Assignment 1

How I Met Your Mother

Season 6 Episodes 22-24
Kristina Harding
Figured World: a large group of people who all share the same ideals, interests, and ways of
communication.
Background Information: The figure world I am observing is the TV show How I Met Your
Mother. The purpose for this show is entertainment. This show follows a college professor in
New York City who is telling the story of how he came to meet the mother of his children.
Through the series you we see how their friendships are tested, their romantic relations, and how
it is for a group of friends to live in New York City. A large amount of the show takes place in an
apartment shared by a number of them and a booth in a bar, McLarens, located under the
apartment.
Rules and Conventions: A rule that is often brought up in this show is the Bro Code which is
a set of social rules that is to be followed between male friends. The Bro Code is a literal set of
rules in a book owned by one of the actors, Barney Stinson. It often refers to how Bros should
act in a number of situations pertaining to women, partying, etc. A behavior that is brought up
multiple times in this figure world is the topic of whether or not it is okay to have a romantic
relationship with a friend or your friends ex. This is a common topic of discussion between
Barney, Ted, and Robin since Robin has had romantic relationships with both actors and in fact
has a pact with Ted where if neither of them is married by the age of 30 they are to marry each
other. Another behavior that is common in this program is that the in the actors or the other
customers typically can be loud or rowdy in the bar McLarens. The characters in How I Met Your
Mother often communicate face-to-face, calling, or texting. A community of practice that I expect
to see is Goliath National Bank because that is where three of the actors, Marshall, Barney
Stinson, and Ted Mosby, work. Another community of practice that is prominent in this TV series
is Ted Mosbys architecture class that he is the professor of.
Actors: Characters who play specific roles in their figured world. It is possible for actors to
undertake in two different roles in different situations or settings. Below are the main Actors that
will be referred to in the observation.
Robin: Plays the role of the tomboy in the group. She is a very independent woman who
likes to take charge and doesn't rely on men or relationships for self-purpose. Robin will
often say her opinions whether they are asked for or not. She can be very blunt and is
often made fun of for her weird quirks that can be traced back to her masculine Canadian
upbringing. She is also a News Anchor on Channel 3 news.
Ted: The narrator and the main character in this program. The nerd of the friend group.
He often brings up irrelevant dorky topics/facts that no one else in the group has any
knowledge or interest of. He is also the hired Architect for the new GNB building and the
co project manager for the whole GNB project. Ted is also the hopeless romantic of the
group. He is constantly searching for his soul mate and future mother to his children. He
can be very emotional and dependent on his significant other and relationships. He is also
in a romantic relationship with Zoe.
Lily: Serves as the reliable friend. Lily is the person that all the other actors go to when
they need help and/or advice. She is the mom of the group that will most of the time try
to keep things under control and shoot down all of the crazy ideas that will come up in

the group. But when she does agree with or come up with a crazy idea it is usually a big
one. Lily is also married to Marshall and is a very loving and caring wife.
Marshall: Plays the role of the goof ball of the group. He is the one that comes up the
bazar ideas or can take the jokes too far and makes the situation awkward. Though
Marshall tries to come across as tough and intimidating he is actually just a big teddy
bear that can get very emotional. He is very passionate about the environment and Lily.
He has a career as a lawyer and his dream job is to be an environmental lawyer.
Zoe: Teds current girlfriend. (Though Ted is currently dating her she is not a large actor
in the program as a whole just through out my chosen area of observation of this figured
world) She is a landmark activist. Zoe is the lead protester for the group that is trying to
preserve the Arcadian and have it named as a landmark. She has a very spunky and hippy
personality. She doesn't like to put others wishes or wants before hers and has a hard
time seeing others points of views.
Barney: Serves the role as the reckless and crazy friend. He has had sexual relations with
countless women and will do anything and assume any role to get women to bed. Barney
holds a high up position at GNB but no one in the group, or the audience, know what
Barney actually does for the company, and when asked about it he will typically respond
with Pleaseee! He has commitment and trust issues, which are represented, by his
womanizer personality and how he treats women, though Barney has had a serious longterm relationship with Robin in the past.

