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The central ethical dilemma of the 1997 Andrew Niccol film Gattaca and social problems....

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Social Problems: Critical Review of the film Gattaca The central ethical dilemma of the 1997 Andrew Niccol film Gattaca concerns the way an individual is judged, whether it be by the composition of a genome, present at birth, or by the attributes of personality and ambition that are chosen by that individual. In the futuristic society depicted in the film, genetic engineering allows for the elimination of almost all physical defects in newborns, whose bodily characteristics later render them far more favorable candidates for employment than those whose genes had not been enhanced in this manner. Eventually, interviews are conducted not to assess an applicant’s character and determination, but his genetic code. The even more fundamental question that arises from this is, what would determine the essential identity of a human being, and if it based on genetic code or not. Vincent is a child born in the obsolete manner, with his genome riddled with “errors,” from which high “probabilities” of him obtaining certain ailments later in life are inferred. These are probabilities only, and Vincent is healthy, athletic, and hopes to one day explore outer space. Unfortunately, he is denied admission to Gattaca, the facility of the space program, based on his genome alone. Despite his mass knowledge of astronomy and navigation, the best test scores in the world will not admit him. In this future time where people are born genetically engineered, Vincent is the product of natural reproduction and is genetically predicted to die at age 30. Vincent defies his fate and under false identity enters Gattaca, an astronaut training program for a manned mission to a

moon of Saturn. In the film Vincent had to go through changes in order to become an astronaut. He meets a genetically superior male named Jerome and uses his identity to get into a prestigious program. Jerome was in a swimming accident in a different country and is currently paralyzed, so he willingly gives Vincent his genetics. Vincent borrows Jerome’s genetic identity, in the form of blood samples, hair clippings, and skin scrapings. When one of Gattaca’s supervisors is murdered, investigators are brought in and they soon discover the presence of Vincent’s real DNA. He thus becomes a suspect and attempts to dodge efforts link his real DNA to his new identity. The real murder is eventually caught, and Vincent successfully makes the Saturn voyage. “Gattaca” deals with two distinct philosophical issues: the morality of creating genetically engineered humans, and the ability to act contrary to our biological predispositions. Both points are encapsulated in an advertising line for the movie: “There’s no gene for the human spirit.” Vincent has to do what is necessary to move up in society because at birth he was deemed in-valid based on his natural genetic make-up. Outside of the film, in the socioeconomic aspects of society, discrimination happens all of the time. Even though, like the film, it is illegal to discriminate against someones race, gender, or genetics it still happens and has now become a norm in society. As quoted from The Theme Foundry: “Gattaca is a powerful movie with subtle hints throughout that point towards oppression of a different kind. This is a world that hoped to reach a utopia but went terribly wrong. The scenes are carefully crafted and the two scenes mentioned in this paper are a few of many more that scream out the dystopia. Extremes in technology and genetic engineering does not alter the “imperfections” in the world. Some things are meant to be left natural.”

The film Gattaca shows that discrimination against gender and race no longer exist, however discrimination against genetics does exist. The film takes place in a dystopian world where parents can “create” their children, awarding them with the best genetics possible. The main character, Vincent, was born naturally and as a result was genetically inferior, or an invalid. Vincent has a dream of becoming an astronaut, but it would be impossible for him to take on this career because his genetics are considered second-rate. It is mentioned in the film that it’s illegal for anyone to discriminate against genetics, yet companies go through extensive screenings to make sure their employees are genetically fit. This film reflects the results of discrimination in the socioeconomic realms of society. This film also reflects discrimination in the work environment, and the things you need to do in order to gain access to the career you want. For example, sometimes female writers must change their names to sound more masculine in order to sell more books. As mentioned in a Wikipedia article for J. K. Rowling: “Although she writes under the pen name “J. K. Rowling” (pronounced rolling), her name, before her remarriage, was simply “Joanne Rowling”. Anticipating that the target audience of young boys might not want to read a book written by a woman, her publishers asked that she use two initials rather than her full name.” Although Gattaca didn’t do well at the box office, this film is still considered a classic with valuable information as far as the closeness to being reality. This film makes a compelling case that race, class, and gender play a significant role in society and so does the discrimination that follows these themes. Ultimately, everyone in society is judged based on these three factors. The genetically superior characters in the film Gattaca tried to eliminate judgement or discrimination against race, gender, class, or anything that could make someone in-valid.

However, the characters still prove that “bad genes” still find their way into a “perfect body”. Gattaca raises issues of identity and genetic essentialism/determinism. Essentialism is the view that our genes determine our behavior and control the development of our capacities. As in the movie a person’s genetics are very private and can very well be used as a basis of discrimination, this is the central theme of the film. I enjoyed the film, the cunning acts between Vincent and Jerome only proves that anyone can be fooled because there are never enough fail-safe triggers to catch everyone. There are people who will always be able to get away with amazing things just because the right standards are not applied to catch wrongdoers. The film raises other issues as, whether we should prevent genetic knowledge. We have the biological process to map out genetic information which does not predict external or internal causes that provoke change. What science fails to realize is that just because someone is genetically designed to be perfect does not mean that their logic will be perfect. Most people feel that our future is going to be brighter because of genetic engineering. I personally think that we are playing with fire. There is always going to be someone to push the limits and experiment with things that were intended to be left alone. What if the human race became so genetically perfect? Will everyone be closely tied? What happens if a rare virus from who knows where appears, will it destroy the whole race? Why should we as a human race think that we can change the entire race through genetics, we are not meant to be perfect.

References

“Dystopia in Gattaca and Discrimination against Genes.” Gender and Technology Spring 2009 RSS, gandt.blogs.brynmawr.edu/web-papers/web-papers-3/dystopia-in-gattacaand-

discrimination-against-genes/.

“Gattaca, Columbia Pictures Corporation, 1997” “J. K. Rowling.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Apr. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._K._Rowling....