Gattaca (Summary and Analysis) Essay

Discrimination was a prominent theme in Gattaca. In the movie directed by Andrew Niccol, Vincent Freeman is conceived without the help of genetic engineering, which had become the primary way of having a child. As a result of Vincent 's parents decision to conceive him naturally, Vincent suffered from myopia and a congenital heart defect; along with a life expectancy of only 30.2 years, he was prone to discrimination in a society where your DNA determined your social class. Children conceived naturally like Vincent were considered the underclass and invalids; because of this, they were subjected to perform jobs that took minimal skills. However, this didn’t go over too well with Vincent whose sole dream was to go to Saturn’s moon, Titan. Since Vincent cannot achieve his dream solely by hard work, he is forced to become a “de-gene-rate”, or borrow an elitists identity, in this case, Jerome Morrow’s. Jerome Morrow was a gold medal swimmer who won silver once and tried to commit suicide because he failed himself. Morrrow however was not successful in his attempt and only succeeded in paralyzing himself. Morrow allowed Freeman to borrow his identity and in return , Freeman had to fund Morrow’s lifestyle. In order for Vincent Anton Freeman to become Jerome Morrow, he must diligently scrub his body daily to get rid of as much of his own DNA as possible. Freeman not only consistently has to gets rid of skin cells and any hair that might fall , but he must also pass daily DNA

The society of Gattaca has been destroyed by cruel selfish acts of genoism when if only they could just look past the difference in DNA and accept human nature then Gattaca could come together as a whole. Vincent is a good demonstration that if you put your mind to it you can achieve anything, even when ‘destiny’ is against

Vincent calls for extreme measures because he is determined to become an astronaut so he takes on the identity of a valid man with perfect DNA called jerome who was an amazing swimmer that committed suicide by running in front of a car and failed but paralysed himself in doing so. Vincent and Jerome strike a deal where vincent uses genetic samples of Jerome's urine, blood, skin cells to get into GATTACA (the space agency.) Vincent is told “You could go anywhere with this guys helix tucked under your arm.” This means that by using Jerome's DNA, Vincent is able to have the same opportunities as the valids and can pursue his dream of becoming an

In the scene where young Vincent was shown to be locked out of the kindergarten, the bars reflected on Vincent and his family’s faces symbolises Vincent being locked out of society due to the fact he was an invalid. However, when Vincent beat Anton in the ‘last’ Chicken race, it was the ‘moment that made everything else possible’, showing the importance of that win and the likely reason for the surge of determination afterwards. Soon Vincent takes the identity of Jerome and ends up becoming the top celestial navigator which surprises no one as according to the mission director ‘it was right that someone like him was taking them to Titan’. This highlights how capable Vincent was for his dream career even though his genes said otherwise. During Anton’s confrontation with Vincent, Vincent confesses that the only way he won that chicken race was that he ‘never saved anything for

GATTACA is a science fiction film, directed by Andrew Niccol. GATTACA is a film based in the not so distant future. Where the protagonist Vincent freeman a born invalid, but later soon hijacks the identity of a valid. Which ables him to follow his dream of travelling into space. During the journey through the film, we discover many themes in the film, which contribute to the storyline, they are the dangers of genetic and scientific experimentation, methodical discrimination and conformity vs individuality with these many themes the director showcases them through different film techniques.

In director Andrew Niccol’s Gattaca, a science fictional representation of the near future portrays how genetic enhancements and offspring selection involving humans can alter how society functions. Eugenics is now the primary means of genetic engineering, where a family geneticist uses in-vitro genetic designing for a couple’s future baby. In fact, natural conception is outdated and almost obsolete. This did not stop Vincent’s parents from having a baby without any pre-constructed genetic enhancements. When Vincent was born, he was given a 30-year life expectancy with a 99% chance of future heart issues. Vincent’s younger brother, Anton, was born with the commonly practiced genetic selection. Anton exceeded Vincent in numerous aspects of life, including education, athletics, and social status. The two brothers used to play a game called “chicken”, where they would swim out to the ocean, and whoever turned back to the shore first was considered the loser. One odd day, Vincent and Anton decide to play chicken, but suddenly Anton begins to drown. Vincent realizes he finally beat his brother, but has to save him from drowning as well. Vincent ended up running away from his house and family after this incident. As Vincent grew up, he became fascinated with science, specifically, the cosmos. Despite his growing passion, Vincent had to work small jobs for a living. He ended up as a janitor in Gattaca, a large space and science institute. Vincent was certainly interested in the

Due to this mindset, job discrimination occurs all over the planet. The viewer is informed, "Of course it is illegal to discriminate, genoism it is called, but no one takes the law seriously" (Gattaca). Similarly, in To Kill a Mockingbird, racism in the South is seen as a natural way of life, nobody saw anything odd about it. In the movie, Vincent Freeman, an Invalid, believes that there is more to his life then what the doctors and society predict. Ever since he was a young child, he has had one dream: to be a navigator at Gattaca space center. At birth, Vincent was diagnosed with a 99% chance of heart failure, making him nearly useless to the people at Gattaca space center. He tells his father that he still has a one percent change of not being affected by heart disease and that he'll take it, but his father replies that the management at Gattaca would not. Vincent is not an only child; he has a genetically engineered brother named Anton who is far superior to him on paper. Despite Vincent's imperfections, he is able to beat his brother in a swim race, proving to himself that he is capable of reaching his goals. Many people that are discriminated against like Vincent see themselves as they are told. Vincent tells Irene, "They have got you looking so hard for any flaw, that after awhile that is all that you see" (Gattaca). At the beginning of Vincent's career at Gattaca, he is a lowly janitor, longing to be on the other side of

