...Gattaca is a movie directed by Andrew Niccol and the film is set in the "not too distant future." Andrew Niccol's perception of the future isn't what most people expect, but once thought about carefully it seems quite believable. This movie presents us with a new method in which society strives for perfection and it also makes us wonder if genetic engineering is morally correct. Your place in society in Gattaca is based on your genetic makeup and the way you were born. People born the way we know as natural are "in-valids". On the other hand people born with the aid of genetic engineering are "valids." An "in-valid" has his future set out to be a cleaner or other insignificant job in society which doesn't require an education. A new form of prejudice has been recently debated about, which is the idea of having greater or second-rate genes. Within the movie, the natural method of birth is genetic engineering, which is unlike what our society perceives to be natural. Genetic engineering leads to genetic selection from the parents who choose to eliminate any defects, diseases or genetic illnesses. Some parents may want to leave several genetic traits to chance rather then selecting the attributes of their son or daughter. To what extent is this process of conception morally right, if even right at all? Morally speaking, genetic engineering in any conception should only be used in extreme circumstances. If the natural method of conception isn't possible in the parents then genetic...
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...Gattaca is a science fiction film where the society is portrayed to have their needs and desires of humans met, but not as well as they should be. The story takes place in a society where technology has been drastically progressed in areas of genetics and biology, in which your DNA determines where you belong in life. But with these progressions comes discrimination of those who are not genetically perfect, repressed individuality and loss of personal freedom. The moral of this movie is ‘there is no gene for the human spirit’. Though one can be genetically modified before birth to become perfect as the society expects, that does not apply for the human spirit where modifications are not an option. This film is a perfect example where perfection stands before happiness, where if you didn’t have the right blood, you would not become successful. Vincent is a ‘normal’ child who later on in his life takes the identity of Jerome, an athlete who has genes that allows him to travel in space, but despite this advantage, he is not satisfied with his life. Reasons being: he was the one least favored by his parents, he was not able to accomplish his dream mainly due to his heart condition, and the only future he could have would be to become a sanitary engineer. Perfection is what society expects, and if you are a ‘defect’, then you are discriminated against. Conformity is also an issue in this movie. It is proved by his parents as they decide to follow the society’s footsteps by attempting...
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...rests on the support and cooperation of other people.’ Discuss. 17 Essay 2: ‘The characters in Gattaca are too caught up in private dreams and personal ambitions for genuine relationships to be possible.’ Discuss. Essay 3: “That’s how I did it, Anton. I never saved anything for the swim back.” ‘Vincent defies and transcends his destiny and, in doing this, inspires others.’ Discuss. Essay 4: ‘Gattaca shows that categorising people into a hierarchy of castes, into ‘superior’ and ‘imperfect/inferior’, is both false and dangerous.’ How? Essay 5: ‘Gattaca shows that the rights of a person surpass the need for control within a society.’ Discuss. Essay 6: ‘Gattaca’s director, Andrew Niccol, said: “I would hate for anyone to look at my film and think it is advocating that you never tamper with genes, because there … will be many positive things to come out of this … science in terms of curing diseases”.‘ So what is Gattaca condemning? Essay 7: ‘Gattaca presents a world destroyed by the pursuit of perfection.’ Do you agree? Essay 8: ‘The society of Gattaca works to repress rather than to enhance the potential of human beings.’ Discuss. 22 27 31 36 40 45 50 Essay 9: “I belong to a new underclass, no longer determined by social status or the colour of your skin. No, we now have discrimination down to a science.” Does Gattaca show discrimination to be a science? 53 Essay 10: ‘Gattaca depicts a world that seems totally scientific and rational, yet passion still prevails.’ Discuss...