Artifacts: these are objects that hold or symbolize an emotional or memorable importance to the
actors, community of practice, or figured world.
Booth: The booth is a common gathering place for the group of friends. A large amount
of the program takes place in the bar. This is where the group of friends comes to
socialize, relax, gossip, or just catch up on each others days.
Orchids: Orchids are special to Ted and Zoe. It isnt a typical flower to bring on a date
but it is what Ted chooses to bring on their first date. It symbolizes their beginning and
their growing affection for each other.
Lion head Stone Work: The lion head stone work on the side of the Archadian is the
whole reason the building is such a monument. It creates a big inner struggle in Ted since
it is a historic piece of architecture history, but also his dream is to change the skyline of
New York City which in order to do that the old must come down to make room for the
new.
Communities of Practice: a group of people who share the same interest, profession, or studies
and bands together to learn more about the topic. But for a community to become a community of
practice they must have a domain that they must participate in activities to further their
understanding and knowledge of that domain. They also share their experiences and ideas of the
topics to help each other grow in that specific domain.
Goliath National Bank (GNB): This is the company that Barney, Ted, and Marshall have
all been employed at. They refer to themselves as the world leader in credit and
banking. They are a ruthless company that do not bide by the rules and have been
known to step on the little guy.
Protesters: The protesters are fighting to prevent the demolition of the Archadian. They
believe that the archadian should be named a landmark. They fight against Goliath
National Bank and want to prevent them from building their new headquarters in
Arcadian's place.
Domain: the area of expertise or interest that a community of practice studies. A domain does not
necessarily have to be an area that most people would think you could be an expert in.

Landmarks: Throughout the observations a main conflict is whether or not a certain

building should be a landmark or not. Both sides widened their knowledge about
landmarks and the Arcadian to try and prove their point and defend their stance.
Relationships: The main topic of this program as a whole is how they are going to find
love and their soulmates. Many of the characters enter into serious long-term
relationships with whom they think they will spend the rest of their lives with.

Practices of the Community: any activity that the communities of practice part take in to widen
their understanding of their domain. This can entail them sharing experiences, stories, solutions to
the problems they faced, etc. through formal or informal conversations.
Searching for a soulmate: The plot of the entire show is the story of how Ted meets the
mother of his children. So we follow him though his journey of how he found love. But
its not just Ted we follow the storyline of how all the actors find their ways in and out of
love.
Destruction/Preservation of Archadian: A main subject that comes up in this program is
whether or not the Archadian should be preserved or if GNB should be allowed to tear it
down.
Literacy Practices: common ways of both verbal and nonverbal communication in a figured
world or community of practice.
Texting/Calling: A common literacy practice in the program is communication through
text and phone calls. The group of friends often communicates to each other and people
outside of their group through these forms because of the convenience.
Socializing: Face to face verbal communications is a common occurrence in this friend
group. They often gather in common areas such as the booth at McLarens or their
apartment and exchange gossip, details about their days, or their current problems.
Observation 1:
0:00-3:30
Marshal quit his job at GNB and thought he was leaving with a good relationship with his boss
but when he gets to his interview at an environmental firm he finds out that his old boss gave him
a bad recommendation. Marshal gets mad after the disaster of an interview and on his way back
to GNB to have it out with his old boss he runs into Zoe who gives him an idea on how to really
get back at them. Zoe is protesting the tear down of Archadian and Ted was hired as the architect
to rebuild the new GNB building that is going in its place (Switches to the booth at McLarens)
Barney announces that he has been put in charge of deciding how they are going to tear down the
old Archadian hotel. Lily asks Ted how he and Zoe handle to topic of the Archadian and he
response by explaining that they simply avoid the topic completely. Zoe then walks into the bar
and announces that Marshal was just hired as the lawyer to save Archadian.
3:31-7:14
Barney and Marshal start to argue about Marshals new position against the company that he used
to work at and that Barney still works at. Barney is particularly angry due to the fact that he was
the one who got him the job at GNB. Robin and Lily realize that a random girl is trying to steal
their booth from every time someone leaves their seat. As his tactic to get at Barney Marshal gets
in the way whenever Barney tries to have romantic relations with a woman. Barney starts messing
with everyday things that Marshal uses like in megaphone, water bottle, and jacket. Marshall and
Barney get in a fight at the McLarens and gets the whole group banned from the bar. As they are
being escorted out the random girl steals their booth from Robin and Lily.
7:15-12:10
Robin and Lily decide that they need to help Marshal and Barney reconcile their differences by
getting them to drink but can't decide on what drink would have to right effect and doesn't make