The story of Vincent shows in Gattaca that there is possibility of beating the genetic engineering system. Vincent is one of the last naturally born babies born into a sterile, genetically enhanced world, where life expectancy and disease likelihood are ascertained at birth. Myopic and due to die at 30, he has no chance of a career in a society that now discriminates against your genes, instead of your gender, race or religion. Vincent an invalid, dreams of working within Gattaca and making it into space. He combines with Jerome who was disabled in an accident to take his identity and live his life to enter the Gattaca Corporation. Vincent is selected for his lifelong desire, a manned mission to Titan.

‘Gattaca’ (1995) directed by Andrew Niccol, follows the story of the underdog Vincent, who is challenged by genetic discrimination against ‘in−valids’ like himself. Through an elaborate identity switch and the help of

Niccol uses Vincent's life of discrimination and his seemingly meaningless existence to show how he suffers in a society obsessed with perfection. It is this prejudice and injustice that drives Vincent to overcome his inadequacies by taking on the identity of a 'Valid' and begin a new life living his dream of working at Gattaca. Niccol shows the audience Vincent's growth is complete when he finally boards the rocket destined for Titan as he has succeeded in fooling society and has proven an 'In-valid' is just as capable as a genetically engineered 'Valid'. Both Miller and Niccol use their main protagonists to show how their unique types of suffering can eventually lead to growth.

Irene wants to control her relationship with Clare and seems frustrated as she loses control when Clare is around. One occasion, Irene tries hard not to accept Clare’s invitation to meet her but ends up going. Later, Irene’s anger goes away just by the power of Clare’s smile, "And under her potent smile a part of Irene's annoyance with herself fled”. This constant loose of power makes Irene vulnerable and the possible affair between Clare and Brian gives Irene a motive for hating her instead of admitting her lesbianism and losing the life she has worked so hard to build.

The only characters in the movie that really stood out were Vincent, Jerome, and Irene. The other characters seemed to be in a daze. They were so focused on being serious and being the best, that they did not experience any fun. Some were so caught up in their job; they were unaware of what was going on, what society was turning into. They seemed to be on a set path and would not stray from it, but some did. Vincent changed the trajectory of his life, he decided to find purpose, to fight for something he cared about. He went from being the pariah of the community to being one of the best. He did this through hard work and persistence, while those that were gifted were automatically qualified for the position of their choice. Yes, Vincent broke the law to achieve his goal, but society was preventing him from reaching his full potential. When we care about something we fight so that we can get it and keep it. We do not let someone take what is ours. Human nature prevents us from that. Jerome was paralyzed from the waist down, but that did not deter him from providing Vincent a new life, where he could be what he had always dreamed of. Jerome let someone who was not accepted become accepted, to serve a purpose in life. Vincent’s doctor at Gattaca wanted to show Vincent that there is no gene for human strive; that all of us deserve

The film, Gattaca (1997) is set shortly where genetically conceived babies are preferred to those that are born naturally. The main characters in this film include Vincent Jerome, Eugene, Irene, Director Josef, Detective Hugo, and Anton. Vincent Freeman is among the last children to be naturally conceived. After his birth, the physicians tell his parents of his many limitations, in particular, that his lifespan is estimated to be 30.2 years (Niccol, 2015). Vincent decides to travel to the stars. However, he is categorized by the society as not suitable regarding his genetic composition, and he has turned out to be among the discriminated humans who are only offered menial careers. To proceed with his mission, he assumes Jerome Morrow’s identity since the latter had a perfect genetic composition and was paraplegic due to his involvement in a car accident. Vincent manages to deceive the urine and DNA sample testing after following a professional advice. However, his mission becomes jeopardized when his program director is murdered, and a fresh investigation is tabled.

Even though Vincent was an invalid, but he also had his dream. Vincent always wanted to be an astronaut and to work in Gattaca – a space exploration centre. He loved the space, but each time he read books about space travel, he

Vasco Da Gama was was born in around 1460 to 1524.He was a Portuguese navigator and explorer who lived in Portugal in a tiny coastal town named Sines. He was born in a wealthy and noble family, his father was also a famous explorer, who inspired Vasco Da Gama. Vasco Da Gama discovered an immediate ocean route from Europe to Asia, and he was the first person to sail directly Europe to India. He became famous for sailing to India from Europe by going around Africa on ship and ended up becoming the most famous person from the Age of Discovery.This unimaginable discovery allowed the Portuguese to form a colonial empire in Asia. This discovery created it simpler for the Portuguese Empire to boost its trade which later improved their economy.