Follow Barney the Dinosaur's furious reaction and what he says about the human need to hate. Something in American society was broken and never came back, or is it just who we were all along... Read allFollow Barney the Dinosaur's furious reaction and what he says about the human need to hate. Something in American society was broken and never came back, or is it just who we were all along?Follow Barney the Dinosaur's furious reaction and what he says about the human need to hate. Something in American society was broken and never came back, or is it just who we were all along?
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A Changed Perspective On Barney
I used to like Barney when I was younger, but I'm now neutral to it. However, I agree or used to agree with some of the criticisms it has received and used to make fun of some of them (e.g., Barney's voice sounding dopey, some of the songs being annoying, the series being set in a perfect world, etc. I still hate these aspects, minus the setting being "perfect"), and I'm aware that there's a Wikipedia page for anti-Barney humor. I decided to watch I Love You, You Hate Me because I was intrigued about it when I read about it in an article and saw the trailer, and I got to admit that it was a good documentary! There are people from media I like involved in this, like Steve Burns from Blue's Clues, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and a few others. I was already neutral to Barney before watching it, but I've warmed up to Barney a little more because of this doc.
Now that I've seen this, I can say that some people take Barney too seriously. The purple dinosaur loves everyone for who they are and doesn't expect anyone to change. It seems as if it's just for the sake of loving people, but this obviously isn't the case for every friendship he has developed, and it's important to be nice to others and accept them for who they are. Like Bob West said, Barney stands for love, inclusion, and acceptance. I can't go wrong with that, and I can't imagine why anyone else could either! A couple of the colored child (now adult) actors from the first three seasons said that they had put up with racism before Barney, but they found the acceptance they've yearned for and began to appreciate their differences when the show started. However, when they retired and went back to school, their schoolmates bullied them for starring in Barney, and they started smoking and drinking as coping mechanisms. I'm happy that they found the acceptance they've yearned for, and I feel sorry for the hardships they've gone through before and after seasons 1-3. Kudos to America's favorite purple dinosaur! The talk about them smoking and drinking is dark, especially for anything to with Barney, and that's never a good sign. The "Barney bashers" have done some horrible things to Barney fans and the show's cast and crew (e.g., bullied the original kid actors for their involvement in it like I mentioned, gave Bob West death threats via emails, called them names, destroyed Barney toys, etc.), and that's not cool. What did Barney ever do to them? Like I said, the purple dinosaur stands for love, inclusion, and acceptance, not fighting, smoking, drinking, racism, death threats, etc. Saying he's evil is crazy talk. I learned from the doc that the "cool kids" would hate on Barney all the time when it was new back in the 1990s, when everything was cruel and edgy, and part of the reason it had a lot of haters was because it wasn't edgy, and the internet was also new at the time; the dangers of being on social media were just beginning. I was not yet born in the 90s, so how I was supposed to know that before? Just because something isn't edgy doesn't mean it sucks, and if every show/movie was edgy, the TV/movie industry would be boring and unoriginal. Maybe those people would've liked Barney if they gave it a chance. I got to admit that it's a far cry from today's cartoons with gross out and/or crude humor, mean-spiritedness, characters who are anti-role models, dark violence, or all of the above. I'd rather watch Barney than any of those cartoons, and thankfully anti-Barney humor has died down a bit. I heard that if the internet existed in the 70s, Sesame Street likely would've received similar backlash because it was new at the time, and it's somewhat similar to Barney. I don't like the sound of that. If you're wondering, yes, I like Sesame Street. I'm not saying that just because you don't like Barney doesn't mean you're a bad person, but the doc shows how we as humans need to be more conscious with our behavior towards others. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but if you don't like Barney, then leave him and his fans alone.
Steve White (the head writer of Barney) said towards the end that the title character never tried to argue that the world was a perfect place. Instead, he tried to argue that the world could be a better place if we all try to make it a better place, and I give him (Barney) credit for that! I never thought of it that way before watching the doc, but it's true. The criticism the show has received about the setting being perfect is invalid. It's true that the characters are happy most of the time, but why shouldn't they be? What do you expect them to do? Mope around like a bunch of goths? There are a number of episodes that talk about how to handle negative emotions, have seriousness involved and conflict-based plots, like Baby Bop getting a stomachache after eating too many cookies, BJ riding a scooter too fast and falling down, the kids getting scared of a grizzly bear, the characters losing a Christmas star, Baby Bop and BJ getting into an argument and Barney and the kids trying to help them settle their argument, and more. Another thing I learned from here is when Hit Entertainment acquired the rights to the show, they made more episodes with conflict-based plots due to the complaints about the setting being perfect. That's a good idea, even though the Lyons and Lyrick Studios eras are better than the Hit era for the most part. Steve or another one of the cast members said that life may not always treat us well, but we all probably just need a hug, just like how Barney loves to hug his friends when they're sad. He also said the lessons the dinosaur offers are important, and those who don't like him could easily embrace those lessons but don't have to like the show. I couldn't agree more! Heck, I myself have come across a few people who don't like it (in person, in articles online, and in a few negative reviews on the show that are on this same website) and have said positive comments about the lessons and the "I Love You" song.
Steve Burns asks the rest of the crew, "Who was your Barney growing up, and how would you feel about a room full of people hating on him/her?" Their "Barneys" included their teddy bears, Elmo, Bert and Ernie, Big Bird, and numerous other characters, and they didn't like the idea of a room full of people hating on them. I must say that they hit the nail on the head with those lines! Even though I grew up with Barney, I think it'd be safer to say that my "Barney" was either Charlie Brown, Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse, SpongeBob, or all of the above, and I REALLY wouldn't want to be in a room full of people hating on either of them. You probably wouldn't like the idea of a room full of people bashing your favorite toy(s) or character(s) either.