them act weird. Ted realizes that Zoe is trying to ruin his dream and his life by turning his friends
against each other, which essentially got them kicked out of McLarens. Ted decides to bring it
up on their car ride to their first romantic getaway though they agreed they wouldn't talk about it.
Ted starts off arguing that she is ruining his life long dream and turned his best friends against
him. Zoe answers by saying that Marshal made own choice and then points out that he is not
made him. Teds reasoning for that is that Marshal is going through a tough time with his job
change and that Zoe took advantage of that.
12:11-18:30
Lily and Robin take Barney and Marshall to a strip club. They decide that the first drink needs to
be a drink that will get them fighting, which ends up being Gin. The gin gets both Barney and
Marshall angry and they begin to fight. (Switches to car with Ted and Zoe). To prove that Ted is
right he turns the car around and takes Zoe to spend the night in The Archadian that he says is
beautiful and magnificent and promises if Zoe can last till morning he will join her side in
saving Archadian. (Switches back to the strip club) Robin and Lily decide that Barney and
Marshall now need a drink that will make them emotionally vulnerable and they settle on whisky.
Marshall and Barney then have a deep talk about Barneys abandonment issues and Marshall not
fulfilling his lifetime dream. Robin and Lily decide that they need to get them having a fun time
and they decide on daiquiris. (Switches back to Archadian) Ted continues to emphasize how
gross and old Archadian is. (Switches back to the strip club) Robin and Lily finally decided that is
time to get them to forgive and the perfect drink for that is brandy. But then they realize that
Barney and Marshall took shots of tequila and disappeared to McLarens. (Switches to
Archadian) Zoe explains to Ted that the reason she wants to save the building is that she used to
live in arch and she loved growing up there, then she further explains that it's a part of her and she
wants him to like it too. Ted and Zoe have a tender moment and they say, I love you. (Switches
bar to McLarens Robin and Lily find Barney and Marshall who finally forgave each other after
the bartender gave them beer. The bartender also banned them from McLarens.
18:31-22:00
Ted finds the cock-a-mouse, which has now had babies, in Archadian, which pushes Zoe over the
edge, and she gives up and runs out of the room and head back to Teds apartment.
Barney and Marshall wake up still mad at each other. Robin and Lily remember then that they
ordered champagne to celebrate them forgiving each other and that made them black out and
forget the whole night. Ted announces that he is on Zoe's side to save Archadian. Robin and Lily
give up on trying to fix the fight with drinks and return back to bar to try and reclaim their booth.
They get the girls to leave the booth with some of Barneys sabatash that he had planned on using
on Marshall.
Observation 2:
0:00-9:00
They are at the Conference of New York Landmarks Preservation Commission's. Marshall is
lecturing on why we should save Arcadian saying that it has been watching over New York for
years. Then Ted comes up for GNB and is asked should Arcadian be a landmark. It flashed back
to a couple of days earlier as he says that the answer would have been clearly a yes, which would
be huge because he is the lead architect. Barney has isolated himself from the group cause both
Ted and Marshal is now against him. Barney tries bribing the group with hot wings, but Barney
then comes over and apologizes for what he said about Zoe and that he is not mad at Ted but
Barney thinks that it is Zoe who is persuading him. He continues to say that it is about the girl
and Ted agrees because he thinks that she might be the mother of her children. Barney says that
he will make ted sorry. Author Hobs is going through a divorce and is upset because his wife got
custody of his dog. Barney goes ahead and asks Arthur if Ted were to say that the Arcadian is a
landmark if he would fire Ted and Author answers that he would fire both Ted and Barney
because barney put his name on the line when he gave Ted the job.

