Gattaca notes PDF

Title Gattaca notes
Author Felix Le
Course English And Literacies 1
Institution Monash University
Pages 12
File Size 104.7 KB
File Type PDF
Total Downloads 55
Total Views 147

Summary

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Description

Gattaca notes -

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The movie Gattaca represents the author’s vision for human society. The author uses a company called eugenics, to represent the research in future where this company is able to know child’s potential since baby is born. Vincent has a drive in him that makes him want to be better. He has a goal and he wants to reach it. Vincent’s dream is to go up into space. The word Gattaca stands for the nucleobases of DNA. This four letters all represent the nucleobases of DNA. C stands for cytosine, G stands for guanine, T stands for thymine, and A stands for adenine. Vincent gave Jerome the gift of being able to walk again and in some way he is reborn. Jerome gave Vincent the gift of his genes which allowed him to achieve his goal of going up into space. The staircase is a representation of DNA, it has the double helix structure of DNA. The staircase represents Jerome’s determination to remain living in his society. Jerome is used to represent genome, the genetic material of an organism. Jerome’s middle name, Eugene also represents eugenics, the research to improving the genetic quality in human race. Jerome’s last name represents tomorrow which can be translated as the future. Gattaca portrays the world of sci fi and into the distance future. The film also focuses on discrimination as the society in Gattaca is divided between the genetically superior ‘valids’,’ who are genetically engineered to remove any defects such as chances of disease, short lifespans, defective organs in contrast to the inferior ‘valids’ who are conceived naturally. The film’s tagline “there is no gene for the human spirit’ encapsulates the main message of the film that human drive and passion is the most essential element of humanity. This is the overarching message of the film- that a person’s self- worth cannot be measured by their genes. This emphasizes an appraisal of determination, passion and drive as far superior to genetic standing. It echoes the major theme of the film; the importance of humanity and the human spirit. Every morning to get rid of his dead skin cells, he takes a blood sample, pricks his finger for blood and takes a urine sample, which is supplied by Jerome Eugene Morrow. The major surgery that Vincent had to enhance his genetic “imperfections “was surgery to lengthen his bones. The chief executor is murdered because he was preventing some of the missions to take place. The evidence that pointed towards an “invalid” as the murderer was a piece of Vincent’s hair was found at the crime scene. The film is told via the perspective of Vincent. The film’s themes are love, discrimination, science and determination. Gattaca is set in a dystopian film. There are flashbacks in the film Gattaca. An example of this is how he was a child, he was discriminated against due to his genetic inferiority. This causes the reader to criticise the ethics of Gattaca’s society. Irene is valid but cannot go on missions due to her heart failure condition. Low angle is utilised to convey how big his goal is, which is going to space. It is used to show what Vincent wants his end goal to be.

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Flashbacks takes the audience back to the birth of Vincent. The society of Gattaca used to give birth naturally The nurses in the opening scene analyse Vincent’s likelihood of getting disease. After the birth of Vincent, he is immediately seen as an invalid. Vincent rubs his own name off as he feels invisible and unworthy to be the society that he lives in. Vincent did not originally intend to swim back. He wanted to keep swimming as he knew that his dream of going into space was beyond the odds. The use of “Consider the work of God: who ca make straight He has made crooked?” implies that the people in the society within Gattaca are playing within God’s hands. From the very outset, the director reals his criticism of eugenics. The writer uses “I think only that we will tamper with Mother Nature, I think that Mother wants us” alludes to the criticism of eugenics. Overall, the introduction introduces debate surrounding the use of eugenics. There is an extreme close up of nail clipping, hair and dead skin cells being removed. As you have nail clipping, there is an accompanying heavy thud. The starring credits CGAT are bold. There is sad and eerie music. The music is a refrain. It is a musical refrain. Blue, unnatural lighting illuminates the screen, which conveys what the protagonist is doing is unnatural. Vincent is precise as there is no room for error in who he is pretending to be. The sounds of grooming are magnified. Genetics defines the identity of who someone is within the world of Gattaca. The extreme magnification of Vincent grooming off his dead skin cells is the first of what the audience sees of Vincent. Music starts turning victorious. Black bars represent isolation and being trapped out from the society within Gattaca. It is a physical embodiment of the social constructs that seek to exclude him. It is a repeated motif. Vincent ignited his nail clippings, dead skin cells and body waste, which implies that there is no place for Vincent in his world. There is an establishing shot of an angular building which implies that this is a rigid society. Gattaca is a dystopia. People all look the same, implying that there is no individuality. The colours green and red determine whether you are valid and you need to scan to get into Gattaca. This is called genetic scanning. The use of “You keep your work station too clean” highlights Vincent’s cleanliness. This is said by the director. The writer uses “It is next to godliness” to link back to the quote at the beginning of the film about God. Travelling to the moon links back to the god Titan and the god theme of the movie. Vincent is putting Jerome’s dead skin cells on the keyboard. He took out Jerome’s hair. He deliberately left Jerome’s hair to be found. The scientist is hinting that he knew all along, Dr Kumar. The use of “Beautiful piece of equipment you’ve got there” hints that Dr Lamar knew that Vincent was pretending to be Jerome the whole time. Through the dialogue “ Have I ever told you about my son?” hints that Dr Lamar knew that Vincent was pretending to be Jerome the whole time. Irene has her hair neatly slicked back. The low angle shot which is used highlights that space is out of reach. Natural lighting starts when Irene and Vincent are looking up. The point of view in which the movie is told is Vincent.

