You might think that the power of a blog is restrained in an authoritarian country like China. This charming tale of a Chinese blogger’s parody of a celebrated film-maker is proof that we have yet to see the full potential of the medium. Money quote:
"Hu’s spoof on Chen’s work is entitled ‘The Bloody Case that Started from a Steamed Bun’. It basically takes Chen’s poignant mythic drama and ridicules it by refashioning the story line into a mock legal-investigative TV program. The video ricocheted quickly around the blogosphere and e-mail networks at the turn of the year, becoming one of the most downloaded video clips on the Chinese Net, according to Chinese press reports.
Hu’s efforts also started getting picked up by newspapers and magazines, and eventually became a national story on Chinese TV. Says Hu: ‘I didn’t expect the video to spread so widely on the Internet,’ he says. ‘And I didn’t expect Chen Kaige to see this film.’"
But he did. And then … well, the rest of the story sounds remarkably American.
The Dish 