9:01-11:26
Barney tells Ted what Arthur told him and Ted says that he will still side with Zoe because he
thinks that Zoe could be the future mother of his children. Robin goes over the outcomes the three
different outcomes that she could see happening. The first being Ted says no the Arcadian is not a
landmark and Zoe dumps him on the spot. The second being Ted say yes which will make him
happy for a couple of seconds but then he will resent her and the building because it ruined his
dream along with his and Barneys careers and he will dump her. The third option Robin thinks is
that Ted will get shot in the neck with a poisonous dart by a ninja Zoes ex husband hired before
he has time to say his answer. Robin finishes her argument by saying that Ted and Zoe will
inevitably break up but that Ted can still save his and Barneys relationship and their careers. Ted
responds by saying that he doesnt care that the odds are stacked against them and that he
would rather try then spend his life alone. Lilly also agrees with Ted but then says that no
matter what happens there will always be resentment by one of the other and then changes her
mind and sides with Robin.
11:27-15:00
That night Ted has a dream where the architect of Arcadian, who looks like Barney, visits him
and tells Ted not to try and save the Arcadian because it was unimportant and poorly built. Ted
argues back and says that it is not bothering anyone. The Barney version of the architect says that
New York is never finished and he is an architect so it is his job to put his print on the city. Ted
realizes the Arcadian must go cause it is his dream and duty as an architect to change to skyline
of his city, even if it will ruin his personal life. After Ted wakes up in the middle of the night he
calls Zoe and asks her to meet him at Arcadian. They dont stay for long and she says that it was
nice to get one last look at what they are trying to save before the big day, Ted agrees but isnt
talking about the building but is referring to their relationship.
15:01-16:00
Flashes back to present time with the chairman of the New York Landmark Preservations
Committee asking Ted if Arcadian should be a landmark. He freezes and then responds that
Arcadian should not be a landmark and that there are lots of important buildings in New York but
not this one. Zoe storms up to the stage and plays a recording of Ted saying that the Arcadian
should be a landmark because of the lion head stone work and that he hates working for GNB.
The chairman asks if that is Ted on the recording and he fesses up and says that it is.
16:01-22:00
(McLarens) Ted cant believe Zoe kept that tap from him. And they all realize that Arcadian will
most likely be named a landmark after what happened. They dont know what to do and suggest
buying a bar and call it Courtroom but Lily stops the impulsive idea. Lily says they should work
on finding a solution but Robin says that everything is over. Marshal says if anyone will come
with a plan it would be Lily. Then Lily has an idea and shares it with everyone and they all
agreed it was amazing (the plan isnt shared with the audience). They all go to find Author who is
walking his new replacement dog. Barney explains to him that Marshall's wife has an idea on
how to save not saving the Arcadian. Author starts ranting angrily about what his wife did to
him and how she took his dog, but then apologizes and listens to Lily. Before explaining her idea
she says her list of demands Her demands. Her first demand being that Ted and Barney get to
keep their jobs. The second is that either Ted or Barney get to push the button that demolishes
Arcadian. Lily starts to say her idea but Ted says for legal reasons he has to jump ahead to the
next night to when New Yorks Landmarks Preservation Committee was giving their verdict. The
chairman says that they declare Arcadian a landmark only because the lion head stone work.
Everyone from the one side that wanted to save Arcadian began to cheer, including Zoe. But then
the chairman goes on to say that the lion head stone work mysteriously disappeared last night so
they have no reason to declare it a landmark and officially say it is okay for GNB to tear it down.
Ted tries to talk to Zoe after and says that things have to fall apart to make room for better things
and Zoe storms off. Ted calls Barney and says that now that he and Zoe are most likely over

