Benad361

Benad361 is a British Unterganger and YouTube Pooper based in North Yorkshire, England. He is known for his innovative story-lines, bizarre crossovers, and constantly developed plots inspired by his own strange innovation, and sometimes the work of others (such as his Finding Fegelein series, which worked on the failures of each individual in the bunker to find Fegelein). He is currently working with Sony Vegas Pro 11, pixlr, and Paint (for painting in green backgrounds around faces to enable them to be chroma keyed in Vegas).

He engages frequently with the Unterganging community at large - having formed the popular Unterganger of the Month award system, being the leading judge in the Unterganger Awards, frequently using his channel to post comments and offer feedback on the works of fellow YouTubers, giving tips to novice Untergangers, being active on the Downfall Parodies Forum, founding the Stalin Parodies, and other kinds of parody series (thus encouraging other Untergangers to be similarly innovative), and so on. However, he is generally very cynical about much of the community, since many controversies within it became more pronounced.

He uploads about one parody (roughly) every few weeks. However this varies, depending on the strength of his creative spirit ('zeal', as he often likes to call it), and other commitments (such as university work). He was inactive from July-November 2013 (aside from contest announcement videos), but has returned (as of November 21st) and is working on more parodies.

Background
Benad361's YouTube channel was created in May 2009 and rarely used. However it was in May 2010 when a friend at his college linked him to a Hitler Rants Parodies' Downfall parody. He was impressed, but disgruntled on discovering the Constantin Film crackdown on the parodies. Initially he only planned to re-upload deleted parodies from other Untergangers to preserve the meme. However, he decided to make his own parodies while he could. After getting the links to the clips from HRP, he downloaded them and tried to make several parodies. They were initially blocked until he discovered how to mirror them effectively.

His initial parodies were somewhat basic - done in Windows Movie Maker and full of mistakes and other such errors (such as one of his first parodies, ''Hitler tries to evacuate to the Moon). However they helped to cement a certain loyal following, and his skills gradually built up over time, leading to many successful parodies (such as Hitler is informed by Goebbels that Goebbels did not find Fegelein'') and many more subscribers.

In December 2010 he obtained Sony Vegas 10 for Christmas and started to use it more and more to make parodies. At first they were somewhat primitive in terms of editing, yet drastically improved as he mastered Vegas, especially in terms of chroma keying to add faces onto characters. He has since made many very successful parodies in this way. One of the best examples is Fegelein vs Hitler: The Ultimate Showdown which is the perfect representation of his methods - a dramatic fighting scene with faces imposed of two opposing characters from his various parody series. He now uses Sony Vegas for practically all his parody activities, alongside Microsoft Paint (for cutting out faces). On the 2nd of February 2013, with the help of fellow Untergangers Subtitlecomedy and Trapped Antics, he managed to obtain a copy of Sony Vegas Pro 11, which he views as a crucial milestone in the advancement of his parodies.

Political views and activism
Just like fellow Unterganger Smell of the Ice, he despises demagogic and autocratic forms of government, believing that a representative, liberal form of democracy is the best approach for all nations, instead of canonising one narcissistic leader as a god. This has put him in a direct political contrast with Untergangers such as Gagislobista, who show a clear nostalgia for formerly autocratic governments (such as the government of Yugoslavia) and are supportive of leaders such as Muammar Gaddafi. He gets incredibly irritated when people see politics as black-and-white, and canonise dictators that fight to maintain their own corrupt systems (especially when fighting the west) as heroes. Debates are often frequent in the comments section of his parodies, and indeed all over YouTube, when he encounters those he styles as "totalitarian apologists" or "dictator sympathisers".

