We are going to stray from the norm a talk about not only something besides a person, the person we are going to be mainly focused on is not a member of "the gang" (*gasp*). We are going to look at the rhetoric of a specific social movement that is found in Season 6: "Save the Arcadian." To look at this social movement we are going to take a look at Zoey Pierson, the leader of the movement. We will take a look into the stages of the social movement, the challenges we see Zoey face, and will identify the type of movement "Save the Arcadian" is. In doing this, we will show the ineffectiveness of this social movement as a whole.
The stages of the social movement are: Inception, development, and consummation. We see the inception of the social movement in "Architect of Disaster" (S6E5) where Zoey asks Ted to sign the petition to "Save the Arcadian." Development starts happening in "Canning Randy" (S6E7) when Zoey starts taking Ted's class to learn more about architecture and in "Natural History"(S6E8) where she gets Ted to admit that the Arcadian is a beautiful piece of historical architecture and GNB is a terrible company for wanted to tear it down, on tape. Zoey believes that she has reached the point of consummation in the movement when Ted agrees to be on her side in a city meeting in "Landmarks" (S6E23), but, Ted is betrayed and the social movement is never truly consummated.
According to Simons, the leaders of a social movement have to meet three criteria or challenges. First, "they must attract, maintain, and mold workers into an efficiently organized unit... A hierarchy of authority and division of labor must be established in which members are persuaded to take orders, to perform menial tasks, and to forego social pleasures" (Simons, 1970, pg 37). Second, "they must secure adoption of their product by the larger structure. The product of any movement is its ideology, particularly its program for change"(Simons, 1970, pg 37). Lastly, "they must react to resistance generated by the larger structure" (Simons, 1970, pg. 37).
Zoey goes through all of these challenges throughout her journey with "Save the Arcadian." We see her attracting members in "Canning Randy" in Ted's classroom and when she is protesting outside of his office throughout the entirety of Season 6. We also see her showing people to fall into place and saying who can and cannot be at certain protests when people with different causes come with signs. When Zoey tells Ted about the reasons she does not want the Arcadian to be torn down and how they are personal and very persuasive reasons she not only shows the adoption of goals in the social movement, she also sways Ted to her side in "The Perfect Cocktail" (S6E22). She finally shows her reaction to resistance in "Landmarks" where she uses Ted's testimony against GNB in the city meeting without his permission. She shows she is willing to sacrifice her relationship for her cause.
The three different types of movements that we have to look at are: Moderate, Intermediate, and Militant (Jones, 2016). There are times that this social movement shows signs of all three which lead me to believe it is probably an Intermediate movement this means it is trying to work with the existing structure but totally overhaul the part of the system that they do not like. The "Save the Arcadian" movement is not trying to save every single historical building in Manhattan, they are just trying to save the one building that Zoey has an emotional connection to. The "Save the Arcadian" movement is a rhetorical element in How I Met Your Mother that does not work as a social movement, but does as a plot device. The social movement ultimately fails and the Arcadian gets torn down to build the new GNB tower, but the social movement led to Ted meeting Zoey, Ted liking Zoey, Ted changing for Zoey, Ted dating Zoey, and Ted figuring out how to give Zoey up. Ted learned to stand up for what he knew was right even though it was hard while dating Zoey and he became a stronger man with "neoclassical fenestration, rusticated stonework, and marble cornices." ("Subway Wars" (S6E4)). References
Simons, H. W. (1970). Requirements, problems, and strategies: A theory of persuasion for social movements. Quarterly Journal of Speech,56(1), 1-11. doi:10.1080/00335637009382977
Jones, H. (2016). Class notes on social movements.
Colors hold a large amount of meaning for relationships throughout the series of How I Met Your Mother. I am going to focus on two specific colors that are opposing on the color wheel: yellow and purple. Yellow appears many times throughout the series in forms like the yellow umbrella. Purple, on the other hand, is a little more subtle in its use but is most notably seen in relation to Robin and the purple giraffe. To look at the meaning color holds for the main relationships in the show we will analyze the use of yellow during relationships, purple during relationships, and the effect that the combination of the two colors has when used in coordination during a relationship.
Color is one way of looking at visual rhetoric. According to Wolfe, "Color sets tone, defines time, demonstrates difference, and supports the narrative movement. In short, color functions with rhetorical force"(Wolfe, 2008, pg. 3). The colors in How I Met Your Mother illustrate the tone of the relationship during a specific time. The color also helps to differentiate between different types of relationships.
