China's attempt to limit Internet expression have globally been a hot topic in recent weeks because the Chinese government has stepped up its controls by closing domestic Web sites, blocking foreign sites such as Twitter and YouTube, and even arresting online dissidents.
"Please raise your hands up. I need your strength," he says. "When they blocked YouTube, you didn't act. When they blocked Twitter, you didn't act," Says his cohorts. "Silence absolutely doesn't mean obedience!" Then, he, Kan Ni Mei, receives the virtual bursts of energy with which he fights off the villain "Crying Beast Yang Wongxin", a leader of the evil group Harmony.
This is one of the scenes of an online video called "War of Internet Addiction" that sends a message about Chinese government's censorship by starring videogame characters from popular online games for example "World of Warcraft". Kan Ni Mei, "the blue, armored, ox-like hero," battles against "Harmony", and the object of the movie is clear: Ridiculing the watchword "Harmonious", which China's current Communist Party leadership has been using to describe its attempt of eliminating social unrest and creating "harmonious society". Plus, "Chinese Web users frequently use "harmonize" as a euphemism for censorship," says the related user.
The video specifically renounces "certain officials and others who criticize videogame as addictive and destructive for young people." For example, a leader of Harmony is called "Crying Beast Yang Yongxin," named after a Chinese psychiatrist who has been outspoken against "Internet addiction" and who has run clinics that have been accused of using shock therapy to treat the supposed affliction.
The movie brings out the common theme of frustration over injustice and a sense of powerlessness by including jokes about various controversial issues, such as tainted food, home price increase, and a bitter class controversy that erupted last year when a wealthy driver was declared free after killing a poor young pedestrian from an automobile accident.
It is estimated that at least several millions have watched the movie since it came out last month, and the responses from the views have been "overwhelmingly positive," according to an online consultant Kaiser Kuo.
What's more surprising is that despite its rebellious theme, the movie was yet to be censored by the government - at least as of late Thursday. The censored online contents have seemed pretty random and often mysterious because the government does not disclose its policies and reasons. One of the explanations for not censoring the video is that the government does not want to make a bigger deal than it already is.
"War of Internet Addiction" is created by a Chinese World of Warcraft enthusiast who goes by the alias "Corndog" with the help of about 100 online volunteers. Corndog produced the movie in a conference call in which he directed volunteers on what to make their game characters say and do.
At the end of the movie, it foreshadows rather a poignant warning for the viewers. Kan Ni Mei and his allies celebrate after the destruction of Crying Beast, but the Harmony computer system warns them that "This war will never end." "Bells of Freedom," sang by Jon Bon Jovi, is played as the credits roll.