He often uses his YouTube channel to like news-related videos, and post comments to said videos on. In 2011 he came out in full support of the ongoing Arab Spring in the Middle East, seeing it as entirely compatible with his beliefs based around freedom, democracy and national self-determination. He detests myopic dictators such as Bashar al-Assad, and thus often ridicules them in his parodies. He also runs a news blog focused on the fight for freedom around the world, but with practically all the emphasis on the Arab Spring (his writings have achieved much praise in the past, despite little recognition in terms of blog followers). He also runs a Twitter account which he uses in his online activism to raise awareness about the situation in Syria and other places, promote his articles, communicate with fellow bloggers and activists, read and spread the latest news reports, and so on.

Parody style
Unlike other Untergangers who predominantly make parodies with a different storyline and plot for each parody (often with no relation to the other) many of Benad361's parodies fit in with the previous one. This creates what amounts to a long continuation throughout all his parodies in a lengthy story line (again, see the "Hitler is informed by _____ that _____ did not find Fegelein" series or the Tukhachevsky versus Fegelein series).

Benad361's parodies most commonly depict fighting and warfare between Hitler and current dictators and rivals (e.g. Gaddafi and Stalin or Fegelein against Tukhachevsky) in long stories with bizarre crossovers, which often involve large conflicts, intrigue and extensive use of FX (Sony Vegas 10 and Vegas Pro 11).

His parodies often involve two rival characters fighting against each other in single combat, often making use of advanced weaponry and vehicles (unique to the parody universe), utilising impressive dueling skills (another good example is his current Rosen Wars series).

Stalin Parodies' creator
He is notable for introducing Stalin Parodies, whereas other Untergangers would make the parodies considering the idea. With clips from Tukhachvesky: Conspiracy Marshal (which he discovered in 2010) Benad361 introduced storylines which documents the rise of the parody series and characters, like Stalin's search for his answer to Fegelein. This role later assigned to Tukhachevsky who creates his own superweapon called the Fork of Pwnage and increases his antic skill to the extent that he is able to challenge Fegelein and spark an antic war with Nazi Germany. He also becomes People's Commissar for Antics which puts him in charge of all antic-related activity in the Soviet Union.

Gaddafi Parodies creator/expander
He also includes Colonel Gaddafi in many of his parodies, as a featuring character, sometimes using his voice (e.g. Hitler, Stalin and Others are Trapped in a Wooden Box) or inserts him into the parodies using Vegas. Gaddafi often pops up randomly in said featurings, to interact with other characters, say ridiculous bufflaxed statements, or to simply rant and add to the hilarity of the situation.

He has greatly expanded Gaddafi Parodies to the extent that he gave him him a small parodies crew; Saif Gaddafi as answer to Jodl, Ayesha as answer to Traudl, and Khamis as an answer to Fegelein. Moussa Ibrahim is presented as an answer to Goebbels, and his son Mu'tasim is presented as an answer to Gunsche.

Instead of depicting Gaddafi as dying in Sirte in 2011 as many did (e.g. Hitler Rants Parodies) he depicted him as having been trapped in Chuikov's closet, unknown to the world. He also depicted him as thrown out of a plane into the atmosphere, as well as crushed by an Apatosaurus.

Ceausescu Parodies
He is also responsible for the creation of the Ceausescu Parodies which depict Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu ranting (or trying to) and getting into absurd situations, such as being interrupted by his own people. His wife Elena is also featured on a more limited scale.

Antonescu Parodies
He has recently launched a new series called Antonescu Parodies, based around former Romanian dictator Ion Antonescu struggling to get recognition by the mainstream parody world. The first was released on the 20th Apriland Antonescu has been featured in several parodies since.

Special parodies
He releases one for every 100,000 views/100 subscribers he gets.


 * On the 4th January 2011, Benad361 reached over 100,000 views and released a special parody to celebrate, entitled The Battle of Fegelosis (Part three of a three part parody project).


 * To celebrate over 200 subscribers (he currently has 644) he published Inglorious Basterds Hitler Challenges Downfall Hitler.