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...Genetic engineering: Gattaca is a biological film that talks about the theme of the power of science where children are pre implanted with genes to enable them to posses the best traits when they are born. The misuse of science to enhance individual’s capabilities is what rules Niccol’s society of Gattaca. The misuse of science, particularly the field genetic engineering is depicted through the written code of the inter title, the audio code of voice over. The written code of the inter title “I not only think that we will tamper with Mother Nature. I think Mother wants us to” (William Gaylin) represents the opinion that perhaps God himself is not perfect, as He created a flawed world and that having the ability to change it means that it should be changed. This is strongly depicted in Gattaca whereby the Gattican society try to make it perfect and flawless by using science in particular, genetic engineering to add desired genetics to unborn babies and take away the undesired ones. Ultimately causing more destruction to Gattacan society then perfection. The misuse of science is further depicted through the audio convention of voice over, “I never understand what possessed my mother to put her faith in God’s hands rather than the local geneticists”. Parents in Gattaca choose the “very best” of themselves for their children, eliminating all their imperfections. Vincent was a godchild, meaning he was conceived without the use of genetic engineering or any other science resulting in a...
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...Midterm 1.) In Gattaca I would be a conflict theorist professor in a university there. I would be a conflict theorist because in the planet of Gattaca only the best of people are able to take into space or be apart of the program. As a professor I would only teach this perspective because Gattaca only has two types of societies, valid and invalid. Conflict theorists believe in that inequality exists because those in control of a disproportionate share of society’s resources defend their advantages on everyone else. The society isn’t made by shared values but by the hands of those in power. Those who are invalid are in poverty and suffer and those who are valid have the best of jobs and the best in society. It is appropriate to teach this at the university because those at a university are those of valids, and the structure needs to be taught that the valids run the society and the invalids are of the lower class who do not have shared values as them. The valids with the most resources given to them by birth power over the invalids in every social form. 2.) Dating rituals of Valids are based of DNA. Using anything they can to get DNA of the other person to see their positive and negative attributes. Mainly it is used to see whether they want to date them based of their DNA. Reproduction is done in two ways, “faith births” and “natural births”. Natural births is where Valids come from and Faith births is where invalids come from. The norm was Natural birth because...
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...In the movie Gattaca the main character Anton was discriminated against because of his gene makeup. Anton never even had a chance in the society in Gattaca because the potential employees of companies were not tested on their skills or knowledge but on their physical and mental possibilities. Just because his parents decided that he would come into the world naturally instead of through gene therapy or alteration. Terms like “faith birth'; and “invalid'; were used against Anton. I think gene therapy has it promises, but when used in the fashion as it was used in the Gattaca I think its progress should be carefully monitored. Right now sheep and other animals are being cloned. Soon primates and Humans could be cloned. I think we should further investigate human cloning for research on the parenting process and other physiological experiments that can only be used now on identical twins separated at birth. These experiments when used could be used to gain insight on what our genes determine in our personalities. I also think that the achievement of us humans cloning ourselves would be a great achievement for the entire human race such as it was when we landed on the moon in 1969. In the movie Gattaca they barely showed the moral consequences of the actions. Anton’s father showed more pride in his brother than Anton, but what about Anton making friends, was he doomed to be a social outcast in friendships also? The second rate swimmer so depressed by being second in a race...
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...“Inappropriate genetic testing can threaten individual autonomy, privacy, and confidentiality and lead to various types of genetic stigmatization and discrimination without any commensurate benefit for the individual tested,” (Brandt; Rauf, 2004). When Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) tested their employees without the employees knowing about it, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) stepped in and cited that BNSF violated the employee’s equal rights through discrimination and the employee’s rights of privacy. These actions “raise serious concerns that such testing could pose a significant threat to workers' privacy, autonomy, and dignity. Thus, defining the ethically, legally, and socially appropriate and inappropriate uses of genetic testing in the workplace,” (DEHS, 2001) presents a major breach in a workers legal right to privacy. One hundred and twenty-five BNSF employees filed on-the-job injury claims citing carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) for “years of repetitive activity such as wielding a wrench or operating a jackhammer,” (Lehrer, 2001; UNK, 2001). While investigating these claims, BNSF medical doctor required further testing of 20 employees (UNK, 2001). The medical company pulled blood for genetic testing without telling the BNSF employees what kind of test that they were performing, (Mahanna, 2001; Schafer, 2001; BNSF, 2002; Lehrer, 2001; Lewin, 2002). One employee refused to submit to the tests and BNSF threatened to terminate his job (Lewin;...