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The use of “The most unremarkable of events, Jerome Morrow, Navigator 1st Class, is about to embark on a one year manned mission to Titan, the fourteenth moon of Saturn” highlights the unlikelihood of Vincent’s dream becoming true. When the director is murdered, all is not one hundred percent perfect and it is a chaotic scene. The use of “I am not Jerome Morrow” highlights that Vincent is not Jerome and he has a dual identity. The writer uses “They used to say that a child conceived in love has a greater chance of happiness, they don’t say that anymore” to criticise the use of eugenics and how they are being used to conceive a child through the scientific way. The close up on rosemary and the cross links back to the whole god concept. The first thing that the Nurses do when Vincent is born is analyse him, which is all they care about. “The exact time of my death was already known” foreshadows Vincent’s death and how his future was already defined by his genetics. The use of “99% heart disorder probability” reveals Vincent’s inferiority and invalidity in the society within Gattaca. Through the use of “Early fatal potential life expectancy:30.2 years” , the director reveals how Vincent’s father does not feel as though Vincent is worthy of his name. Through the use of “From an early age, I came to think of myself as others thought of me; chronically ill” hints that within the society in Gattaca does not challenge one beyond their potential and discourages people from living beyond their expectations. Recurring motifs of bar clicking of the gate is final and Vincent is grabbing the bar. There is unnatural lighting. The people in charge are deciding everything about new child (Anton). Vincent is playing with DNA structure. There is no imperfection within the society of Gattaca. The use of “A son my father considered worth of his name” conveys how Vincent is seen as inferior compared to Vincent because of his genetics. Anton is on top of Vincent on the wall which shows their height. Vincent rubs his name off as he does not want to feel inferior to his brother anymore. “I would need an awful more than a drop to get anywhere”. This foreshadows his immoral attempts to get into Gattaca. This shows how he would need more than just genetics to reach his end goal. This also emphasises the message that “genetics does not guarantee success”. Vincent and Anton’s favourite game was “Chicken”. They would swim as far out as we dared when our parents weren’t watching. It was about who would get scared first and turn back first. The use of “Anton was by far the stronger swimmer and had no excuse to fail” highlights Anton’s genetic superiority over Vincent. The scene with the different sizes of balls shows Vincent’s desire and passion for space. The use of “… for as long as I remember I dreamt of going into space” emphasizes Vincent’s desire and passion to go to space. The use of “ I bet I could be an astronaut if I wanted” shows Anton’s arrogance. By Anton eating the apple, it shows that he does not care. Vincent is reading a book on careers in space. “You have to be realistic-with a heart condition like yours” highlights that his parents keeps telling him he cannot achieve anything and does not want him to live beyond his potential.