 * He returned from leave on the 22nd July 2011 and published "Hitler versus the Gaddafi's: Part One" (part of a three part series) after achieving 300 subscribers. However this was later blocked worldwide for an unknown reason.


 * He achieved over 400 subscribers as of the 6th August 2011 and released the parody They came from Planet F to celebrate that.


 * Tukhachevsky versus Fegelein: Round One was released as a special parody to celebrate over 200,000 views and 500 subscribers (on the 24th September).


 * Tukhachevsky versus Fegelein: Round Three was released on the 12th February to celebrate his achievement of over 300,000 views.
 * On the 20th April 2012, a special parody was released to celebrate his achievement of 600 subscribers. It was entitled Marshal Antonescu makes his Debut, the first Antonescu parody.
 * A special birthday parody to celebrate his birthday was released on the 30th May (the day of his birthday) entitled Benad361's Birthday: The Reactions which showed the main characters from each kind of parody series he created, reacting to his birthday. It is somewhat innovative due to the fact that he edited himself (audio and chroma keying) into his own parody. This makes him one of the few (but increasing) Untergangers to show his face in a parody.
 * As of September, a special parody is pending as he has achieved over 700 subscribers.
 * On the 29th December 2012, he released a special parody in celebration of Christmas and the New Year: Rosen Wars: Revenge of the Plamz (Part 1) depicting the bizarre events surrounding Michael Rosen and Adolf Hitler during the festive season.
 * On the 4th March 2013, to celebrate 900 subscribers, he released Part 4 of Rosen Wars: Revenge of the Plamz.
 * On May 29th, 2013, he released Michael Rosen and the Plumspiracy to celebrate achieving over 1000 subscribers. He will also be releasing his responses to questions asked by viewers, as part of his question and answer exchange.

Collaboration parodies
He and HitchcockJohn have made a joint parody in the past, and released a special Christmas parody in 2011-2012 with inspiration from his U-Boat Parodies and Benad361's Ceausescu, Gaddafi and Stalin parodies, as well as the unusual (and unusual) themes of both parody-makers: intrigue, hilarious antics, manipulation and dictator-warfare.

They then released another collaboration parody in Feberuary 2013; possibly their most adventurous to date, depicting the adventures of Hitler and associates in the face of an insidious enemy.

YouTube Poops
He now makes many Michael Rosen YouTube Poops. He released his first YouTube Poop (and most acclaimed) on the 18th February 2012. It centered around a ridiculous plot involving Michael's Dad being banned from breathing by Michael and his brother. His second poop was released on the 1st March 2012 and depicted Michael and his brother's refusal to listen to Justin Bieber's music. His third poop was released on the 8th March 2012, and centered around yet another ridiculous plot involving Abdul the terrorist and Michael's brother conspiring to blow Michael's room up. He has since made several more of these, to some acclaim and recognition by the YouTube Poop community, as well as by some of his parody fans. He has since begun to dabble in other kinds of YouTube Poop, such as YouTube Poops of Texas Governor Rick Perry (created from his campaign videos). He released one such poop on the 17th September 2012 as something of a video filler.

Interactions with the community
Benad361 tries to promote untergangers who need more publicity for their excellent works whenever they can, as well as give tips and feedback to novice untergangers, to help them improve their skills.

He is also a popular figure within much of the community - getting on well with many untergangers such as DictatorAntics, Trapped Antics, TheSilverUniverse, Mfaizsyahmi, WonkyTonkBotty, Hitler Rants Parodies, MisterTalkingMachine,  and others. He frequently interacts with them on the Hitler Parody Wiki (largely via the Unterganger's Chat),  the Downfall Parodies Forum, and so on.

However, he has a dim, cynical view of much of the community at large - seeing it as being composed of irritable, bigoted, racist, reactionary and 'butthurt' individuals, beliefs he shares with untergangers such as Johnomonster and WonkyTonkBotty. These beliefs came into being as a result of many controversies within the community. However, he recognises the fact that controversies are always inevitable within every online and offline community.

