movie spoofs, China, and teh Intarweb

[serenissima]

I thought this was an interesting cultural note.

A spoof hits China's Web - and a star is born

BEIJING - An underground video sweeping Chinese cyberspace has half the country cracking up.

Titled "A Murder Caused by Mantou," the video is a spoof of a new film, "The Promise," by famed director Chen Kaige.

Using satiric elements similar to Monty Python and the Simpsons, the spoof has flooded cyberspace in unanticipated and unstoppable waves. And in a culture where there is scant public lampooning, the video has brought intense debates, smiles - and serious threats of legal action.
[..snip..]

Hu dubs all the voices. He throws in rap music, clips from the Shanghai circus, Einstein's theory of relativity, patriotic Army recruitment posters, and a "Brokeback Mountain" homosexual allusion. All are grist for an investigation "narrated" by the deadpan host of "China Legal Report," which airs on prime-time TV.

Hu sent the film to friends for personal entertainment. But they posted it on the Web. Within a month, millions of Chinese, nearly everyone on the Internet, had seen it. Young Chinese especially found themselves in tears of laughter over "A Murder caused by Mantou."
[..snip..]
But the real-life drama of "Mantou" hardly ends with its dissemination. Because China does not have much tradition of humorous give and take, "Mantou" was a terrific affront to Chen.

To have a spoof of his movie gain overnight mass appeal was very unsatisfying to the senior director. Almost immediately, he began speaking about suing Hu for copyright violation, and made a number of very cutting remarks about him.

That went over very badly among ordinary Chinese. Many said it wasn't Hu's fault that Chen made a bad movie, not to mention the misleading press campaign about it.
[..snip..]
Chen withdrew his threat to sue. His producers are now talking about suing over property rights.
[..snip..]

The movie sounds as if it would be hilarious if you've seen all the films it references. I hope the Chinese "establishment" develops a sense of humor.