If Barney is the bane of your existence or you consider him a menace to society, you should check out I Love You, You Hate Me. It will likely change the way you feel about him like it did for me, or maybe you'll still hate him, just not as much. If you are a Barney fan, you should still watch this. If you're confused as to why the show has received a lot of hate, this will likely give you a better understanding, and you might learn something about Barney from it too.
Now that I've seen this, I can say that some people take Barney too seriously. The purple dinosaur loves everyone for who they are and doesn't expect anyone to change. It seems as if it's just for the sake of loving people, but this obviously isn't the case for every friendship he has developed, and it's important to be nice to others and accept them for who they are. Like Bob West said, Barney stands for love, inclusion, and acceptance. I can't go wrong with that, and I can't imagine why anyone else could either! A couple of the colored child (now adult) actors from the first three seasons said that they had put up with racism before Barney, but they found the acceptance they've yearned for and began to appreciate their differences when the show started. However, when they retired and went back to school, their schoolmates bullied them for starring in Barney, and they started smoking and drinking as coping mechanisms. I'm happy that they found the acceptance they've yearned for, and I feel sorry for the hardships they've gone through before and after seasons 1-3. Kudos to America's favorite purple dinosaur! The talk about them smoking and drinking is dark, especially for anything to with Barney, and that's never a good sign. The "Barney bashers" have done some horrible things to Barney fans and the show's cast and crew (e.g., bullied the original kid actors for their involvement in it like I mentioned, gave Bob West death threats via emails, called them names, destroyed Barney toys, etc.), and that's not cool. What did Barney ever do to them? Like I said, the purple dinosaur stands for love, inclusion, and acceptance, not fighting, smoking, drinking, racism, death threats, etc. Saying he's evil is crazy talk. I learned from the doc that the "cool kids" would hate on Barney all the time when it was new back in the 1990s, when everything was cruel and edgy, and part of the reason it had a lot of haters was because it wasn't edgy, and the internet was also new at the time; the dangers of being on social media were just beginning. I was not yet born in the 90s, so how I was supposed to know that before? Just because something isn't edgy doesn't mean it sucks, and if every show/movie was edgy, the TV/movie industry would be boring and unoriginal. Maybe those people would've liked Barney if they gave it a chance. I got to admit that it's a far cry from today's cartoons with gross out and/or crude humor, mean-spiritedness, characters who are anti-role models, dark violence, or all of the above. I'd rather watch Barney than any of those cartoons, and thankfully anti-Barney humor has died down a bit. I heard that if the internet existed in the 70s, Sesame Street likely would've received similar backlash because it was new at the time, and it's somewhat similar to Barney. I don't like the sound of that. If you're wondering, yes, I like Sesame Street. I'm not saying that just because you don't like Barney doesn't mean you're a bad person, but the doc shows how we as humans need to be more conscious with our behavior towards others. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but if you don't like Barney, then leave him and his fans alone.
Steve White (the head writer of Barney) said towards the end that the title character never tried to argue that the world was a perfect place. Instead, he tried to argue that the world could be a better place if we all try to make it a better place, and I give him (Barney) credit for that! I never thought of it that way before watching the doc, but it's true. The criticism the show has received about the setting being perfect is invalid. It's true that the characters are happy most of the time, but why shouldn't they be? What do you expect them to do? Mope around like a bunch of goths? There are a number of episodes that talk about how to handle negative emotions, have seriousness involved and conflict-based plots, like Baby Bop getting a stomachache after eating too many cookies, BJ riding a scooter too fast and falling down, the kids getting scared of a grizzly bear, the characters losing a Christmas star, Baby Bop and BJ getting into an argument and Barney and the kids trying to help them settle their argument, and more. Another thing I learned from here is when Hit Entertainment acquired the rights to the show, they made more episodes with conflict-based plots due to the complaints about the setting being perfect. That's a good idea, even though the Lyons and Lyrick Studios eras are better than the Hit era for the most part. Steve or another one of the cast members said that life may not always treat us well, but we all probably just need a hug, just like how Barney loves to hug his friends when they're sad. He also said the lessons the dinosaur offers are important, and those who don't like him could easily embrace those lessons but don't have to like the show. I couldn't agree more! Heck, I myself have come across a few people who don't like it (in person, in articles online, and in a few negative reviews on the show that are on this same website) and have said positive comments about the lessons and the "I Love You" song.
Steve Burns asks the rest of the crew, "Who was your Barney growing up, and how would you feel about a room full of people hating on him/her?" Their "Barneys" included their teddy bears, Elmo, Bert and Ernie, Big Bird, and numerous other characters, and they didn't like the idea of a room full of people hating on them. I must say that they hit the nail on the head with those lines! Even though I grew up with Barney, I think it'd be safer to say that my "Barney" was either Charlie Brown, Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse, SpongeBob, or all of the above, and I REALLY wouldn't want to be in a room full of people hating on either of them. You probably wouldn't like the idea of a room full of people bashing your favorite toy(s) or character(s) either.
If Barney is the bane of your existence or you consider him a menace to society, you should check out I Love You, You Hate Me. It will likely change the way you feel about him like it did for me, or maybe you'll still hate him, just not as much. If you are a Barney fan, you should still watch this. If you're confused as to why the show has received a lot of hate, this will likely give you a better understanding, and you might learn something about Barney from it too.
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- Feb 2, 2024
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