Anti-Barney humor
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Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/69.11.210.3|69.11.210.3]] (using [[WP:HG|Huggle]])
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'''Anti-Barney humor''' is a form of [[humor]] that targets the children's television program ''[[Barney & Friends]]''. The perception that the show is sugary, boring, uneducational or insincere has made the program a target for [[parody]] by older children and [[adolescence|adolescent]]s all over [[United States|America]] and elsewhere, as well as many adults, and a few famous entertainment personalities.
[[Image:JihadBarney.jpg|right|thumb|175px|An early instance of Anti-Barney humor involved a fictional "jihad" against Barney, originating from the early 1990s.]]
==History==
Almost immediately after ''Barney and Friends'' first aired in [[1992]], it mesmerized and fascinated many younger children and infants but was despised by most older children.<ref name=WJTMitchell>"Indeed, Barney is on the receiving end of more hostility than just about any other popular cultural icon I can think of. Parents admit to a cordial dislike of the saccharine saurian, and no self-respecting second-grader will admit to liking Barney ..." - [http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/532046.html W.J.T. Mitchell, ''The Last Dinosaur Book: The Life and Times of a Cultural Icon'', Chapter 37, "Why Children Hate Dinosaurs"], ISBN 0-226-53204-6</ref> These children were among the first to practice anti-Barney humor.<ref>Barney parodies from children were given an entire chapter of the 1995 book ''Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts: The Subversive Folklore of Childhood'' by Josepha Sherman and T.K.F. Weisskopf, ISBN 0-87483-444-9 (see [http://www.greenmanreview.com/greasy_grimy_gopher_guts.html The Green Man Review entry])</ref> Eventually, adults contributed to anti-Barney humor including some parents and a few famous entertainment personalities.
The reasons of dislike typically differ from one individual to another. However, commonly cited reasons included the sugary content to dislikes in the ways songs are parodied on the show, to the fact that the experiences of the person totally contradicted what Barney presented on the show (for example, a person who has attended school will find that school is not all fun and games and not everyone is friendly for example, bullies, or they may already have a sister and realize that a little sister is not always as co-operative as depicted on the show). Some people still recall a few episodes that have since been pulled where Barney tells children to, among other hazardous lessons, talk to strangers.<ref name=talkstrangers>[http://www.jihad.net/non-fiction/bell-babysit.txt] Bellinghausen; Alex, ''Barney: The Babysitter'', Jihad.net non-fiction archives.</ref>
==Examples of Anti-Barney humor==
===Z100 Prank Call===
The [[New York City]] based Top 40 station [[WHTZ]], better known as Z100, received a prank call during a morning radio show from a person who claimed to be Barney. When one of the DJs asked Barney what he does on the weekends when he's not filming the show, he admitted that he had "a severe crack problem" and that he "can't stop smoking the stuff".
The people who made the prank call were believed to be high school students from Northern [[New Jersey]], but their identities were never confirmed.
The call received semi-national re-recognition as a user at [[newgrounds.com]] used the audio from the station and created an accompanying [[Flash animation]], he even depicted the baby stealing Barney's crack at the end.
===Barkley vs Barney===
[[Charles Barkley]] was the guest host of the television program ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' on [[25 September]] [[1993]]. At one point during the show, Barkley parodied his [[Godzilla]]-themed commercial by facing off against Barney in a basketball match.<ref>[http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/pete_mcentegart/04/15/ten.spot/index.html Pete McEntegart, "The 10 Spot", ''Sports Illustrated'' [[10 July]] [[2005]]]</ref>
===Music and related video===
One of the first well known anti-Barney songs was "Barney's on Fire" by Tony Mason (often miscredited to [["Weird Al" Yankovic]]).<ref>[http://www.tonymason.com See Tony Mason official website, indicating the song is a 1993 composition]</ref>{{Verify credibility|date=March 2008}}
"[[Jurassic Park (song)|Jurassic Park]]," released on [["Weird Al" Yankovic]]'s ''[[Alapalooza]]'' album, featured the lyrics, "I'm afraid these things might harm me / Cause' they sure don't act like Barney." The music video included a scene in which a ''[[Tyrannosaurus]]'' bites Barney's head off but later chokes on it and is given the [[Heimlich maneuver]] by an [[apatosaurus]]/[[Apatosaurus|Brontosaurus]] (they are considered to be the same type of dinosaur). A more recent music video, also by Weird Al, "[[I'll Sue Ya]]", has an animated bandaged, evil looking Barney robot chewing on a severed arm.
