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Gattaca Essay

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Submitted By siddhigohil
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Gattaca is a great science fiction film, and it was quite realistic. Gattaca deals with a future where parents tell the genetic traits of their child. Vincent Freeman has always fantasized about traveling into outer space, but is grounded by his status as a genetically inferior "in-valid." He decides to fight his fate by purchasing the genes of Jerome Morrow, a laboratory-engineered "valid." He assumes Jerome's DNA identity and joins the Gattaca space program, where he falls in love with Irene. An investigation into the death of a Gattaca officer complicates Vincent's plans. At Vincent's birth, a DNA test says that he has a 99% chance of developing a heart defect and dying before he is 30. This leads him to live a life with the fear of dying early. He is denied the chance to achieve his dream which is of being a space pilot. He doesn't even have support from his parents. His father once told him that the only time he was going to see a space shuttle would be if he were cleaning it. But Vincent refuses to accept his defeat, and finds a way to change his future. He has a deal with a crippled Valid, Jerome, and uses his genetic identity. Vincent finds all the substances used for DNA testing, and layers his biological fragments that make up Jerome on top of his own identity. He applies for the space programme using the wrong identity. The film is somewhat slow moving and deals with the human relationships between the ones with perfect genetics and the ones without perfect genetics. Vincent and Jerome are people that are opposites. One is determined to succeed despite his genetic failings, and the other one is giving up on his life. Vincent needs to be clean at all times. He has to clean out any hair that might be of his own, and needs to scatter Jerome's skin flakes over his computer. It's also difficult being someone else when you fall in love with someone

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