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“My real resume is in my cells” shows how genetics is everything in the world of Gattaca. The use of “you know you’re going to lose” highlights Anton’s arrogance. “Every time Anton tried to pull away, he found me right beside him” Vincent. The use of “Until finally the impossible happened, it was the one moment in our lives that my brother was not as strong as he believed and I was not as weak” highlights that because he beat Anton at a swimming race, it made Vincent believe that anything is possible. The use of “it was the moment that made everything possible” links back to the murky ethics of eugenics. Murky water, tough waves represent the tough and long journey that Vincent still has ahead of him. Bird’s eye view emphasizes how little Vincent and Anton are. t He does not just beats Anton but saves him as well. Vincent tears his picture out. Anton steps into the picture. Vincent puts his photo in his own photo which implies that Vincent has to look after himself. There is dark lighting, sad music, a refrain of the bars. There is a mid- shot of back of Vincent’s head. Vincent is looking down and in the background you can see a staircase illuminated by light. Staircase and Vincent’s relative position at the bottom of the staircase implies his “underclass” social status, in a world where there is “discrimination down to a science”. Staircase represents his long journey head ahead and his head down shows that Vincent is dejected. The use of a low angle shot alludes to his desire for space. The use of “What about you, Your Majesty? Dreaming of space?” shows the improbability of his dream occurring. This sarcastic tone from the janitor and the use of “your majesty” alludes to the improbability of Vincent’s space dream. This is further reinforced when the cleaner says you can “start by cleaning this space right here”, which brings Vincent back to his current reality. “I was never certain of how far away I was from my goal then when I was standing right beside it”. Vincent pretends to type conveys that he is dreaming of working at Gattaca. When the man comes in, Vincent has to forget about his dream. The use of “When you clean the glass, don’t clean it too well”, you might get ideas” shows how Vincent desires to be an astronaut but the cleaner pulls him down to earth. The use of “If the glass is clean, it’ll be easier for you to see me when I’m on the other side” shows Vincent being smug. Vincent puts his finger to press on it and the machine turns red. This means no access. The close up of tiny red dot of blood highlights the director’s view shouldn’t determine direction of life and therefore the director eugenics. The book about celestial navigation space is being used to exercise which shows how useless it is. The use of “For all my brave talk, I knew it was just that” highlights Vincent’s hopelessness. Dark lighting is used here. The use of “No matter how I trained or how much I studied, the best test score in the world wasn’t gonna matter unless I had the blood test to go with it” emphasizes how genetics is everything within the society of Gattaca. Vincent therefore resorts to more extreme measures. The darkness of the lightbulb shows hopelessness and Vincent turning to morally dubious ways into Gattaca. There is darkness of scene when he is being evaluated.

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The use of “For the genetically superior success is easier to attain, but is not means guaranteed” emphasizes the message that “genetics does not define success”. A long shot is used. There is unnatural lighting and the two people seem very small in this world through the use of the long shot. The use of “After all, there is no gene for fate and when for one reason or another a member of the elite falls on hard times their genetic identity becomes a valued commodity for the unscrupulous” highlights the director’s criticism for eugenics as they are everything within this world. “One man’s loss is another man’s gain” People rejoice to test tubes of blood in Jermain’s case. The spiral in the centre implies the significance of genetics in Vincent’s world. The use of “You could go anywhere with this guy’s DNA tucked under your arm” highlights that the right genetics means opportunity. The use of “Blood has no nationality” emphasizes how DNA is everything in the world of Gattaca. The use of “As long as it’s got what they’re looking for, it’s the only passport you’ll need” emphasizes how The use of “Myopia is one of the most obvious signs of a disadvantaged birth” highlights Vincent is short sighted and is seen as an invalid. Myopia is short sightedness. Vincent is short sighted. This is ironic as Vincent sees his end goal. Vincent has myopia, this is ironic given Vincent is nothing but short sighted with his dream. As all his actions are deliberate and calculated to achieve his dream of space. Repetition of motif bars and it is shadowed. Vincent had surgery to make his legs longer. The use of “… when I eventually did stand up I’d be exactly two inches closer to the stars” emphasizes how Vincent is one step closer to reaching his dream. “Jerome Morrow was never meant to be one step down from the podium”, which tells us that Jerome has not lived up to his potential. This is used to emphasise how Jerome felt ‘cheated’ by the societal system as he was genetically engineered to be an elite athlete and was guaranteed athletic success but ended up coming second in a swimming competition. Through this third person quote illustrates Jerome’s disdain towards himself as he is highly critical of his failure and distances himself from society’s expectations. The high modality of ‘never’ also indicates the flaw in the reliance on eugenics as a measure of potential, as Jerome’s failure challenged the foundational assumptions of the society. The use of “I was still second best” creates irony as Jerome was guaranteed success as he had the genetics. The low angle shot shows image of the stars. Note when writing call Jerome, Eugene. When writing about Vincent, call him Vincent. In this world of Gattaca, there are labels which include valid and invalid. His genetic sequence is shown. Vincent is walking down the stairs and is positioned above Eugene. Eugene is looking down and feeling despondent. The spiral staircase represents the double helix structure of DNA. High angle shot shows how Eugene is sitting by himself in the middle of the room, which makes Eugene look tiny. “Of course you’ve got it” There is a repetition of the grooming scene.