An online video combines clips from ''Barney and Friends'' with [[Tupac Shakur]]'s song "[[Hit 'Em Up]]", making it appear that Barney and other characters from the show are [[rapping]]. The humor is based on the [[juxtaposition]] of the actual song's heavy use of [[profanity]] and violent content, which is inimical to the regular lessons and content on ''Barney and Friends''. This video was created by [http://www.daddydesign.com Daddy Design] and has been a huge hit on the web for over 9 years now.
Also a Mexican online video combines a scene from Barney's Birthday with a song about [[Mexican general election 2006 controversies]] (set to the tune of the Barney song "Everyone is Special") making it appear that Barney is singing about [[Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador]]'s reaction about [[Felipe Calderon]]'s victory.
The [[music video]] for the 1993 re-recording of [[Suicidal Tendencies]] song, "Institutionalized", features frontman [[Mike Muir]] playing cards with Barney towards the end of the video. Barney's face is [[censored]] in the video.
===Print media===
A small comic book imprint, Parody Press (an imprint of Eternity Comics), released an anthology comic book entitled ''Kill Barny'' in 1994, a collection of short stories and one-page strips depicting the death of the purple dinosaur. One multi-page story depicts "Beaver and Butt-Chin", characters drawn to resemble [[Beavis and Butt-Head]], playing "Dinosaur Baseball" and setting the purple dinosaur on fire.
Several months later, another issue was released under the name ''Kill Barney Again!'', reprinting most of ''Kill Barny'' but with some new material pages and a new cover.
The Mad Magazine Fold-in for Issue #328 referred to Barney-bashing. It asked, "What Single Goal Has Brought Agreement And Unity Among Vastly Different Groups?" and the image, which featured pairs of opposite people proclaiming their support for the answer, folded into a dead Barney with the word "extinct" on it, and the caption then read "Death to Barney." MAD KIDS Issue #1, in "Puzzle Nook," asked readers to complete the phrase _NEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL" and one option was "BAR."
===''Nine Months''===
The [[Hugh Grant]] film ''[[Nine Months]]'' includes a character similar to Barney, named "Arnie". Arnie is apparently meant as the embodiment of the growing amount of Anti-Barney humor in that he demonstrates the subjectively perceived "worst" aspects of the character extended to extremes.
In one scene, Arnie taunts Marty ([[Tom Arnold (actor)|Tom Arnold]]) into buying various "Arnie" merchandise. Marty graciously declines, but Arnie proceeds to tease him. Finally, Marty is driven to physical assault on "Arnie" in front of an audience of children.
===Internet fiction===
A group of adults wrote fiction revolving around not only killing Barney, but portraying him as a demonic force to be defeated in an epic tale. The most highly regarded of these were a series of short stories by writer Brian Bull including the ''[http://de.jihad.net/lib/bull-dotb.txt Day of The Barney]'' novel, and the cult hit ''Batman versus Barney''. The popularity of stories by Bull and others elicited the attention of the producers of ''Barney and Friends'' who moved to shut down the sites, although the stories may still be found on the internet.
===Jihad===
[http://www.jihad.net The Jihad to Destroy Barney] is a fictional [[jihad]] that sees itself in the ultimate battle against Barney (or B'harne<ref>[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=B%27harne Urban Dictionary: B'harne<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>) and his followers, the ''sponge minions''. The Jihad's site is a source of Barney-related fiction and essays, in addition to its ''Jihad Universe'' [[Role-playing game]].
