In the visual text, Gattaca, directed by Andrew Niccol, we’re introduced to a futuristic society where people strive for the best set of genes in hopes of creating a ‘perfect’ society. The main character, Vincent, is classified as an invalid. He overcomes many obstacles in hopes of fulfilling his dream of going to space. In doing so, his actions helped us understand the theme that striving for the best sets of genes risks suppressing individuality and success. Aspects of this include him proving that ‘perfect’ genes doesn’t guarantee success, not conforming to maintain individuality and determination and being One way that Vincent was able to communicate the theme, was through overcoming his disadvantages as an invalid this was shown …show more content…
Even after being discriminated and marginalised from society by his ‘low’ quality genes, Vincent never gave in. SInce the genetically engineered individuals form the society’s elite, parents wish to select the best versions of their genes to create the ‘perfect’ offspring, this suppresses individuality as the society still ends up conformed to the rules of a striving organisation towards a ‘perfect’ society. This would result in no individuality within a society which would mean that the society could never evolve as there will be no one to oppose or notice the flaws in this ‘perfect’ society. Vincent becomes the exception when he didn’t accept being treated as an inferior the way Irene had. She accepted the fact that she would never accomplish her dream of space travel and so, she accepted her role in Gattaca. This is shown through her obedience to follow any order given to her by the director. VIncent’s achievements showed that invalids can be just as good as valids. He showed Irene that he was here “to show that it’s possible” for those who are marginalised to be just as good. These accomplishments were reached only because Vincent didn’t conform to the society by taking risks that involved being suspected as a murderer and as an infiltrated invalid. Both of which would result in severe punishments. In addition, when he won the final
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
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 movie that contains a very interesting society. As in all societies, discrimination exists and it is primarily between two groups. The valids, as they are called here, are the dominant group who oppress the group known as the invalids, which is the group consisting of the less privileged individuals. However, in this society, privileged and less privileged does not refer to the individuals in terms of wealth or power, but instead, in terms of genetics. Here, discrimination has been reduced down to genes, and this determines your place in society.
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
In “Gattaca” and “Brave New World” thre were many struggles Vincent and Bernard comfronted. Vincent had to have a daily routen in order for him to keep his identity of Jerome. He would gte skin sells of Jerome to put on his keyboard and he would also get blood and urine, just incase he was tested while working. He
But as the film come to an end you could see Vincent’s valid perfect world was coming to a discrete stop by his brother trying to convict him of the fraud at Gattaca. Vincent unwilling tells Anton that it is to far now and that he has beaten the system to let him fly to space. All of Vincent’s and Jerome’s effort and hardship been put into this launch, and he would never let his own brother which was a genetically engineered male stop his path to his life long dream. Jerome shows how elitist the valid are and how they look down on
Within the story of Gattaca, Niccol resorts to the use of archetypal characters and storylines to express his ethical considerations regarding genetic engineering and the status of society. Primarily, Ethan Hawkes character Vincent is portrayed as the films protagonist, with him taking on the role of the underdog that must rise up against the overwhelming obstacle that is society. To explore Vincent’s character, Niccol uses the archetypal storyline of rebirth were to achieve his dream of going to
“Gattaca” is a movie about a man named Vincent who is born into a “new” society that uses genetics as the make-up for what social class you are given and will remain in, no matter what you do. Vincent is a “godchild”. He is born the “natural way”, without any genetic altering and his future is set for him as soon as he is conceived. His place in society is at the bottom of the social class and with all his “birth defects”, he seems to be placed even lower. He has poor eyesight and heart problems among many other things and is only given a life expectancy of around thirty years of age. He is denied the basics of life such as medical care and education. When his brother, Aton, is born through genetic
The film GATTACA and the short story, “Nine Lives,” exemplifies the ethics of altering human life at the genetic level, through techniques of genetic engineering. Throughout GATTACA, the ability to create improved, even superior forms of human life as a positive development through eugenics is shown as well as arousing questions about the moral implications of such engineering. The main protagonist in GATTACA, Vincent Freeman, battles with the discrimination of being an “invalid” in a world of “valids” and comes to realize that he is not an inferior being in the midst of an altered humanity. In “Nine Lives,” a lone survivor of the ten genetically engineered clones of John Chow struggle come to understand itself in relation to unaltered humanity and its individuality for the first time in its life. A dystopian society is produced when unaltered humans and genetically engineered beings coexist and interact with one another due to nefarious social practices such filtering menial jobs only to “invalids” in GATTACA and the emphasis in the value of clones and their worth to society as collective work group rather than focusing on each individual’s contribution to society. The film GATTACA exhibits the adverse nature of eugenics while “Nine Lives” stresses the importance of individualism instead of collectivism and fend off the need to be reliant on others to feel welcomed in society.
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
Gone are the days where modern day factors like merit and aptitude dominate. With the rise of genetic engineering as a social norm, congenital difference now becomes the main discerning factor differentiating the human population as the obsession with perfection grows stronger. This promotes both genetic stratification and genetic discrimination. Narrated by Vincent Freeman, the story of Gattaca is told through his eyes. Viewers are able to catch a glimpse of Vincent’s life and his struggles in attempting to escape the genetic hierarchical system he was born in. Vincent does so in order to fulfill his dream of becoming an astronaut, a dream that was never meant to be realized for someone like Vincent. The film utilises many techniques such as flashbacks, metaphors and relationship dynamics to supplement the film’s plot and shows us how a idealized utopian society is impossible through the story of
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.
This is shown through the accomplishments of the genetically inferior main character, Vincent. Vincent was naturally conceived and born, leaving flaws in his genetic code that could have been eliminated through engineering. Notwithstanding, he is able to outperform his genetically engineered colleagues in the Gattaca space program. The movie is primarily about the difficulties he faces because of discrimination that results from judging a person’s worth based only on their genetic profiles. Many fear that this sort of discrimination could become a reality in our future. Legislation has already been passed to prevent discrimination based on genetic testing. In the movie this sort of legislation existed but was ignored. Obviously, the plot would have been much different if such legislation were adequately enforced.
The movie Gattaca is based in the distant future. The people are defined by their genetic information. In this movie, “natural” born children are classed as invalids, whereas people that are genetically created and modified are valid. The invalids are basically just as their name, invalid and must get a regular job, nothing spectacular. One of the main characters, Vincent Freeman, is the last child to be “naturally born”. After his birth, the doctors tell his parents that he has a life span of 30.2 years and there are so many genetic related things that are wrong with him. For all his childhood life, he is treated as if he is ill and sick all the time. Any little thing such as falling, or scraping his knee, is treated as if he is about to die. The couple then has another son, Anton. He is conceived by the new normal, genetic selection. He is now considered superior to Vincent. The father’s name is Anton and the second son takes his name because he is not genetically shortcoming. As a young boy Vincent has dreams of having a career working in space, but because of his invalid status, it will not be possible for him to get into the program. The brothers would often play a game called “chicken”. In this game, they would both swim out into the sea. Whoever turns around and starts to swim back first loses. One day while playing this game, Vincent actually wins. The one that is inferior actually wins. Anton begins to drown and Vincent must save him. After he wins the game, he