Little Fatty

Because of the internet meme and the resulting sudden fame, the boy, Qian Zhijun, decided to become a public figure, and he became a major celebrity and an actor in China.

His face, described by Jane MacArtney of The Times as a "slightly suspicious sidelong glance and cherubic cheeks", had been placed on people and characters like the Mona Lisa, Marilyn Monroe, Harry Potter, Austin Powers,[5] and Jackie Chan.

[12] Stephen Bull, author of Photography: Volume 2 of Routledge Introductions to Media and Communications, said that "The popularity of the original image is as much down to Zhijun's connection with the viewer—via his apparently knowing look to camera—as it is his large body size.

"[13] In regards to how public opinion could have dealt with a case like Qian's, in 2009 Anne Shann Yue Cheung (traditional Chinese: 張善喻; simplified Chinese: 张善喻; Jyutping: Zoeng1 Sin6 Jyu6; pinyin: Zhāng Shànyù), author of "Rethinking Public Privacy in the Internet Era: A Study of Virtual Persecution by the Internet Crowd," said "Little Fatty may easily win our sympathy if he brings any claims of privacy violations.

Hours after the interview was published, images of Qian's face photoshopped on posters of films starring Carrey, like Bruce Almighty and Dumb and Dumber, appeared; the tag line in the altered photograph was changed to "Fat and Fatter.

[16] Ultimately Qian became an actor and entertainer, hosting a cooking show for China Food TV and starring in The University Days of a Dog.

Both end up launching official Web sites that predictably fail to capture the spontaneous, feverish energy of what was interesting about them in the first place.

"[20] Cara Wallis, author of "New Media Practices in China: Youth Patterns, Processes, and Politic", said that "Explanations for why Little Fatty's face generated such a craze abound, but perhaps most interesting is how the phenomenon demonstrates a newfound means of creative expression and satire in China, with pop culture themes that cross global and cultural boundaries.

And it demonstrates how the internet is providing a platform for creative expression that the traditional, strictly controlled media can't even begin to match.

"[8] Jane Macartney of The Times said "[Qian's] is a tale of how China's obsession with the Internet reflects the need of people to communicate openly and freely in a country with few other means for self-expression.