References to a Barney "Jihad" are found on Barney-related [[Usenet]] newsgroups as early as 1993.<ref>[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.barney.dinosaur.die.die.die/browse_thread/thread/e7f4856e6784d1fe/b18036567613da74 "Joining the Jihad", alt.barney.dinosaur.die.die.die, 13 October 1993]</ref>
The operators of jihad.net, in acknowledging the situation since the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]], chose to continue their site, noting that "... while a group of geeky Western gamers keep hanging onto jihad.net, people with less pleasant intentions are unable to use it."<ref>[http://www.jihad.net/quickfaq.html "The Jihad Universe for Dummies", from jihad.net]</ref>
===The Barney Bunch===
A group of flash animators who post regularly on [[Newgrounds]] and [[YouTube]] known as the '''Barney Bunch''' typically portray Barney and other children's aimed characters (both fictional and real) as homosexuals. The animation content has strong usage of [[crude humor]], sexual themes, and most of the characters voices are created by [[text-to-speech|text-to-speech programs]] such as [[Speakonia]]. Besides Barney, [[Drew Pickles]], a character from [[Rugrats]], is mostly parodied in their work along with [[Ronald McDonald]], [[the Wiggles]], [[Clifford the Big Red Dog]], characters from [[Dragontales]], and on one occasion the Westboro Baptist Church. They have held multiple websites showcasing work, notably [[YouTube]] and a defunct [[Invisionfree]] message board.<ref>[http://thebarneybunch.tripod.com/ Barney Bunch website]</ref>
== "Barney = 666" joke ==
Many individuals have been associated with the [[Number of the Beast]] (666) using a variety of schemes to transform their names or mottoes into the infamous number. One of the most widely-distributed works of Anti-Barney humour provides a 666 calculation for the character of Barney as follows:<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.laweekly.com/general/sitegeist/cipherin-for-jesus/11200/ | title=Cipherin' for Jesus | publisher=''[[LA Weekly]]'' | date=[[26 December]] [[2000]] | first=Dave | last=Shulman | accessdate=2007-09-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.seemagazine.com/Issues/1998/0409/web.html | title=On the Web | publisher=''[[SEE Magazine]]'' | date=[[9 April]] [[1998]] | first=Richard | last=Cairney | accessdate=2007-09-07}}</ref>
1. Barney is well-described with the following phrase:
:'''CUTE PURPLE DINOSAUR'''
2. The old [[Latin alphabet]] used the letter 'V' in place of 'U', therefore the above phrase is modified to:
:'''CVTE PVRPLE DINOSAVR'''
3. Letters that do not represent [[Roman numerals]] are removed:
:'''CV-- -V--L- DI----V-'''
4. Add up the [[Roman numerals]] of the remaining letters:
:'''C + V + V + L + D + I + V'''
:100 + 5 + 5 + 50 + 500 + 1 + 5 = '''666'''
A summary of the Antichrist calculation was included in the [http://groups.google.ca/group/alt.tv.barney/msg/0b25b206190cb6ea Barney FAQ v1.2] (posted on [[Usenet]]'s alt.tv.barney newsgroup [[1 December]] [[1993]]). Since then, it has become one of the most widely-distributed instances of Barney humour.<ref>See this [http://www.google.com/search?q=barney+cvte+pvrple+666 Google search]; as of [[7 September]] [[2007]], this yielded 1380 results, most of which include the Barney/Antichrist Joke.</ref>
==Computer games==
Anti-Barney humor found another channel for expression due to the flexibility of early 90's computer games, such as the popular [[first person shooter]], ''[[DOOM]]''. Numerous "[[Mod (computer gaming)|mods]]" circulated the Internet, some of which could replace specific monsters in the game. Some mods replaced one or more monsters with Barney, often with new sounds as well. One such mod is "Barneystein 3D", a spoof of ''[[Wolfenstein 3D]]'', where, instead of killing Nazis, the player has to kill Barneys. Closely related was the "[[Mashup (music)|mashup]]" [[WAV]] file of Barney starting his theme song, interrupted by some [[German language|German]] speech and various weapon sounds from the game ''Wolfenstein 3D'' (with the implication that the German soldiers killed Barney with a large volume of gunfire).
