History Main / AbsurdlyIneffectiveBarricade

* ''VideoGame/{{Darkwood}}'' [[PlayedForDrama plays it for drama]] [[RuleOfScary and terror]]. Properly barricading a hideout is way more complicated than just closing a door and putting a wardrobe behind it – even ''dogs'' can push furniture out of the way with considerable ease.

* Some webpage developers who want to try to prevent people from looking at the source code or other resources for their web page by using [=JavaScript=] to disable right clicking, which prevents a casual user a relatively easy way to access those resources. Except this pointless anyway when 1. you can disable [=JavaScript=] 2. press "Ctrl + S" (or File -> Save) to make a local copy of the web page or 3. use the web browser's developer tools to examine the web page. And if the developer is concerned about someone else using the HTML/CSS combination for their own purposes, any seasoned web page developer would be able to reproduce the page on observation.

* In ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'', as Polnareff and Iggy are fleeing from Vanilla Ice's Stand, Polnareff quickly blocks a door with nearby furniture that gets immediately destroyed by Ice's SphereOfDestruction.
** In [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureVentoAureo Vento Aureo]], Formaggio's reaction to a pissed-off Narancia summoning Aerosmith to fill him with lead is to slowly close the car's window.

* Unintentional example in the z-grade horror film ''The Curse of Bigfoot,'' where the main characters prepare to ambush and fire-bomb the titular creature by constructing a formidable and inflammable fortification consisting of...a stack of about three or four ''bales of hay'' in an ''open field''.

* In computer science, this is sometimes known as "picket fence" security. Even if there is a single password that is well known to everyone on the network, and it would not stop anyone who wanted to break in from doing so, the presence of security all by itself will keep people out due to simple respect. Such security systems are so named because it's like using a picket fence as protection for a house. It isn't going to stop anyone who wants really wants to break in; it's just there to indicate that access isn't freely allowed.

* France's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maginot_Line Maginot Line]] against German invasion is often assumed to be this. In actuality, this was very much an AvertedTrope, as evinced [[UsefulNotes/MaginotLine on this very wiki]]. The Maginot Line was never intended to prevent invasion: rather, it was supposed free up manpower (something the French were desperately short of) and funnel the Germans' main forces into Belgium, where the combined Allied armies could blunt their advance. As it turned out, the Germans did not in fact, pass through Belgium on their way to France: instead, they went through a very hilly and heavily-forested region known as the Ardennes. The French believed that the Ardennes' formidable natural obstacles would make a major offensive impossible (and indeed, the German advance was held up for days) and so left few forces in the area. In short, the Maginot Line accomplished what it was supposed to: prevent an invasion across the border. The problem was that the French failed to anticipate where the Germans would actually launch their main advance and did not respond quickly enough when it happened.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Played seriously and UpToEleven in the backstory. Harren the Black spent thirty years constructing the most impregnable castle imaginable, but failed to account for his Targaryen neighbours invading with ''dragons''. Harrenhal has a fascinating melted aspect to it now and is considered haunted and cursed.

** In ''Literature/InterestingTimes'', Cohen had seen a far eastern example of a grand wall surrounding a vast territory. He acknowledges it was grand and ponders the ladder possibilities in nearby trees.

* ''Film/TheBigLebowski'': After suffering multiple home invasions, the Dude gets kinda sick of it and carefully creates a barricade on his door by wedging a chair between it and a plank of wood nailed to the floor. When the home invaders return, it's revealed that the door opens ''outward'', making the barricade completely useless. To add insult to injury, the Dude later trips on the plank still nailed in front of his door.

* During [[DownerBeginning the opening cutscene]] of ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'''s "World of Light" adventure mode, as [[KillEmAll the entire roster]] (sans [[SoleSurvivor Kirby]]) attempts and [[CurbStompBattle utterly fails]] at escaping being obliterated by [[AngelicAbomination Galeem]], [[VideoGame/MetalGear Solid Snake]] attempts to avoid its wrath by... quietly hiding in [[IconicItem a cardboard box]]. Considering Galeem had just chased down lightspeed-travelling spaceships and [[PhysicalGod actual deities]], it's not surprising that it doesn't work, but one could hardly blame the attempt.

** In episode "The Fight", Gumball is escaping [[TyrannosaurusRex Tina]] and builds an enormous barricade behind a wall that she instantly knocks down.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' sees Leela joining a group of activists protesting Planet Express's plans to mine an icy planet for oil. The protesters form a human ring around the front and sides of the company's ship to keep it from advancing...apparently forgetting that it can move in ''three dimensions.'' The crew promptly flies the ship up and over the protesters and continues on their merry way.