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“To limit how much of my invalid self I would leave in the valid world” . The scene is repeated over to show Vincent repeating his routine over and over again. Fire purifies but also destroys. “utero, faith birth, invalid” along with “a valid, vitro and a made man” shows in this world there are a lot of labels. “borrowed ladder” “and one who refuses to play the and he was dealt” “degenerate” There is a close up on Vincent’s strand of hair found near the crime scene. One strand of hair magnifies your genetics and how your genetics shape your identity. Door way in the middle between Vincent and the director establishes distance. Irene finds Vincent’s strand of hair. Relationships are also affected, woman kissed guy 5 minutes ago, wants to get genetic sequence. “specimen” shows distance and how it is impersonal or dehumanizing Blue unnatural lighting highlights criticism “9.3 Quite a catch” “It’s got a cloud so thick, no one can tell what it is underneath”. This is a metaphor, and it is a concept that all people see is their social status, invalid and valid. The director uses “I’m going up” to emphasize how this has a double meaning as it means he is going up into space but also moving up the social status simultaneously. “Going to space compare to being in the womb” is a comparison used to express the last time Vincent felt safe and accepted. The use of “I’m scared of heights” shows how although Eugene has the right genetics, Eugene wouldn’t be perfect, wouldn’t be perfectly fit, which implies that success is more than just genetics. Eugene is vomiting and is sick from drinking. This shows his vulnerability to cope. Eugene is physically vulnerable and emotionally vulnerable. From the use of “I’ve never been more sober in my life”, Eugene reveals how his attempted suicide was a choice as he did not want to live his life anymore. Vincent is behind the glass, which implies that there is a physical divide between Vincent and Eugene. Vincent is pretending to be something he is not. Vincent has a dual identity. The shadow cast makes it look as though there are two people. In the background is the staircase. Through the use of “It’s alright, Irene you’re excused”, the writer reveals that Irene has a vulnerability as she has a heart condition. It also emphasizes how this society does not challenge Irene and that this implies that your genes can have an effect of limiting you. The use of “I see a lot of dry eyes” highlights how the people within the society of Gattaca are unemotional and distant people. The use of “Jerome, Jerome the metronome” emphasizes how Jerome is perfect and it foreshadows what he later says “I knew it was you all along”. The use of “If he did, it would simply mean we did not accurately gauge his potential in the first place” is ironic as Vincent is living beyond his potential and this is reinforced by the camera flipping to Vincent during Anton and Vincent’s conversation. The bars are a repeated motif. The use of “Just some in-valid” is an implication that it is not worth knowing the name of some in-valid. Through the use of “Unacceptable likelihood of heart failure”, the writer reveals how Irene’s genetics has defined her and she has accepted it.

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“The only trip I’ll take in space is around the sun on this satellite, right here”. Irene uses a blunt tone which implies that Irene has conceited defeat. “Well if there is anything wrong with you, I can’t see it from where I’m standing” Long shot, makes the two figures Irene and Vincent look small. Close up on strand of Irene’s hair. By doing so, the director cri...


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