Looking first at the yellow. There are the two obvious "yellow people" in the show: Ted and Tracy. These two are so closely associated with yellow that it would be ridiculous to try to tear them apart from the color. Not only do they have the yellow umbrella, Ted owns a little yellow school bus and many of the big moments for him happen in a yellow cab. Tracy has a very brightly colored room
and apartment with yellow everywhere. Because both Ted and "the mother" are so closely associated with yellow, we can only assume that yellow in parallel is associated with true love and good timing.
When Ted is going through his various relationships he can never quite find his yellow match. A great example of this "color"ful illustration is when Ted proposes to Stella with an orange kangaroo. Though, on the color wheel we can see that orange is very close to yellow, it is not the same or even the opposite, so, we can very clearly tell that Stella is, therefore, not Ted's soulmate (we can also do the same connection with the blue on the blue french horn). One other person we clearly see color differentiation with is Robin.
Robin is going to be found to be the opposite of yellow in the series, purple. Purple is used to indicate a lack of romance or just a lack of romantic connection. One of the first episodes where Ted and Robin start their relationship is going to be "The Purple Giraffe" (S1E2), which kicks off the sea of
purple. Ted and Robin are often seen in conflicting colors. When the couple is seen in coordinating colors, the colors are purple.There are several times where Robin wears something that is purple and yellow striped or polka dotted, but she never is fully committed to the yellow and is, again, not Ted's soulmate at the time.
The episodes where we do start to see Robin wearing yellow are those where Barney and her are linked. In "The Leap" (S4E24), Robin wears yellow to the party and the hospital where she finds out that Barney is in love with her. In "Glitter" (S6E9), Robin wears a yellow skirt in Space Teens and Barney ends up helping Robin and Jessica Glitter reconnect. "The Slutty Pumpkin Returns" (S7E8) is when the gang finds out that Barney is part Canadian (Ay?) and Robin is wearing a yellow blouse during this reveal. Robin wears the yellow raincoat and Barney and her reminisce about how terrible it could have been if they had hooked up in the cab (yellow cab by the way) in "Disaster Averted" (S7E15). And, finally, Robin is wearing another yellow blouse in "The Drunk Train" (S7E15) when she and Kevin break up (which is her last boyfriend before she marries Barney).
One of the biggest color moments in the show is the entirety of season 7. The gang wears a lot of purple throughout the season ranging from Robin's dress in "The Best Man" (S7E1) to the whole gang wearing it in "No Pressure" (S7E17). In "No Pressure," the whole gang wears purple and there is almost no yellow to be seen throughout the entire episode until Ted decides to move on from Robin. The first yellow seen all season (except in the ducky tie) is with the sea of yellow umbrella's outside of Ted's door.
The yellow and purple that surround Ted and Robin throughout the series make some bold arguments about their relationship and the other relationships they are in. The color is used to illustrate their differences and their ability to still be good for each other. After all, complimentary colors are great for accent pieces, but just don't make a perfect match.
References Wolfe, D. (2008). The Ecological Jeremiad, the American Myth, and the Vivid Force of Color in Dr. Seuss's The Lorax. Environmental Communication, 2(1), 3-24. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
There is always a space in sitcoms that your main character's frequent that becomes banal space. In Rules of Engagement there is the diner, in The Big Bang Theory there is the comic book shop, and in Friends there is the coffee shop. Well, in How I Met Your Mother, the obvious banal space is MacClaren's Pub but I am going to look at yet another space that this group frequents: the apartment.
According to Dickinson, "These spaces provide the visual and the material resources with which individuals can attempt to negotiate the fragmentation and destabilization that characterize their cultural context" (2002, 10). Looking at this location as a rhetorically banal space helps us understand how this space is creating an argument and understand what the argument is. To analyze this we will look at the space through three of the five senses (sight, sound, and touch in this case), take a look at the rules of engagement and the identity of the people in the space.
