out, or that a new episode of How I Met Your Mother is premiering at 8 pm central standard time.  Speaking of How I Met Your Mother, it happens to be one of my favorite shows, and it happens to be loaded with pop culture.  (Spoiler Alerts throughout)

If you're unfamiliar with the show How I Met Your Mother, it's a story being told in the year 2030 to a man's kids about how he met their mother, and how he got where he is.  The show is a classic sitcom, laugh track and all.  The show has 5 main characters, all now in their thirties. Ted, who is the man who is telling the story.  Marshall and Lily, a now married couple with a child.  Barney, the bachelor.  Lastly, Robin, a woman who work at World Wide News.  The show is based on how Ted finds the love of his life, but that's not all.  It's also full of cliche problem solving moments, hilarious comedy, and of course plenty of drama.

The first stereotype that I would like to point out are the cliche personality types the show has to offer.  Ted can be considered a hopeless romantic.  He is constantly searching for the "right woman" for him, and nearly stops at nothing to get that.  In fact, his is true throughout the whole show.  Where would a show be without a romantic?

  Then there's Barney.  Barney is basically the complete opposite of Ted.  Ted wants to find the "right woman", and Barney just wants to find any woman.  He is a bachelor, and a sex addicted lunatic, but he's one of the most hilarious characters that you'll find in any show.  He is the character that uses his cliche catch phrases "Legendary" and "Suit Up!"

Marshall and Lily can be your stereotypical couple.  They're always together, and they're hopelessly in love.  Ted is trying so hard to find what Marshall and Lily already have.  Of course, they're eager to help Ted find his love as well.  Marshall and Ted have been best friends since they were roommates together at Wesleyan.

 Last but not least, there's Robin.  Robin is the type of person who always puts their career over their love life. This is definitely a cliche in a ton of sitcoms. Robin was born in Canada and they constantly have her stereotyped as a Canadian, from wearing a t-shirt in the winter, to using some odd phrases that only a Canadian would be able to understand.  Robin is a key component to the show.

The second stereotype I would like to point out in this pop culture, is the idea of a strong friendship.  These characters have a bond that is stronger than any family that I've ever seen.  They go through their ups and downs as friends more than I have ever seen in real life.  This is a cliche seen in a lot of sitcoms where the characters aren't related.  In the show That 70's Show, this group of friends has a very similar feel.  They're all very, very close together and they all help each other with their problems.  It's different in family sitcoms like Fullhouse or The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air where the main characters are all related.  I'm not sure if any group of friends actually go through all the drama that I've seen television portray.

The last stereotype I'd like to point out is that in almost every episode, there's always a "lesson to be learned."  This is a very common thing for sitcoms to do.  All the characters will have similar problems, but not exactly the same, and almost always the lesson in the end of the episode can be applicable in all of their lives.  From the Office to Family Matters, you'll always learn a lesson from watching a sitcom.

Not all stereotypes are bad ones.  Pop Culture is full of them, and we're constantly surrounded by them.  It's hard to avoid, and a lot of the times they can be hard to spot.  These television shows can basically follow a simple formula for success by analyzing other television shows.  They all have certain patterns that they follow, and whether or not you're able to spot them, I promise you that they're there.  Watching the show and analyzing it at the same time was a different experience for me than just watching it.  I was grouping up their actions in my mind, and trying to follow patterns that existed throughout the episodes.  I'm fairly certain that the new big sitcom will follow the same stereotypes as all the others have.