Barney can say what he really thinks about her and Barney says that she wasnt lying when she
said the lions head from Arcadian made things looking more regal, which they then show it
hanging above Barneys bed.
Observation 3:
0:00-3:45
Opens at spring 2011 after Ted and Zoe broke up and GNB announced the design Ted made for
their new building. Then Ted expresses how he keeps butting heads with his assistant project
manager, Barney, and they cant decide on who gets to push the button that destroys the
Arcadian. Robin tries to explain to them that it is just a button. Ted changes the subject and tells
the group that he ran into Zoe yesterday and how she is still unemployed and had to find
roommates. Zoe then said that she wanted to get coffee and said that she wanted to get back
together. Ted says yes because he feels bad for her because of how poorly her life is going after
Arcadian got deemed not a landmark. Marshal is still having a hard time finding a new job so
Lily surprised him with his favorite soup from his favorite soup place that has a get sick get a
free gallon of soup policy. As Lily introduces the new class pet to her students, cause Mr.
Buttons 1 died, she gets sick from the soup and tries to call Marshal before he eats the soup. Lily
storms out of her class to run home and warn Marshal and gets there just as he is about to eat his
third bowl. Marshal is surprised and asks why he shouldnt eat the soup just as Lily gets sick
again.
3:46-5:00
It is a big day for Barney and Ted cause one of them will get to push the button to destroy
Arcadian today. Barney says it will be legendary adjacent for Ted since he will be standing next
to Barney as he pushes the button. Ted is talking to Furman, the lead construction worker who
calls Ted hotshot, and expresses how he doesnt like being called hotshot but goes on discussing
how Ted is in charge of picking out 50,000 light bulbs, which then stresses Ted out. Barney says
Ted shouldnt stress cause anything new is always better which is Barneys oldest rule which
makes it the best rule. Ted says that doesnt make any sense and that Barney is always coming up
with new rules.
5:01-8:00
Marshal says Lily got food poisoning from the soup, that he ate three hours later, to the whole
group, which means he can see into his future and it doesnt look good. Marshal tried helping
Lily but she makes a weird noise when she gets sick that sounds like a pterodactyl and Marshal
realizes that he can do anything his last 3 hours. So that is what he is doing. Marshal has his last
meal, which are McLarens famous jalapeno peppers. Marshal then gets emotional and goes back
up to their apartment. Lily asks if Marshal told the group that she got food poisoning, because
you are supposed to say under the weather cause stomach stuff is gross. Marshal lies and said that
he told them that Lily has the sniffles. (Changes to McLarens) Barney is talking to the group
about what is most likely coming out of Lily right now. Barney says that since he got Ted the job
Barney should be able to push the button that will destroy Arcadian, and Ted gives in and says he
has to leave. Marshal gets a call from a law firm who wants to give him an interview and he
agrees to do it right before the time that he is supposed to get sick.
8:01-14:00
Ted left his phone at the bar and Robin sees a text from Zoe that says See you in an hour. Robin
and Barney then realize that they are going to get back together. Barney doesnt understand why
Ted would get back together with Zoe because Ted is doing great, but Robin says that the light
bulbs are stressing him out so he is running back to her. Robin then goes on to explain that Ted
has run back to girls for less like an empty whipped cream can, help with sunburn, news segment
on two pandas that are expecting a baby. Marshal say he has a two hour window for the interview
but gets prepared if he gets sick early by practicing running to the toilet, lining the inside of his
suitcase, and asks his elderly neighbor for an adult diaper. Robin and Barney agree they have to