Visually is kind of cluttered and eclectically decorated. This gives off the vibe that the apartment is not a grownup's apartment. These people are just trying to find themselves and can't afford Pottery Barn sets. Most of the big furniture stays in the apartment no matter who lives in it. When Ted lives in the apartment, there is a big red couch, a piano, a pretty decent kitchen table, and a coffee table. When Lily and Marshall live there, all of these pieces remain, and when Ted moves back in the furniture is still there.This shows how much this group shares with each other and how necessary the living space is to these friends.There are lots of warm colors with pops of bright red and orange and along with the brick fireplace it emanates warmth and acceptance of the gang. The apartment is 2 bedroom, 1 bath which is the perfect size for two roommates but not for grownups with a family. There is always enough room for whoever needs it and the gang never starts feeling cramped at all until "The Last Forever- Part 1" (S9E23) when Lily and Marshall are expecting their third child and finally determine it is time to admit that they have outgrown the apartment.
Ted and Robin can hear the upstairs neighbors walking around in the apartment ("Last Time in New York" (S9E3)) and also the elderly neighbors having sex ("Bagpipes" (S5E6)). We can assume the apartment must be fairly bustling because it is on the Upper Westside and right above MacClaren's Pub. Hearing the neighbors just shows how connected they all are to the things around them. This is the time in their lives that they are in New York taking on the world and being a part of it all, so they are constantly experiencing it and hearing those sounds from the apartment mean that they are still a part of that time in their lives.
Touch involves a little more assumption. We hear Ted constantly complaining about Robin and Victoria being neat freak's and his constant need to keep the apartment clean. This is Ted being particular and taking part in periodical cleaning in the apartment. This is a metaphor for how Ted wants his love life to be. Ted wants his love life to be as close to perfect as it could be just like how he keeps the apartment.
The rules of engagement in the apartment are pretty straightforward: no knocking and be comfortable. When the gang is in the apartment there is no doubt that they are comfortable. They sit on every piece of furniture, they bring their own DVD's and they are always helping themselves to the food in the kitchen. No one knocks and no one expects them to because there are no secrets in the gang. This again speaks to the closeness of the gang. The apartment is the one place they can go to where no one else can go that allows them to be open and honest without the fear of anyone else joining in on the conversation and so they are the most relaxed and at home in this space.
The people in the space are obviously the five main characters of the show. We don't see many other people being brought into the space except for a few significant others here or there like: Scooby, Victoria, Zoey, and Kevin. When people live in the apartment and it is theirs (e.g. Ted's Apartment, Lily and Marshall's Apartment) the people that live in the apartment with them are the most important people to them at that moment. When Ted and Marshall live together, they are the inseparable two. They are best bro's and nothing can tear them apart. When Marshall and Lily move out and Ted has Robin move in with him, they become the best of friends. When Ted starts being confused about his feelings for Robin again and professes his love for her and Robin moves out, he starts becoming lost because he doesn't know what to do with the empty space in his apartment which is just a visual representation for the empty space in his life. When Lily and Marshall move back in with Marvin it is their family together that make up the most important people in their lives.
The apartment as an identity shows that the gang is at home with each other and at home in the space. The apartment has housed almost all of them for a time or two and it is a really hard decision for them to part with it at any point. To them the apartment is more than just an apartment, it is the house for their friendship. The argument of this space is that this is their home; it is the place they all connect through their memories, their physical location, and the time they spend together. This space is an effective argument for this space and can be actually seen in the finale of the show when they are having a Halloween/going away party and Robin leaves the party early. [Lily] "We're saying good-bye to the apartment. The whole gang has to be here. [Robin] The gang? Do you know who the gang is to me Lily? Here's what the gang is: the gang is a married couple who I never see anymore about to have their third kid; it's my ex-husband, hitting on slutty cops right in front of me; and it's the guy I probably should have ended up with with the beautiful mother of his child. [Lily] Oh...oh, oh, so... so what? This is all just over then? Our whole friendship is just over? [Robin] We'll always be friends. It's just never going to be how it was. It can't be. And that doesn't have to be a sad thing. Look, there's so much wonderful stuff happening in all of our lives right now.
We've more than enough to be grateful for. But the five of us hanging out at MacClaren's, being young and stupid...it's just not one of those things. That period is over. Moving out of the apartment forever shows the changing of the group altogether, therefore proving this rhetorical argument effective.
References
Dickinson, G. (2002). Joe's rhetoric: Finding authenticity at starbucks. Rhetoric Society Quarterly,32(4), 5-27. doi:10.1080/02773940209391238
How I Met Your Mother is, very obviously, a show all about love. It is about Barney finding out what love is, Robin figuring out how to let herself love, Marshall and Lily's love story, and Ted finding "the one."But, though this show's theme is so intrinsic, it is not something that is super serious or overly stated. Throughout the entirety of the nine season series there are many times the characters use "the game" as a metaphor for love. In the metaphoric analysis of the series the tenor is love or dating and the vehicle is "the game."