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...GATTACA Reflection GATTACA is a movie directed by Andrew Niccol. This movie follows Vincent, who is somebody that society thinks is ‘not clean’, genetically. The movie defines people by their genetic makeup and not the way they act. The title GATTACA in the movie is from the workplace that is called “GATTACA”. GATTACA is a place of opportunity to the main character, Vincent. Vincent wants to be an astronaut and GATTACA is where you go to become one. There was one problem, Vincent was conceived by love and not by technology. This meant he was impure and was only allowed to be a janitor. Likewise, GATTACA can be compared most to NASA. Both are places of opportunity for the ones who seek being somewhere beyond earth. Moreover, GATTACA was a place where only the ones without impurities were allowed to succeed....
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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...
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...Throughout the film, the competitive nature of the brothers is displayed and contributes to the discrimination felt by Vincent. The game ‘chicken’ shows the rivalry between the brothers to display their ability and skill. Although it may seem as though it’s a game played by the adolescents to display strength and courage, we later see that it has far greater meaning. “Anton was by far the stronger swimmer and he had no excuse to fail.” Simply because Anton was genetically screened, Vincent found himself loathing and constantly attempting to outshine him. He found that he was inferior to his brother. “By the time we were playing blood brothers, I understood there was something very different flowing through my brother’s veins, rather than mine.” The protagonist also found he was competing for his parent’s love. “Anton was a son my father considered worthy of his name.” His parents recognised that Vincent was inferior, as he wasn’t screened, like his loved brother. He was outshone in ability, seemingly wits, and his significant genetic status wasn’t that of his brother’s. “Ten fingers, ten toes. That’s all that used to matter.” Now, however, he found he was slowly being ‘rubbed’ out of the family picture to make room for his perfect sibling. They not only competed for honour in their simple game of chicken that they would play as children, they were now also competing for their parent’s love. Vincent constantly found himself being rejected and unloved. He sat separately from his...
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...Gattaca presents a chilling vision of a “not-too distant future”. A future in which, despite numerous safety checks and precautions being taken, human greed and selfishness endangers the happiness, progress, and very souls of humanity. I am referring, of course, to the criminal injustice of a man committing fraud in order to secure his right to pilot a group of five other people on a potentially dangerous mission while suffering from a heart condition which could kill him (and, by inevitable extension, them) at any moment. Though Gattaca tries very hard to paint him as a hero, Vincent Freeman is despicably self-centered, and stands to ruin a great many lives, if one considers his actions in the film through a serious lens, rather than a dramatic one. It’s not surprising that many people can watch the movie while missing this detail - it makes every effort to show a world in which individual freedom is suppressed, and must triumph. It hardly goes a scene without inviting us to consider the plight of gifted ten-fingered piano players, unable to produce the currently fashionable music, or brilliant minds restricted to menial work because of their genius’ natural origins. It is a setting brilliantly suited to the story of a man unjustly disregarded attaining the dream he so richly deserves. This makes it somewhat unfortunate that it is actually the story of an unchained sociopath destroying everything in his way. Vincent’s case isn’t like the ones discussed above. He isn’t...
