Hu Ge (; born 1974) is an amateur director in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

who rose to fame through social

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

and the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

. His works, which are videos which can be downloaded from video-sharing sites such as

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

, and freely distributed by his permission, are viewed by millions. His outrageous humour and his use of innumerable

parodies A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

had gained a degree of international attention and drew notices from the Communist Party's Department of Propaganda. He has since directed a number of hugely popular online commercials for companies such as 7Up and McDonald's.

Biography

Hu Ge grew up in

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city an ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...

Province, China. Hu Ge became well known by Chinese

netizen The term netizen is a portmanteau of the English words ''internet'' and ''citizen'', as in a "citizen of the net" or "net citizen". It describes a person actively involved in online communities or the Internet in general.

s after his first short movie, ''A Murder Case Caused by a Bun'' (a spoof on

Chen Kaige Chen Kaige (; born 12 August 1952) is a Chinese film director and a leading figure of the fifth generation of Chinese cinema.Berry, Michael (2002). "Chen Kaige: Historical Revolution and Cinematic Rebellion" in Speaking in Images: Interviews wi ...

's '' The Promise''), in late 2005. His subsequent works have also been well received.

Techniques

Hu Ge focuses on enhancements through

in social and cultural realms, reflecting numerous problems in Chinese society to a backdrop of loosely pieced together current events or well-known footage from big-name films, including '' Harry Potter'', ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...

'', ''

Shaolin Soccer ''Shaolin Soccer'' ( Chinese: ) is a 2001 Hong Kong sports comedy film directed by Stephen Chow, who also stars in the lead role. The film revolves around a former Shaolin monk who reunites his five brothers,"Brothers" here does not mean biolo ...

'', ''

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...

'', etc. He has immense focus on elements of

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

on multiple levels. The music he uses are usually satirical, be it Chinese instrumentals, Hollywood movie

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

s, American

pop songs Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the Un ...

or spinoffs of

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

songs.

Public and official response

Hu Ge's films, which are distributed freely on the Internet, received widespread attention on Chinese video-sharing networks, beating Huang Jianxiang's crazy commentary at the World Cup in Germany (because of the large number of networks the statistics are inconclusive). In January 2006, after the popularizing of Hu's first creation, ''A Murder Case caused by a

Mantou ''Mantou'' (), often referred to as Chinese steamed bun, is a white and soft type of steamed bread or bun popular in northern China. Folk etymology connects the name ''mantou'' to a tale about Zhuge Liang. Description ''Mantou'' are t ...

'',

, director of '' The Promise'' and subject of Hu's satire, announced plans to take legal action against Hu for apparent copyright violations and defamation. The amateur films became the discussion topics on various Chinese forums, and received overwhelming support from the general public, which led to bad social repercussion against Chen, who later dropped the lawsuit. In late 2006, because of its subtle social commentary that could be interpreted at a political level, Hu's films gained the attention to the Communist Party's Propaganda Department, in charge of China's media controls. There were talks of a ban in late 2006, with the pretext that Hu's films are too long and too intricate in design, that they can no longer be categorized as amateur Internet videos. In early 2007, however, after Hu's newest release, ''007 vs. Man in Black'', there are no signs of a ban.

Filmography

*''A Murder Case Caused by

'' (), 2005 (parodies a Chinese

legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sh ...

and the film '' The Promise'', satirizes

Chinese cinema The cinema of China is one of three distinct historical threads of Chinese languages, Chinese-language cinema together with the cinema of Hong Kong and the cinema of Taiwan. Cinema was introduced in China in 1896 in China, 1896 and the first C ...

) *''The Empire of Spring Transportation'' (), 2006 (parodies ''The Matrix'' trilogy, Stephen Chow movies and ''

'', satirizes China's chaotic

Chunyun Chunyun (; literally translated as “Spring transportation”), also referred to as the Spring Festival travel rush or the Chunyun period, is a period of travel in China with extremely high traffic load around the time of the Chinese New Year. ...

period) *''The Legend of Suppressing Mt. Birdcage Bandits'' (), 2006 (

live action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...

, the name parodies a popular 1980s Chinese TV series, satirizes

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...

's corrupt regime and

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

's private gain from the

War on Iraq {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

) *''Mt. Birdcage TV Shopping'' (), 2006 (parodies numerous Chinese and Hollywood films, satirizes the often overexaggerating Chinese

infomercials An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ...

) *''A City Full of Overtime Employees'' (), 2006 (live action, the title is a parody of the

Zhang Yimou Zhang Yimou (; born 2 April 1950) is a Chinese film director, producer, writer, actor and former cinematographer.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retriev ...

film ''

Curse of the Golden Flower ''Curse of the Golden Flower'' () is a 2006 Chinese epic wuxia drama film written and directed by Zhang Yimou. The Mandarin Chinese title of the movie is taken from the last line of the Qi dynasty poem written by the rebel leader Huang Chao who h ...

'', parodies Hong Kong films, alludes to Jin Yong's ''

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted ...

'' novels, satirizes

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...

, first film employing

dark humour Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

) *''007 vs. Man in Black'' (007大战黑衣人), 2007 (live action, satirizes

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

n leader Kim Jung-Il's regime and George W. Bush, first film containing fully legible English/

Chinglish Chinglish is slang for spoken or written English language that is either influenced by a Chinese language, or is poorly translated. In Hong Kong, Macau, Guangdong and Guangxi, the term "Chinglish" refers mainly to Cantonese-influenced English. ...

throughout, spoken or subtitled, the film also features an opening crawl similar to Star Wars and a parody of

's Beat It) *''007 vs. Prince Pork'' (007大战猪肉王子), 2008 (live action, satirizes Chinese

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

s and a number of social issues, including the infamous "South China Tiger photo incident", also parodies

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...

and Al-Qaeda, and features a scene of lightsabre dual resembling Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace) *''XX District, Unit No XX Apartment News'' (××小区××号群租房整点新闻), 2008~2009 (2-part live action, parodies CCTV news programs) *''Animal World: The Cyber-Animals'' (), 2010 (live action, parodies a popular Chinese

nature documentary A nature documentary or wildlife documentary is a genre of documentary film or series about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures, usually concentrating on video taken in their natural habitat but also often including footage of t ...

, satirizes

internet culture Internet culture is a culture based on the many way people have used computer networks and their use for communication, entertainment, business, and recreation. Some features of Internet culture include online communities, gaming, and social medi ...

and Chinese web censorship)

*''Shoe Assault: The President's Counterattack'' (), 2009 (live action, advertising for Alibaba.com, parodies Muntadhar al-Zaidi shoe-throwing incident)

References

External links