Celebrities becoming “extremely thin” recently became a trending topic on Chinese social media, as more actors have drawn attention for their dramatic physical transformations. Chinese actor Guo Qilin, son of cross-talk comedian Guo Degang, is the latest to attract attention after appearing noticeably slimmer. The 30-year-old actor, who is widely known for his roles as Fan Sizhe in Joy of Life and Ning Yi in My Heroic Husband, now appears to have a much sharper, V-shaped face compared with his previously rounder appearance. His transformation is said to be for his role as the male lead of sci-fi live-action series Red Moon Appeared.
While some viewers praise actors for their dedication to their craft, such dramatic transformations are also raising concerns about unhealthy beauty standards in the entertainment industry. Many actors have been known to lose weight for to their roles. Jia Ling famously lost a significant amount of weight for YOLO, while Ma Sichun and Zhao Lusi have also attracted attention for substantial changes in their appearance. Sun Zhenni trended after many described her as “unrecognizable”, while teen star Ai Mi who recently started filming a new drama also lost weight on set.
Camera angles, lighting, and even costumes can make people appear heavier on screen than they do in real life. As a result, actors may feel pressured to achieve what audiences consider a “normal” appearance on camera. Dramatic dieting and strict exercise routines have consequently become common fueling debate over the entertainment industry’s obsession with weight.
Wendy
What with beauty filters everywhere on smartphone cameras I don’t understand why it seems no one has been able to upgrade regular filming cameras to at least record people as they really are instead of the ‘the camera adds extra weight so you need to be ultra-thin’ excuse.
Why has the entertainment industry all over world decided to ask the actors/actresses to change their bodies for the cameras and not the other way around?
Surely forcing the machines to change would be easiler and healthier? We shouldn’t shame human beings because of equipment/technical fault.
Whereever an actor/actress is on a scale shouldn’t matter for a role or influence their acting when the skill is there (I personally prefer a range of body sizes and shapes in a cast – it makes the production more REAL). Charisma and skill can make any performer very charming through sheer aura. (I’ll give some examples that will show my age here but; I don’t think Jack Nicholson, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Walkin or Danny Davitto are conventionally attractive but all can control the room in any scene with shear force of personality when a performance calls for it. And for actresses Jia Ling, Melissa McCarthy, Gabourey Sidibe, Kathy Bates and Judi Dench can all do the same.)
WHY can’t the entertainment industry care more about the health of the performers and adjust the equipment/machines NOT the people?