His beliefs in equality and national self-determination, as well as his opposition to bigotry, reaction and racism, have led him to come out in direct opposition to controversial untergangers such as Shomronon, PiretBCN, Sparx476, and one or two others.

Unlike some naive untergangers who believe that there can be 'harmony' in the community, he recognizes that this is never really possible, given the diverse nature of the community. In his own words:

Contest organiser
Benad361 created the Unterganger of the Month award/contest system in October 2010, in which the parody he judged to be one of the month's best, would win the award. This system was originally undemocratic. However, in March 2012, it became an officially democratic system, meaning that individuals could vote on the winner on the Downfall Parodies Forum, on a basis of several categories. It continues to be so to this day.

When the Unterganger Awards were formed in October 2012, due to Notoriousrob (dubbed 'notoriouslyunreliablerob' by Benad, for his favoritism towards PiretBCN's poorly-made parodies)'s favoritism in his own Downfall Parody Awards system, Benad361 became a key judge, alongside TheSilverUniverse and Master Studios, with TSU taking the de facto role as leading judge.

When TSU stepped down from this role in January 2013, this role was handed to Benad361, as was agreed between the two. This now gives Benad361 one of the most important roles in the various parody contest/s that exist, such as the UoTM, UA, and a de facto role in others.

He thus started initiating several reforms, such as merging the UA nominations with the UoTM nominations, modifying the deadline for nominations (the last day of each month, as opposed to the first day of the next month), and cracking down on inefficient or negligent judges, proclaiming that Master Studios would be stripped of his position/s in the award systems he either controls, or has roles in (specifically, in the Parody of the Month and year systems) if he does not not release the results of three month's worth of contests by the 31st of January 2013.

Parody projects
This section requires expansion

Non-parody videos/potential non-parody videos

 * The Twelve Days of Christmas with Hitler and Friends
 * A special collaboration series (with HitchcockJohn for 2011's Christmas season. Featured characters form both Untergangers' Parody Universes.


 * Rosen Wars: Revenge of the Plamz
 * A new parody series that ties Downfall parodies and Rosen Poops together.


 * Some historically-based videos are a possibility for the future (tributes and so on).
 * Film and game reviews.
 * Vlog-type videos, to be uploaded on another channel (political rants and so on).
 * A question and answer response video, in which he responds to questions that various viewers asked him on the announcement video.
 * A question and answer response video, in which he responds to questions that various viewers asked him on the announcement video.

Trivia

 * He is a close parody colleague of HitchcockJohn whom he has collaborated with regarding ideas, collaboration parodies and theme development. Their parodies both tend to follow a story-line structure full of intrigue, strange crossovers and constant parody warfare, albeit with a different range of characters involved. HitchcockJohn has stated that the way he developed his U-Boat Parodies was inspired by Benad361's success with Stalin Parodies.
 * He takes a certain pride in the influence he sees himself as having over the course of two years parody making, in terms of introducing whole new ranges of characters and themes to the parody universe and encouraging other Untergangers to be similarly innovative. He has had several notable influences over fellow Untergangers - HitchcockJohn and many others (such as Subtitlecomedy) were influenced by his Stalin Parodies which resulted in their either making their own, or creating their own parody series (such as the former's Revolution Parodies and the latter's recent Stalin Parodies) or both. Other Untergangers such as WonkyTonkBotty were inspired to create their own Michael Rosen YouTube Poops due to his success with his.
 * The pronunciation of his username (Benad361) was previously unclear to many. He personally wanted it to be pronounced as 'BenA.D.361' (the A and the D represent his last name/s). However, they seemed more appropriate in lower case, and so 'Benad361' was how he made them appear. Some will predictably pronounce his name as 'Benad361' (without capitalizing the 'ad' as they say it), whilst others who are aware of his last name/swill pronounce it by emphasizing the 'ad' as capitals, as he had intended.