According to Richards. "In the most important uses of metaphor, as a source of rhetorical invention, a term (or vehicle) from one domain of meaning acts upon a subject (or tenor) from another domain. Their co-presence routinely yields a meaning which is not attainable without the interaction, and in certain cases the tenor becomes so closely identified with its vehicle that it is imagined to be that very thing which it only resembles" (1965, 100-101). This essentially means that a word can stand in the place of another word in order to form a meaning that isn't attainable with just the use of one word.
Every time this metaphor is used it is not super specific. Sometimes it is hidden in the context of the rhetoric. We are going to look at this like we are searching for pieces of a game. One of the first things every game needs is a set of rules, this is easily found in the series. The first set of rules is the Bro Code. The Bro Code is a set of rules for how bros should treat each other and what they should do in certain situations. On top of the Bro Code there are also Barney's Rules. Throughout the series Barney will randomly spout one of his catchphrases "I only have one rule." And despite the fact he says he only has one, he has many of these rules. One of the most infamous of these rules is "New is always better."
Another thing that every game needs is instructions or ways to play the game. This is yet another part of the metaphor that we can thank Barney for. Barney has the playbook, which is literally the ways that he gets women to sleep with him, or different ways to play the game. Ted models some different ways of playing the game that always ultimately fail and usually require Barney to sweep in and save the day with one of his surefire ways of playing (ex. "Haaaaave you met Ted?").
In most games there is also a sign that the game is beginning. In football there is a coin flip, in baseball there is "let's play ball!", and in Monopoly there is the argument of who gets to play the thimble game-piece. In How I Met Your Mother there is "Challenge Accepted." Before Barney starts to try out any of his plays or hit on any girl at all he always exclaims, "challenge accepted!" even if no one else actually challenged him to anything in particular.
The most blatant use of the metaphor in the show is within quotes from some of the characters. In "Little Boys" (S3E4) Marshall states that "If dating is the game, then marriage is winning the game." The game is also mentioned in "Platonish" (S9E9). Barney attempts to hit on the mother and she not only tells him no, she also psychoanalyzes him to the point that they have a heart to heart conversation outside on a bench and she gives him a speech about the game:
[Mother] "Do you want to keep playing or do you wanna win?" [Barney] "I wanna win. What am I doing? In less than 20 minutes, Robin and I could be..." [Mother] "Oh, no, no, no, no. It's gonna take a lot more than 20 minutes. This is gonna take everything you have got. It will take all your time, all your attention, all your resources. This is the big one, diaper man! You gotta do it right, can't be messing around and picking up girls in drug stores. You got work to do."
There may seem to be a lot of references to the game when Barney is involved but it is true of many of the other characters as well. Ted often says he is going to lose the game of love. Ted's love life is also epitomized by one game we see him play many times throughout the series, "The Claw" (Insert Toy Story aliens here). In "Purple Giraffe" (S1E2), Ted sees a kid trapped in a claw machine that Robin is reporting on because he was trying to get a purple giraffe and couldn't so he climbed into the machine to get it. Ted decides to go after Robin like that little kid goes after the giraffe. But, much like the little boy, fails to get her fair and square. In "Miracles" (S3E20), Ted proposes to Stella with an orange kangaroo because he tried to get a fake diamond ring out of the claw machine and failed. So though these do not show Ted failing at "the game" in general, it does show Ted failing at a game and it alludes to his failure in the romantic game.
Games are a huge metaphor used throughout the entire series to create a meaning to finding love. Many people refer to love as a journey and a road with many twists and turns but, in How I Met Your Mother, it is very strategically referred to as a game. We get to see the gang have fun playing the game for fun, playing to win, and winning. In "Bad Crazy" (S8E16), Ted tells his future kids that "being single is fun" and that is why he kept playing the game. But, ultimately, Ted wins the game along with all his friends and they all get to start dedicating their time to more interesting games, like "Marshgammon."
