Caterpillar 

What if changing your eye color wasn't just a cosmetic procedure, but a reflection of centuries of beauty standards, colonialism, and social pressure? The documentary Caterpillar asks viewers to look beyond the surgery itself and question why so many people feel the need to change the way they were born. 

The documentary follows a real person named David Taylor from Miami who sought to change his eye color from brown to green because of his experiences of racism as a biracial man, feelings of inadequacy, and a bittersweet memory of his father's green eyes. He believed the procedure would make his life better and help him feel more confident. He then contacted the company BrightOcular, located in India (having locations in Panama, Mexico, Cairo + more) and asked them if he could get the procedure for free in exchange for promotional content. When he arrived in India, a doctor cautioned against the procedure, and people should avoid doing it because of “side effects.” Shortly after the surgery, he experienced severe headaches, light sensitivity, and cloudiness in his vision. Doctors found out that the implants were sitting incorrectly on his eyes and risked causing irreversible anatomical damage, forcing him to undergo a second procedure to remove them. 

Information About David Taylor:

David Taylor now lives in New York City as a singer and comedian, according to his Instagram page @rdavidtaylor. The caterpillar was released in 2023, directed by Liza Mandelup. It is available to watch on Netflix, Fandango at Home, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Google Play Movies & TV. 

BrightOcular: 

One of the most controversial cosmetic procedures discussed in the documentary is the BrightOcular cosmetic iris implant. Unlike colored contact lenses, Bright Ocular involves surgically placing a thin silicone implant inside the eye to permanently change its appearance. The procedure is marketed to people who want green, blue, gray, or hazel eyes without wearing contacts, but ophthalmologists have repeatedly raised concerns about its safety.  

The 2019 case report “Explanation of Bright Ocular Cosmetic Iris Implant and Goniosynechialysis: A case Report” follows a 48-year-old woman who developed chronic pain, redness, and inflammation, Iris atrophy, pupil distortion, and areas where the eye drainage angle had become blocked. Surgeons removed the implants by cutting them into pieces inside the eye before carefully evacuating them and performing additional surgery to reopen the drainage angles. 

The authors explain that although Bright Ocular was designed with grooves intended to improve fluid circulation and reduce friction against the iris, these design changes have not eliminated serious complications. Previous studies have linked cosmetic iris implants to glaucoma, cataracts, chronic uveitis, corneal damage, and even permanent loss. The article notes that the device is not approved for cosmetic use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and warns that patients who already have these implants should consider early removal to reduce the risk of long-term damage. 

Around the world: 

The desire to change one's appearance is not limited to eye color. Around the world, beauty ideals influence millions of people and have created multi-billion-dollar industries. In parts of the Middle East and South Asia, lighter skin has historically been associated with beauty, status, and social mobility, fueling a global skin-lightening market projected to exceed $24 billion. Surveys cited by the World Health Organization have estimated that about 60% of women in India and roughly 50% of women in countries such as South Korea, Malaysia, and the Philippines have used some form of skin-lightening treatment. In South Korea, cosmetic procedures have been deeply integrated into popular culture, with approximately 1.4 million aesthetic procedures annually, giving the country one of the highest per capita cosmetic surgery rates in the world. Meanwhile, in the United States, body enhancement procedures such as the Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) have gained cosmetic surgery industry preformed nearly 38 million surgical and non-surgical aesthetic procedures in 2024. Although these trends vary across cultures, they all reveal the power of influence that beauty standards can have on how people view themselves and the lengths they may go to achieve an ideal appearance. 

Written By: Trinity Kejbou