A common comedic situation tends to occur where the barricade is being built, but the builders turn around and find that they have [[HoistByHisOwnPetard sealed themselves inside with what they were trying to escape]]. Sometimes the thing they were trying to escape may have even helped them construct the barricade while they weren't looking, or may have even [[WhyThankYouX handed them tools and materials]]. Either way, HilarityEnsues. The RuleOfFunny aspect of this trope is really played up, however, when what is an obvious Absurdly Ineffective Barricade is shown to ''actually work''. In these cases, the barricade builders are often just as surprised as anyone else.

* On ''Series/{{Fargo}}'' Karl, the town lawyer, has been summoned by Lou to the police station to act as counsel for Ed. He goes despite the fact that he spent most of the night drinking and is extremely tipsy. After talking with Ed, Karl leaves the station just in time to see Bear Gerhardt and a posse of his men arrive with the intention of storming the station to free Charlie Gerhardt and lynch Ed. Karl runs back into the station and pushes a bench in front of the door to barricade it. The door is made out of glass AND it opens outward so the barricade is completely useless but Karl is too panicked and too drunk to realize that. Lou instantly recognizes that the station is indefensible and their only option is to distract the Gerhardts and sneak Ed out through the back.

* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'': during the "Upper-Class Twit of the Year" sketch, one of the competitions in the obstacle course is to jump a wall composed of matchboxes. The wall is three matchboxes high(roughly two inches). Subverted in that the Twits do end up taking a while to clear the jump.

* France's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maginot_Line Maginot Line]] against German invasion is often assumed to be this. In actuality, this was very much an AvertedTrope, as evinced [[UsefulNotes/MaginotLine on this very wiki]]. The Maginot Line was never intended to prevent invasion: rather, it was supposed free up manpower (something the French were desperately short of) and funnel the Germans' main forces into Belgium, where the combined Allied armies could blunt their advance. As it turned out, the Germans did not in fact, pass through Belgium on their way to France: instead, they went through a very hilly and heavily-forested region known as the Ardennes. The French believed that the Ardennes' formidable natural obstacles would make a major offensive impossible (and indeed, they had held up the German advance for days) and so left few forces in the area. In short, the Maginot Line accomplished what it was supposed to: prevent an invasion across the border. The problem was that the French failed to anticipate where the Germans would actually launch their main advance and did not respond quickly enough when it happened.

''Webcomic/KiwiBlitz'' shows Tigris and Cho barricading themselves into a room, without realising the door opens both ways. Tigris averts this by shouting that she has a gun and WILL use it if anyone tries to open the door..

A SubTrope of RuleOfFunny. Contrast BerserkBoardBarricade, InsurmountableWaistHeightFence. ConcealmentEqualsCover becomes a subtrope of this when subverted.

A common comedic situation tends to occur where the barricade is being built, but the builders turn around and find that they have [[HoistByHisOwnPetard sealed themselves inside with what they were trying to escape]]. Sometimes the thing they were trying to escape may have even helped them construct the barricade while they weren't looking, or in comedic cases may have even [[WhyThankYouX handed them tools and materials]]. Either way, HilarityEnsues. The RuleOfFunny aspect of this trope is really played up, however, when what is an obvious Absurdly Ineffective Barricade is shown to ''actually work''. In these cases, the barricade builders are often just as surprised as anyone else.

A common comedic situation tends to occur where the barricade is being built, but the builders turn around and find that they have [[HoistByHisOwnPetard sealed themselves inside with what they were trying to escape]]. Sometimes the thing they were trying to escape may have even helped them construct the barricade while they weren't looking. Either way, HilarityEnsues. The RuleOfFunny aspect of this trope is really played up, however, when what is an obvious Absurdly Ineffective Barricade is shown to ''actually work''. In these cases, the barricade builders are often just as surprised as anyone else.

* France's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maginot_Line Maginot Line]] against German invasion is often assumed to be this. In actuality, this was very much an AvertedTrope, as evinced in [[UsefulNotes/MaginotLine on this very wiki]]. The Maginot Line was never intended to prevent invasion: rather, it was supposed free up manpower (something the French were desperately short of) and funnel the Germans' main forces into Belgium, where the combined Allied armies could blunt their advance. As it turned out, the Germans did not in fact, pass through Belgium on their way to France: instead, they went through a very hilly and heavily-forested region known as the Ardennes. The French believed that the Ardennes' formidable natural obstacles would make a major offensive impossible (and indeed, they had held up the German advance for days) and so left few forces in the area. In short, the Maginot Line accomplished what it was supposed to: prevent an invasion across the border. The problem was that the French failed to anticipate where the Germans would actually launch their main advance and did not respond quickly enough when it happened.