KUSO have become increasingly controversial in China these days. In the latest incident, photos of two young men touching the waxwork breasts of the Hong Kong pop duo, Twins’ were posted on the Internet this month.

    Kuso actually means “making stupid jokes” in Japanese, but it has now become a broad term for poking fun at mainstream culture. Earlier this year, Hu Ge produced a satirical video of Chen Kaige’s 280-million yuan movie “The Promise”. Many people enjoyed the Kuso video clip, calling it really creative. But others doubted its value, saying it showed disrespect for the original movie and was a copyright infringement.

    Kuso, in my opinion, is certainly creative. But Kuso’s controversy is prompting people to seriously question what creativity should stand for.

    Academically speaking, creativity is the ability or outcome of perceiving, processing or producing something in a new or different way. Seen this way, the photos of two nasty men with the Twins’ waxwork figures is a form of creativity. It appealed to people because it was something new. Still, creativity can come either from good intentions or from bad ones. The Kuso of two lovely girls falling prey to sexual harassment definitely has bad intentions. The incident could never happen for real, but the disturbing message really hits you: You can Kuso anything or anyone in any way you want. That can be really disgusting!

    Stanford psychologist Albert Bandura discovered more than 40 years ago that children learn to do things through observation. A person who touches a stranger’s breasts is morally and legally wrong, but this Web photo teaches people how to do it. That’s some nerve!

    Teachers and parents may wonder: What will children learn from this? What is the bottom line for Kuso? Legislators and administrators need to think about it. What is true creativity?

    * Further information

    “Kuso Kagaku Tokohon”: A book about dream science by Japanese author Rikao Yanagita, which gives you a clear picture of the typical Kuso culture.

administrator: 行政官员
disgusting: 可憎恶的
duo: 二人组合
harassment: 骚扰
infringement: 侵犯
Kuso: 恶搞
legislator: 立法者
nasty: 龌龊的
fall prey to: 为某事物所苦
satirical: 讽刺的
waxwork: 蜡像

poke fun at: 取笑,嘲弄。 poke: vt. 捅,戳
He enjoys poking fun at others. 他好开别人的玩笑。