How I Met Your Mother's Asian Insensitivity?

One of my favorite shows on TV, now in its second season, is the CBS sitcom, How I Met Your Mother. It is consistently one of the most clever comedy shows on TV, only surpassed (in my ever-humble opinion) by the new show 30 Rock. Plus, How I Met Your Mother stars both Willow and Doogie, and you can never go wrong with either of them.

Last night I was belatedly watching Monday's episode on my DVR, an episode with a brilliant concept that didn't quite pull off as a whole, though it had some fabulous gay-themed humor in it. But overall, it seemed the writers were just a bit off their game.

In the episode, Barney (played by my first-ever celebrity crush/recently-outed actor Neil Patrick Harris....some of my earliest masturbation was in high school looking at pictures of him back in his Doogie Howser days) is [ironically] visited by his gay black brother James, played by Wayne Brady. How Barney a white guy and James a black guy are brothers is a mystery that is one of the running gags of the episode.



Barney is the ultimate dedicated single guy, avoiding commitment at all costs. James, apparently, is the gay version of Barney. So the two of them--since they never were competing for the same person--would help each other to score hookups (Barney helping James to pick up guys, and James helping Barney to pick up girls).



One example of this partnership, though, actually has me wondering if I should be upset or if I am reading more into the situation than I should. During a flashback, James is shown in a gay bar lying on his back, seeming not to be breathing.



Barney calls out to a group of guys and asks if anyone knows CPR. Quickly, a rather cute Asian guy standing very close by volunteers.



Barney looks at him, scowls, and then calls a tall, muscular (but, in my opinion, much-less-attractive) black guy from across the room to come help.



The basic concept of the joke was very obvious, that James did not actually need CPR, but rather he and Barney were trying to set up an opportunity for James to make out with a hottie. When the first candidate did not measure up to expectations in spite of being medically qualified and close by, a "better" helper was selected although he was unqualified and farther away. It is a rather over-used comic idea, though the basic idea is funny.

But there was one problem. That is, the first, more-qualified guy was attractive. Sure, the second guy was the exotic muscular look, but the Asian guy was very cute. In fact, had I seen the two of them in a bar, there's no question I would go after the Asian guy (yes, I hear you snickering that that is not a big surprise, but my first boyfriend was black, so I definitely find black guys attractive just as I do Asian guys....and Latino guys, and white guys, and... :-).



The only apparent reason for his rejection seemed to be his ethnicity. It seemed as if the underlying thought was, "Asian guys simply are not as desirable as others." For an episode that, at its best points, used humor quite effectively to illustrate the absurdity of homophobic attitudes that are often-present in society, that joke seemed off the mark and unhelpful.

So, did anyone else see the episode? Am I making sense? Or perhaps I'm overreacting and being too sensitive?

Didn't see it? Well, you're in luck! For at least the next couple days (until the next episode airs, I believe), you can watch the episode for free on Innertube (click here). To view the episode, click on the Innertube graphic near the top right, and select the episode "Single Stamina." The CPR scene is about 3 minutes into the second segment.

I'm glad to get feedback from you all about this.

Back to Work

Well, vacation has ended and it's back to reality again. As we celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday in the US this past week, I had five days off work, and I accomplished exactly what I had planned with that time....absolutely nothing! That's right, I enjoyed five days of relaxing and being completely lazy. I saw a couple movies, watched TV, hung out with friends, and ate lots of pizza. Somewhere in there, I even found time to squeeze in a traditional Thanksgiving dinner followed by a drunken version of Dutch Blitz (the greatest card game ever, IMHO).

I need to get to bed so that I can be rested as much as possible as I start my week, but here are some pictures that hopefully will help the abrupt start of the week to be a little less painful for you all!

White T-Shirt Contest, Part 2

As I looked over the pictures of guys in white t-shirts the other day, I realized I had far more than would fit in a single post, so although I don't have anything additional and profound to add, I'm sure you will enjoy this second set of hot guys in tees.