Film School in China Bans Students Who Had Plastic Surgery

With the growing popularity of plastic surgery in China, a film school has made it clear that anyone who alters his or her appearance will likely be disqualified from the entrance examination.  Officials from the illustrious performance institute of Beijing Film Academy said that “changes in the faces and other body parts might affect the acting of students.”

Even students with tattoos may be disqualified from entrance examination.

Surprisingly, many people think the decision to ban those who had plastic surgery is “fair,” arguing that actors who had “surgical enhancements” are somewhat cheating.

Some people even say that plastic surgery is a fraud.

However, what they fail to realize is that plastic surgery is not all about looking better than others.  For some people, this may be their only way to live a normal life, improve body functions, and repair deformities caused by illness and accidents.  Does it mean individuals who had reconstructive plastic surgery are also banned from the film school?

One student’s parent even said that she agrees with the plastic surgery ban because “what matters is the performance and acting, not how a person looks.”  With this argument, what is the point of excluding those who had “cosmetic enhancements” when their talent is the most important thing rather than their appearance? 

And not to mention the freedom of choice.  The choice to undergo “surgically-assisted beautification.”

Another potential loophole is that how on earth the film school’s officials can determine if someone had surgical enhancements or not?  What kind of criteria they are going to use?  Perhaps it would be too tedious to conduct background check for the sole purpose of determining if a student had plastic surgery or not.

Currently, eyelid surgery is one of the most common cosmetic plastic surgeries in China.  And with 94 percent of the population consisting of Han people who usually lack a prominent eye crease, individuals with this feature may end up being accused of having “surgical enhancements” even if they did not.

The issues surrounding plastic surgery are somewhat analogous to guns.  Guns are neither bad nor good as the situation depends on who will use them.  The same thing is true in cosmetic surgical enhancements. 

But perhaps the plastic surgery ban imposed by the prestigious film school has its own merits.  According to the country’s health ministry, about 70 to 80 percent of those who seek cosmetic surgical enhancements are high school and college students who are too young to understand the ramifications of their decision.

Also, another concern is that teenagers are not yet physically mature to undergo cosmetic plastic surgery.