There was also a computer game for [[Macintosh]] platform called [http://www.electric-games.com/mac-games/b/mac-barneycarnage.html Barney Carnage].
A [[Homebrew (video games)|homebrew]] [[Colecovision]] game known as "Purple Dinosaur Massacre" was released on the Internet in the late 90s.
''[[Starcraft]]'' also has custom map called "Kill Barney", in which the players kill characters from the Barney show and ultimately and Barney himself as the final [[boss (video games)|boss]].
==Legal responses==
Lyons Partnership, which owns the [[intellectual property]] rights to ''[[Barney & Friends]]'', took the view that Barney spoofs were instances of [[Trademark infringement|trademark]] and [[copyright infringement]] against the Barney character. Lyons' lawyers subsequently demanded that the owners of Anti-Barney humour websites remove their material from the Internet. Some site owners withdrew their Barney-related materials after such threats<ref>[http://www.gargaro.com/barney.html Removal of "Barney Dies" sound files, Carolyn Gargaro]</ref><ref>[http://drwho.virtadpt.net/barney-cease-and-desist.html "A children's toy could get me sued", drwho.virtadpt.net]</ref> while others resisted. However, American law has established [[parody]] as a [[fair use]] defense against such infringement claims.<ref>See "Copyright issues" under [[Parody#Copyright issues|Wikipedia:Parody]]</ref>
=== Barney vs San Diego Chicken ===
In 1994, [[Sketch comedy|comedy sketches]] of [[The San Diego Chicken]] during professional sporting events began to include scenes of the Chicken beating up a dinosaur character. Lyons Partnership began sending letters to Ted Giannoulas, who portrays the Chicken, demanding that he stop the alleged violation of Lyons' rights on the Barney character.
These threats did not stop the mock battles between Chicken and Barney. On [[8 October]] [[1997]], Lyons filed lawsuit in [[Fort Worth, Texas]] federal district court against Giannoulas, claiming copyright and trademark infringement and further claiming that such performances would confuse children. This court ruled against Lyons on [[29 July]] [[1998]], declaring the sketches to be a parody that did not infringe on the rights of the Barney character.<ref>[http://www.current.org/ch/ch814b.html Current.org: "The case of Barney v. Chicken", articles from 1997 and 1998]</ref><ref>[http://www.eonline.com/News/Court/1197.barney.html E! Online: Celeb Courthouse] "Barney the Dinosaur v. the Famous San Diego Chicken".</ref>
Lyons appealed this ruling to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit|Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals]], but again lost their case to Giannoulas on [[7 July]] [[1999]].<ref>[http://laws.lp.findlaw.com/5th/9811003cv0.html FindLaw: 5th Circuit decision, Lyons Partnership vs Ted Giannoulas]</ref>
=== Barney vs EFF ===
The [[Electronic Frontier Foundation]] (EFF) hosted online archives from the Computer Underground Digest that contained Barney parody material. In 2001, Gibney, Anthony & Flaherty, LLP who were the lawyers for Lyons Partnership, issued a threat letter to
EFF claiming infringement of the Barney character. EFF strongly defended itself against these claims citing the established defence of parody, backed by [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|United States First Amendment]] protections.<ref>[http://www.eff.org/Censorship/SLAPP/IP_SLAPP/20010706_eff_barney_response.html EFF Response to "Barney" Legal Threat], [[Electronic Frontier Foundation]] letter, [[6 July]] [[2001]]</ref>
As of [[November 29]] [[2006]], the EFF successfully defended a website ridiculing Barney from a lawsuit. An article in ''[[The Register]]'' applauded the victory.<ref>[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/29/barney_goes_down_hard/ EFF defeats Barney the Dinosaur], [[The Register]], [[29 November]] [[2006]]</ref>
=== Barney vs CyberCheeze ===
