By ZACHARY OLSAVICKY
Opinion Editor
Kids, we’ve been spoiled. For almost nine years now, How I Met Your Mother has given us some of the sharpest and funniest television in its day. The number of memorable scenes is impressive, among them Barney Stinson’s resume, the blue French horn, ‘Nothing Suits ‘Em Like a Suit,’ Robin Sparkles, and the slap bet. That it all comes to a finish in a few months makes it hard not to look at the show through rose-colored glasses.
But a recent episode, continuing the saga of the aforementioned slap bet, is a reminder that all roses have their thorns. In a style parody of old martial arts films, one character told a fable of how he came to learn a tremendously powerful slap. The episode drew criticism—not because of its plot, but because of its portrayal of Asian characters of the genre. Principal cast members, all Caucasian, wore Chinese and Japanese garb of the genre, and spoke and acted in similar ways. Disappointed viewers argued that the show was being racist, with the actors essentially performing in yellowface.
The criticisms aren’t unfounded—film and television have long struggled with portrayals of non-white characters. Fu Manchu, whose iconic mustache was parodied in the episode, is one of the key examples of yellowface in cinema. Blackface is one of the most frequently seen examples—highly regarded cinema icons like Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby stooped to those depths in their heyday. Even contemporary audiences are subjected to painful racial caricatures, like Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Tonto in the 2013 bomb The Lone Ranger. Though racist portrayals have dropped in modern film and television, their impact resonates—and rightfully so.
Though audiences are concerned, the portrayals seen on How I Met Your Mother don’t appear as offensive—at least, in my eyes—because they are mocking a genre’s portrayal of a group of people, not the group itself. Parodying a certain genre of film, like martial arts, allows for deconstruction of its more absurd conventions. The character traits given to Asians in Western martial arts movies are very limited, and parodying those characters serves to undermine the original writing. The point isn’t to laugh at the characters—the point is to laugh at how stupid those norms are.
Critics are still correct to challenge these portrayals, however—even as parodies. Many people still don’t understand that race-centric costuming can still be wildly offensive. We see it every Halloween, where people don makeup to play characters of different races. Actress Julianne Hough wore blackface as part of a costume for the character Crazy Eyes from Orange is the New Black, and she was strongly criticized for it. Hough apologized and claimed no ill will, but it’s easy to see where she mis-stepped. You can pay tribute to a character or actress without paying tribute to their race. Though this seems like a ‘no duh’ concept, many people still struggle to grasp it—which is why people are correct to be upset when a show like How I Met Your Mother wades into those waters.
Though the portrayals on Mother aren’t offensive, they also aren’t terribly insightful. In the right context, race-based portrayals can be used to deconstruct stereotypes and their portrayals in film. The 2008 film-within-a-film satire Tropic Thunder saw Robert Downey, Jr. wear blackface for most of his screentime. But he wasn’t mocking black soldiers—Downey, portraying an overzealous method actor, ridiculed the lengths actors go to in order to win accolades. And another contemporary television show, 30 Rock, featured Jon Hamm in blackface to mock blackface portrayals in the 1950s.
With the gains that comedies have made in deconstructing old stereotypes, it’s understandable that people might want to give it a try. After all, it feels good to take offensive ideas and ridicule them. So, if you’ve been thinking about giving painted faces a try, I’m here to tell you: don’t. Just don’t. Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t. Even people who have studied comedy struggle with it at times, and a few poor writing choices could’ve made Robert Downey Jr.’s Tropic Thunder character an abomination.
This is why people are still correct to question race-based portrayals. Comedy is one of the strongest uses of free speech, but its practitioners have a tendency to become defensive if they are criticized—as if free speech doesn’t apply to the other side. Even with my understanding, it’s fully possible that the portrayals on How I Met Your Mother and 30 Rock and in Tropic Thunder were blatantly offensive. But it’s better to have a conversation about those portrayals than it is to sit quietly while people make risqué jokes.
