As a film and television major, I watch a lot of television series and entertainment pieces. My all-time favorite television series that was a colossal factor in choosing my career path is How I Met Your Mother. I have seen the series, in full, about thirteen times and I have never gotten sick of it. You may ask, how is that possible? And here's the answer to that question.
In film school, I have constantly been taught that the characters within television and cinematic mediums are the main reason that stories are successful. When I first heard that, I had to say, I was even a little bit confused. My favorite television series and my favorite movie are my favorite because of the stories they tell, not the characters in the story's world. So I decided to dive into this theory a bit more, and I would later find out I was completely wrong. For example, "How I Met Your Mother" is my favorite television show and to test this theory about characters being the subject for success in cinema, I decided to simply ask myself why I love this television show. Immediately, I thought about my favorite episode of this series, The Final Page.
This specific episode in season eight of the series is about Barney and Robin's journey to engagement and effectively showcases their love for each other. Then I finally realized, I didn't fall in love with this specific episode because two random people got engaged, I fell in love with this episode because Barney and Robin got engaged. I finally realized why characters are the foundation to entertainment television's success; it is because the audience looks for people to invest in as they watch a show and when they can find people to relate to or invest, they form an authentic emotional connection with the characters on the screen. I love Barney and Robin because of their unique stories and their individual journeys to get to where they are within the series.
In truth, when audience members can relate to or root for the characters of their favorite television shows, they will love and vouch for that particular show even more than if they couldn't do either of those things. How I Met Your Mother gave me this by following scenarios and situations in characters lives like Barney, Lily, and Ted. By watching their reactions to hardships, difficulties, love lives and less than perfect financial situations, I was able to understand that all of these types of things are so relevant and will almost definitely become relevant in my life when I'm a bit older.
I have been able to watch people I look up to, root for and invest in being able to succeed despite their difficulties. This has inspired me to embrace the bumps in the road, cherish the hardships and value the simple smaller things that we are blessed with in this life. How I Met Your Mother taught me that friendship, family and life's difficulties are a part of everyone's journey and that we should smile through the worst pain and understand the value of our lives and our purposes.