Around 2001, the comedy website CyberCheeze<ref>[http://www.cybercheeze.com Original articles on cybercheeze.com] Unavailable as of 21 April 2006 as the site was under maintenance. Still unavailable as of May 30, 2008. May be defunct.</ref> posted a work entitled "150 Ways to Kill the Purple Dinosaur". In response, a lawyer's letter on behalf of Barney's rights owners threatened legal action. CyberCheeze replied to this with a substantial dose of [[satire]].<ref>[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/06/22/barney_barney_makes_dino_outfit/ ''The Register'': "Barney barney makes dino outfit purple with rage"]</ref><ref>[http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,44998,00.html Wired News: "Lawyers: Keep Barney Pure"], includes reference to the EFF situation.</ref>
==Miscellaneous==
Since 1995, when the website [[Newgrounds]] was established, several fan-made cartoons demeaning Barney have appeared, some of them depicting Barney as a [[drug addict]] or a [[terrorism|terrorist]]. One of the most popular includes "Barney Busdriver", which depicts Barney as a [[drug addict]]/[[alcoholic]]/[[sadist]] who is driving an elementary school bus filled with children who like him; he even slaps a little girl who has given him candy, causing her to cry. Another animation portrays Barney as a friend of [[Osama Bin Laden]] and [[Saddam Hussein]] and depicts him [[Sexual assault|sexually assaulting]] a young girl.{{Fact|date=June 2007}}
Many [[cartoons]] targeted at older children have made fun of Barney directly or indirectly. Most cartoons do not mention Barney directly. Instead they use a parody. Some examples of shows that have done this include ''[[Dinosaurs (TV series)|Dinosaurs]]'', ''[[Garfield and Friends]]'', ''[[Rugrats]]'', and ''[[Animaniacs]]''. One of the bosses in [[Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia]] is a monsterous Barney parody named Mr. Huggles who attacks by singing and trying to hug you. After fighting him, his suit comes off, revealing a more vicious [[Jabba the Hutt]]-like being. Also in the Arcade game [[Carnevil]] evil Barney-like creatures are some of the enemies in the Rickety Town level.
Barney was parodied in the [[Robot Chicken]] episode [[Easter Basket]].
The [[Evil Con Carne]] episode "Everybody Loves Uncle Bob" has one child shouting "it's that purple dinosaur guy" and then Boskov starts jumping around like Barney
One virus [[Digimon]] is the somewhat Barney-esque [[ExTyrannomon]] who is a black mass with eyes in the body of a stuffed dinosaur.
The character Smoochy from the film [[Death to Smoochy]] resembles Barney.
On [[October 31]], [[1993]], a concert in [[Akron, Ohio]] for [[Halloween]], [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] band members dressed up in costumes. Frontman and guitarist [[Kurt Cobain]] dressed up as Barney, with a bottle of [[Jack Daniels]] in his hand.{{Fact|date=June 2007}}
In the [[Simpsons]] episode [[Rosebud (The Simpsons)|Rosebud]], Homer watches a TV show where
a Barney-like character is seen dancing and chanting 2+2=4.
In ''[[The Monkees]]'' 1997 ABC TV Special, ''Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees'' (Written and directed by [[Michael Nesmith]]) Davy makes a reference to Barney while the four of them prepare for their upcoming gig. They discuss their recent occurrence at the beach when Micky had amazed an 8-year-old boy by 'throwing up' confetti (His great new idea for a group gimmick, similar to ''[[Kiss]]''). Davy had admitted that 8-year-olds deserve better than that. He soon stops and asks the others: "What's that purple dinosaur thing?" Peter then brings out a Monkees hand puppet (A popular children's toy from the 60's.) Davy responds: "That's exactly my point. All that purple dinosaur thing is is one of those...but WAY out of control! I mean, we're talking about mesmerizing four-year olds here!" {{Fact|date=June 2007}}
The science humour magazine [[Annals of Improbable Research]] published in its January/February 1995 issue an article called ''The [[Taxonomy]] of Barney,'' including [[X-ray]]s of his [[skeleton]]. It is freely available on the magazine's website.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume1/v1i1/barney.htm | title=The Taxonomy of Barney | accessdate=2007-06-09 | first=Edward C. | last=Theriot | date=January/February 1995 | publisher=[[Annals of Improbable Research]] }}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
[[Category:Humor]]
[[Category:Barney & Friends]]