References I.A. Richards (1965) The philosophy of rhetoric. New York: Oxford University Press
Getting bad news is something that happens to the characters in How I Met Your Mother very often, actually, fairly realistically often. We are going to be criticizing one of those instances this week using Aristotle's rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos is the appeal to credibility or character, pathos is the appeal to emotions, and logos is the appeal to reason.
The specific instance we will be focusing on come from "Symphony of Illumination" (S7E12). In this episode, Robin believes she is pregnant with Barney's baby but soon learns she is not only not pregnant, she also is unable to have babies at all. As a very strong female character, she had never been the type of person who wanted kids but finds herself very distraught at this news any ways. She thinks about telling the gang but decides against it because of how they would appeal to her.
Robin tries to engulf herself in Ted's pathos responce
Robin believes that Ted would use pathos. She believes that he would cook her comfort food and massage her while telling her: "It is ok to be sad. Let it out." Robin does not want to deal with this appeal to emotions so decides not to tell Ted. Similarly, she believes Barney would use pathos as well, though in an opposing gesture. She thinks that Barney would do just about anything to make her laugh and she is not ready for those kind of emotions. Lily would also fit into the pathos reactionary group. Robin knows her best friend would be most likely to burst into tears and apologize for everything she has ever said about babies.
Telling Marshall is another side of this that Robin does not want to deal with. She knows that Marshall would start asking her all sorts of questions that she does not know the questions to like: "has she looked into adoption or surrogacy?" This appeal would be the appeal to reason, or logos. This is not something that Robin is ready for in any capacity so she decides to not deal with logos.
Telling Kevin about not being able to have kids
When Robin finally choses to tell someone about her recent health revelation it is when she gets proposed to by Kevin in "The Drunk Train" (S7E16). Robin turns to Marshall and Lily as a successful couple when Kevin first proposes to her and she says she needs to think about it because she is deciding whether to tell him or not. Robin is seeking ethos here. She sees Marshall and Lily as a credible source, because of their relationship experience, and so she goes to appeal to their credibility. In the end, she tells Kevin, they get engaged, she talks to him again, and they break off the engagement.
The appeals to emotion, logic, and credibility are seen in many instances throughout the series but are very prominent in this particular situation. I believe that if Robin had dealt with her friends pathos and logos she would not have had reason to seek out the ethos she did when Kevin proposed. These rhetorical devices were very effective in making her question and understand where she actually stood in this situation.
References:
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5_tfwAsPejw/maxresdefault.jpg -- Image of Robin eating cake
Barney Stinson... the name alone can stir any HIMYM fan to smile. Barney is emotionally flawed, overly confident, and totally lovable. We see him transform from a total man-whore to a loving daddy within the span of the nine seasons. Barney is also a very complex character within the scheme of the show because of framing. I am looking at the way the Barney is rhetorically self-framed, framed within the "gang," and framed by the audience.
But, before we go too far let me give a brief explanation of framing. Burgchart explains that framing comprises of theoretical perspectives on how individuals, groups, and societies, organize, perceive, and communicate about reality (2010). In Ott and Aoki's article on tragic framing, they explain that "Frame analysis looks to see how a situation or event is names/defined, and how that naming shapes public opinion. It accomplishes this analysis by highlighting the inherent biases in all storytelling, namely selectively (what is included and excluded in the story?), and structure (how does the story formally play out?)" (Burgchardt, 2010, 272). Framing is essentially the lens through which we see ourselves, others see us, and we see others. Framing can change based on context and can also change based on perspective.
The first perspective we are going to look at is Barney Stinson looking at Barney Stinson. Without looking at every single moment in painstaking detail we have an overall idea that the frame that Barney sees himself in is Epic. An epic frame pairs a hero with the grand scale of the context and often leads to the elevation of the individual (Jones 2016). Throughout the series, we see Barney refer to himself as "the king" or "the master" or many other titles that imply over-confidence. Barney also states that he watches himself have sex with girls to keep his game sharp. We also see how he puts himself up on his pedestal with the phrase "challenge accepted!" Barney thinks he can do anything that others deem impossible. There is even an episode where it is confirmed that Barney is a narcissist and goes to therapy for this mental disorder. Looking through this frame makes a lot of sense when you know the kind of character he is. Barney is a womanizer and often does not care about other people's feelings. This frame is very effective from the reflectional perspective.