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...GATTACA Reflection Paper Gattaca’s main character, Anton, is a prime example of how altering a human genetic makeup creates even more problems with discriminated and inequality than the human race is capable of handling. Anton wasn’t given an opportunity in the society to prove himself because the potential employees of companies were not tested on their skills or knowledge but on their physical and mental qualifications. This same society also used derogatory terms for people like Anton. Simply because his parents decided that he would come into the world naturally instead of through gene therapy or alteration. Terms like “faith birth'; and “invalid'; were used against Anton to make him inferior to others that have had genetic alterations. Genetic engineering could be extremely beneficial, but when used in the fashion as it was used in the Gattaca it could change things forever. Currently sheep and other animals are being cloned, soon primates and humans could be cloned also. Further investigations should be done on the real benefits of clone and if it is really necessary. These experiments (when used correctly) could be used to gain insight on what our genes determine in our personalities. Although human cloning and genetic engineering would be a huge achievement to the entire human race such as it was when we landed on the moon in 69, a persons life shouldn’t be changed dramatically. No employer or insurance company should know if a person has been genetically...
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...Joshua Barott Professor Peterson Writing 121 30 July 2012 Four Little Nucleotides In an age of rapidly advancing technology, there are those who argue for slowing it down, so it can be critically and ethically examined. However, there are many who believe the opposite, and that there should be as few restrictions as possible. The movie GATTACA is an example of a dystopian future where the advancement and role of technology in our society has been allowed to run unchecked. Ironically, GATTACA, through its obsession with perfection, has created a world less perfect than the one that came before. The value of human life, individuality, relationships, and morals are corrupted. In GATTACA, we are presented with a society where genetic engineering and perfection are worshipped, and anything less is unacceptable and is discriminated against. As Vincent says in the movie, “We have discrimination down to a science.” Every aspect of a person’s life is determined by their genetic code: their job, their personal relationships, and even their basic civil rights. Yet even the genetically advanced suffer from “the burden of perfection.” The world of GATTACA is so totalitarian in nature that human rights are trampled upon and individuality is suppressed. Surely, this is not a perfect world. Vincent would certainly agree. He laments the ways in which society has changed in the ongoing pursuit to create perfection. Old values can no longer contain the same message and relevance. The belief of...
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...Philosophical View on Gattaca My Philosophical View on Gattaca I personally always thought that knowing what would happen to me and my life would be a great way to avoid the problems that I might encounter, but after watching Gattaca (1997), I am absolutely glad that I get to face even the smallest challenges in my life. Gattaca (1997) is a good movie overall, but to think of the problems I face on a daily basis makes me glad I am a “God child”, (Gattaca, 1997). In the movie any child born that has not been confirmed by a geneticist of being perfect, or as close as possible to perfect, is known as a “God child, degenerate, faith birth, or in-valid”, (Gattaca, 1997) and any child that is confirmed by a geneticist, to be perfect, is known as a “valid”, (Gattaca, 1997) child or person. Gattaca (1997) is actually a company that runs a space program and only hires “valid” individuals to work for them, because they will be going into space and the directors of Gattaca (1997) do not want anyone that would have a genetic defect and that may possibly pass away while travelling to their destination or while they are in space. The movie Gattaca (1997) is a good film to watch to learn what geneticists need to stay away from. The following is my view on the philosophical problems with the movie Gattaca (1997) and to show that genetics should be left to God, or whoever, and not to humans. The whole premise of the movie, Gattaca (1997), is how the world...
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...In the scientific movie, GATTACA, which is directed by Andrew Niccol, the main character, Vincent Freeman pursues his lifelong dream of going into space but is crushed to find out that he is genetically inferior, naming him in-valid. He doesn’t give up but instead decides to buy the genes of a valid specimen named Jerome Morrow. Throughout the whole movie he runs into minor and major conflict that puts him to the test. Genetically modifying offspring is a long process that is becoming more common as the years pass on. Scientists usually use embryos that are incapable of producing offspring that will be able to survive in the real world but eventually they will have to use a live embryo. Once they get the embryo, the begin to alter the defect in it, trying to change its fate from a diseased life into a healthy one. Genetically engineering humans is wrong and like most, I am strongly against it for many reasons. It is morally wrong and people should accept themselves for who they are no matter what genetic defect they have....
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