TDH said:
I never say he's gay in real life (even though he is) it takes away from the character
Tell me more about this perspective.
Having watched a few series of How I Met Your Mother I sometimes can't help to feel that the entire show is a satire.
For example, in one episode Robin is shooting cans on the roof with a gun she owns and the general sense from the native Americans is
"These Canadians are so silly and dangerous with their guns"
Let me get this straight, Americans are saying that Canadians have an obsession with guns and that they are dangerous.
When America has a National Rifle Association with 4 million people, an amendment in its constitution regarding the right to bear arms, approximately 300 million guns in the country (almost one per person) and has been the home of many mass killings and shootings in the last twenty years (Sandy Hook, Batman Cinema, Columbine).
Then we've got the character of Barney.
In the show, as you know, sleeps with hundreds of women and is constantly chasing s3xy women. He is literally the stereotype and extreme example of a heterosexual player.
Yet, in real life Neil Patrick Harris is gay. I found this to be one of the funniest things. His character is an overexaggeration of the male "classy player type" yet as a gay man is probably hated by definition by homophobic players.
Furthermore, his trademark is to wear suits and to stand out by wearing suits.
What is seen as the most bland, generic item of clothing used to describe men who are cookie-cutter businessmen?
Suits. The suit is the uniform of the corporate world.
Yet he is trying to stand out by wearing by a garment which is seen as an item of clothing worn by boring and unsympathetic businessmen.
I find this incredibly ironic.
It's always important to keep in mind that Barney is a character, a representation of a man and not a real, living man.
There are certainly positive aspects of his character to observe
- nonchalant attitude towards being rejected (it doesn't bother him)
- he has fun with it and enjoys the process
There are also negatives
- inauthenticity
- reliance on "playbook moves"
- reliance on lies, exaggerations
- ultimately, if you want a relationship with a girl she's going to realise you don't "work for the peace corps" "are an astronaut" or "pitch for the new york yankees".
Personally, I would never want to be Barney although there are aspects of his personality which would help with women. I value authenticity and this is in almost complete contradiction with is character