Next, let's take a look at what frame the gang sees Barney in. When looking at how the gang reacts to Barney throughout the years it is pretty clear that the gang frames Barney tragically. Tragic framing leads to closure and scapegoats to relieve collective guilt or sin. It has a "let's not talk about it" kind of mindset (Jones, 2016). This is shown with how the gang is always slightly disgusted by Barney's antics and minimally tries to tell him how to be better even though they know he won't, but, they never do anything drastic about any of it because they are not Barney and will never be like him, therefore, it is not their problem. A great example of this is in "Intervention."(S4E4) The gang holds interventions for all of the member's biggest issues at the time but never bring up Barney's womanizing ways, just his use of magic. Considering, again, the role that Barney plays within the group, this frame is very effective because if you changed Barney as a person then the group dynamic as a whole would change.
Though, on a side note, when Tracy (the mother) joins the group we see someone come in who has wanted to change Barney for the better since the moment she met him ("Plantonish"(S9E9)). Based on the few encounters we see with the mother, I want to add in a subcategory of Tracy's framing of Barney as comic. Comic framing has an emphasis on humility, self-awareness and reflection, and shared responsibility (Jones, 2016). It also often leads to conversation and action. When looking at the results Tracy yielded in just the one conversation with Barney (getting him to propose and marry Robin), I would definitely argue that the use of this frame is very effective.
Now, moving on to the final perspective: the frame that the audience sees Barney in. Now Barney is often used as a comic device and so some might argue that he is supposed to be viewed by the audience through the satirical or burlesque frame but, because there is an emphasis on absurdity in Barney's life and no seeking for reform, I would argue that we are using the grotesque frame (Jones, 2016). We often pity Barney when he gets shut down by a woman or just when we feel like what he is doing is for some other underlying reason. Barney's character is representing the problem our generation has with social and intimate relationships, but does it in an entertaining way. He ends up being the hero oftentimes, like when he went to San Francisco to get Lily back for Marshall ("Bachelor Party" (S2E19)) or when he "catches feelings" for Robin ("Miracles"(S3E20)). This frame is set in place for us, as viewers, to set us up for the evolution of Barney Stinson. When Barney starts to change his ways, we are totally prepared for it, and it is not out of character. When Barney marry's Robin we completely understand it. And when Barney changes for good after he meets his daughter, we feel completely satisfied. This frame is very effective for the audience's perspective on Barney Stinson.
When looking at Barney from these different frames you get to see a little different perspective on him overall. Looking at the epic, tragic, comic, and ultimately the grotesque frame show just how multi-dimensional this seemingly simple character is. With this rhetorical knowledge I now feel better equipped to "Suit Up!" and work my way through more of the "Awesome" story of How I Met Your Mother.
References: Burgchardt, C. (2010). Readings in Rhetorical Criticism (4th ed.). Strata: State College. Jones, H. (2016). Class notes on framing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuLcxg5VGuo
In HIMYM (How I Met Your Mother), there is an indicator of important overall plot moments and emotional epiphanies: The Yellow Umbrella. Though it is often brought out on rainy occasions, the umbrella is the harbinger of beneficial change in the sitcom. I am arguing the importance of the Yellow Umbrella as a rhetorical element in How I Met Your Mother. To do this, I will be utilizing close textual analysis to evaluate the text. As defined by Burgchardt: "In practical terms, close textual analysis aims to reveal and explicate the precise, often hidden, mechanisms that give a particular text artistic unity and rhetorical effect" (2010, )
Now, the overall plot of this television series is fairly straightforward: how Ted meets the mother. But, the general and seasonal plot, take some twists and turns along the way. The yellow umbrella moments are the episodes where the umbrella is mentioned or seen. These episodes are like road signs that tell us, "yes, you are still on the right path" because, otherwise, the episodes may seem to never take us any closer to the mother. There are ten yellow umbrella episodes within the series: "Wait for It" (S3E1), "No Tomorrow" (S3E12), "Right Place, Right Time" (S4E22), "Girl Vs. Suits" (S5E12), "Big Days" (S6E1), "No Pressure" (S7E17), "Farhampton" (S8E1), "Something New" (S8E24), "How Your Mother Met Me" (S9E16), and "Last Forever- Part Two" (S9E24).