stop Ted, they read the next text from Zoe, which says to meet at the intersection from their first
date. Barney and Robin go to Lily for help who finds out which intersection based on Ted's
voicemail. Barney calls his driver to try and get ahead of Ted. Marshal is at his interview for his
new job at an environmentally friendly law firm and the interviewer comes in smelling like
sewage because of his current case, which makes Marshal feel sicker. Barney and Robin are in
the car saying how they both thought that Ted and Zoe were a train wreck and how they were
almost as bad as Robin and Barney, then they say how bad both of them got by the end of their
relationship. Robin goes on to say that she gets why Ted would want to run back to Zoe and asks
Barney if he thinks Ted really did love Zoe and Barney asks if she thinks that Zoe really loved
Ted (not talking about Ted and Zoe, actually talking about their previous relationship) Back to
Marshall's interview, the interviewer shows Marshal the anti-environmental things that they
helped stop that makes Marshal feel sicker. Barney and Robin get to the intersection and neither
Ted nor Zoe is there. Then they meet a stranger who has a smoothie from The Intersection, a caf.
14:01-17:15
Barney and Robin find Zoe sitting alone and Ted who is still picking out the perfect orchid.
Marshal is still being shown pictures of environmental atrocities at the interview then he panics
and says he has to leave because he has food poisoning and storms out. Robin and Barney tackle
Ted as he is coming out of the flower shop. Barney and Robin ask him why he is doing this and
Ted starts to rant about how he only got the job cause Barney gave it to him and how he is
stressed over the light bulb decision. Robin says that he cant run to his past cause it is familiar
and Barney says it will be a mistake no matter how tempting it is (Robin and Barney are again
talking about themselves) Ted knows they are right so he gives the orchids to an old lady and asks
her to give them to Zoe and tell her that he is sorry. The old lady accidently gives the flowers to
the wrong girl in the caf.
17:16-22:00
Marshal comes home from the interview and rants about how this whole year has sucked first
with his dad dying and then being unemployment fro 5 months and now he ruined his shot of
getting his dream job and is about to get sick. Marshal turns down Lilys comforting and decided
to try and take a nap before he gets sick. And he slept to the next day and in the morning and Lily
tells him that he didnt get sick and she did cause she is pregnant. Ted, Barney, and Robin are at
the destruction of the Arcadian and the construction worker asks Barney and hot shot who is
going to do the honors. Barney gives it to Ted because he has earned it by not running back to his
past. Ted blows up Arcadian and watches it go down. Robin and Barney are walking and she says
how she is proud that Barney gave Ted the button and they then run into Nora and he asks her to
a cup of coffee. Barney says he was such a jerk to her that she can spend the whole time calling
him every dirty name in the book. She says she speaks 4 languages and is going to need more
than 20 min. Barney says he will call her and that she looks beautiful. As Robin looks on she
realizes that she is in love with barney. Flashes forward to a wedding where Lily come out and
says that the best man is needed, and Ted gets up to go see why. Ted then walks in and asks how
he can help the groom. The audience then sees that Barney is the groom and he asks Ted what he
thinks about his tie.
Interview Questions:
Interviewee: Morgan Bittle
I chose to interview Morgan Bittle because she is a fan of the show and followed it while it was
airing. I thought it would be interesting to get the perspective of a fan of the show to see what a
follower feels and thinks about certain things about the show. I was also looking to get her
opinion, as an active watcher, about some concepts that the producers decided to put into the
show.

1. Tell me what you like about watching How I Met Your Mother.
How its real life but comical, following their lives and the stories Ted tells and waiting to figure
out who the mother is.
2.
What do you think about the show having emotional moments and hardships though it is
meant to be an upbeat comedy?
I think there is a good balance to keep it light hearted but still represents reality, which isnt
always happy.
3.
What do you think about the relativity of the actors in the show?
The actors are very relatable, genuine group if friends, fun stories makes you want to be them
when you are older.
4.
Tell me what stands out to you about the different relationships presented in this
program.
Representative of each person, Marshall and lily married, barney player, ted looking for someone,
shows a wide range of people, which makes the show more relatable because everyone knows
someone like that.
5.
Tell me what concerns you about the morals and values that are displayed through the
characters actions.
Nothing necessary concerns me, that's how people are, makes characters relatable because of their
different morals.
6.
Reflect on why you think this group of friends is as close as they are.
They do everything together, with each other constantly talking about what happened to them and
their past, have such an open relationship