"Wait for It" is the first episode we, as viewers, hear about the infamous yellow umbrella. Ted is telling his kids about the story where he was attempting to win the breakup with Robin and ended up with a butterfly tattoo. Ted prefaces this story by telling his kids that though they know the story of the yellow umbrella, there is a bigger version of this tale that includes the story of how he became the man he needed to be in order to meet the mother. In "No Tomorrow" we see the place where Ted starts this journey. Ted and Barney go to a St. Patrick's Day party at a club and do some disreputable things and somehow, it ends up with good consequences for the both of them. The next morning Ted tells Marshall everything that happens and Marshall reminds Ted that that is not the person he has ever wanted to be. Ted goes back to the club to get his phone that was left there and, as it starts to rain, grabs the abandoned yellow umbrella he finds by the door of the club. The viewers find out that the mother was in that club that night and that Ted is glad she didn't meet him that night because he didn't think she would have liked him very much.
Ted goes on (in some non-yellow umbrella episodes) to get his butterfly tattoo removed and meets a tattoo removal specialist named Stella who he falls in love with and gets engaged to. She then leaves him at the alter for her ex and breaks Ted's heart. In "Right Place, Right Time,"Ted takes a break from designing a cowboy hat-shaped rib joint to go get a bagel on a rainy day. He uses the yellow umbrella (obviously) and runs into Stella and her husband as she is about to cross the street. Her husband, Tony, ends up getting Ted a job as a university professor. This job is what leads to Ted meeting Cindy in "Girls vs. Suits." This is where Ted takes Cindy on a date and we find out that the mother is Cindy's roommate. Though Ted nor the audience ever see the mother in this episode, we do get our first description of her and Ted sights her ankle as she runs into the bathroom. Ted ends up leaving the yellow umbrella at the apartment when he figures out he has more in common with Cindy's roommate (the mother) than Cindy.
Cindy returns to the yellow umbrella storyline in "Big Days" where Ted sees a pretty girl at MacClaren's with Cindy and thinks it could be her roommate. The girl ends up kissing Cindy and is, therefore, not the mother. In this episode, it is revealed that Ted meets the mother on the day of a wedding. The episode flashes to said wedding, where Ted is best man, and it starts to rain. Ted laments about not bringing an umbrella to the wedding, because the umbrella is in the mother's possession.
In "No Pressure," we find out that Ted has not said "I love you" to a woman since Robin. During this journey of self-discovery, Ted figures out that Barney is the reason he has not settled for Robin yet. Ted asks Robin if she loves him and she says no. Because of this revelation, Marshall asks Robin to move out of the apartment so Ted can move on, and she does. Ted finds closure in his relationship for Robin and the world becomes his for the taking. At the end of this episode he walks out of the apartment and sees a dozen women with yellow umbrella walking on the sidewalk.
The last four episodes on the yellow umbrella journey all coincide with Robin and Barney's wedding. "Farhampton" starts off with Robin being a jittery bride and asking Ted to recount the story of trying to steal Victoria back on her wedding day. At the end of this story, Ted runs into Victoria's fíance, Klaus, and talks to him about knowing "the one" when you see them. After Ted returns Victoria to her wedding day, we get to see the mother with the yellow umbrella getting out of a taxi next to Ted after Barney and Robin's wedding. In "Something New," we watch Ted struggle once again with his feelings for Robin and tell Lily that he is planning on moving to Chicago after the
wedding. This is also the episode where we see the mother carrying a bass guitar and the yellow umbrella as she buys a train ticket to get to Farhampton and we see her face for the first time.
"How Your Mother Met Me" is a unique twist on the show for the 200th episode and gives us some interesting insight on the story from the mother's perspective, including how the yellow umbrella was originally hers and how she lost it and magically got it back in her apartment one day. At the end of this episode we see the mother pull out her ukulele and go onto the terrace where Ted hears her sing "La Vie en Rose" from the balcony over. In "Last Forever- Part 2," Ted meets the mother and they have a cheesy conversation about who the yellow umbrella originally belonged to because they share the same initials: T.M. (Tracy McConnell and Ted Mosby).
The yellow umbrella is a very effective piece of rhetoric that is used to drive plot and indicate moments of importance to the audience. In over 200 episodes it is only seen eight times and referenced twice, making the sighting of it very enthralling to the audience. The rain that pulsed down over Ted's love life had a spot of sunlight in it for nine years because that yellow umbrella foreshadowed the sunniest sky his love life could ever encounter: "The One."
References: Burgchardt, C. (2010). Readings in Rhetorical Criticism (4th ed.). Strata: State College. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyFXtZ4fDfQ
