GattacaEssay Preview: GattacaReport this essayGattacaReview of Andrew Niccols filmThe story is set in “the not-too-distant future”, a chilling expression which infers that its author is certain that not only people are evolving towards the society described in his visionary film, but also that it is happening very fast. In this future, most children are perfectioned via genetic manipulation while still embryos. Segregation in all ways of life is not based on gender or ethnicity any more but on genetic material. Those born naturally, either because the parents could not afford or refused scientific intervention, are the new underclass. Vincent is one of them. His dreams, his passion and ambition for space travel are doomed to failure because no matter how hard he works and studies, no employer will hire an invalid as anything else than a cleaner. However, his determination seems boundless and he is ready to attempt anything to challenge his fate.
A deeply pessimistic vision of the future of genetics which unfortunately also seems sadly realistic and highly probable. What are the odds that a scientific invention, however strong its beneficial potential, will be used for good deeds and not to cause more oppression for a change? This film questions the inescapability of fate and celebrates human will and the refusal to give up ones dreams in the face of adversity. The story also asserts the superiority of the soul, of the individual over conformity and perfection. The futuristic universe of Gattaca is cold and sterile. All the workers are as efficient and deprived of individuality as the computers they use. Love and humanity have given way to a machine-like way of life, in which people choose their life companions, friends or employees
HISTORY:
Pentagon, US, 1946-1955
Sugarman Laboratories, Chicago, United States.
Herman M. Stansberry, P.O., B.Sc. & D.M. (eds.), The Gattaca Paradox: A Scientific Case for Scientific Change, University of California Press, 1999.
The American Eugenics Alliance has reported that there is a strong possibility that the idea of genetic technology has turned into an “alien religion. However, this has not stopped scientists from attempting to deny it.”[27] In particular:
“Gattaca’s fate might not be much better for humanity than it is for other organisms. One of our biggest failures in the past 50-plus years has been our lack of respect for the natural world.”[28]
In the early part of the 20th century, there seemed to be great interest in a more detailed understanding of human genetics.[29] The goal of the American Eugenics Alliance was to establish what it called “a better, more harmonious human society based on informed consent for all humans.”[30] Although much of this has been the subject of much debate, the evidence on this page indicates that more than one in five Caucasians still believe they have an innate need for a genetic blueprint. Another five percent (12 percent) still deny that. A significant portion of the American population (85 percent) has not yet developed a formal conception of a physical phenotype in sufficient ways to be legally entitled to that form.[31] One in three (30 percent) of Caucasians (37 percent) still believe in a physical gene (the “Gene B”).[32]
Predictably, the American Eugenics Alliance has received an incredible amount of attention. Their latest book, “The Gattaca Paradox: An Alien Religion”, has received even more interest even now and is available online at:
The Genetic Gene B: Gattaca Paradox: An Alien Religion.
[24 Sep 2011]
http://www.theagenda.org/~flottawyer/sciencedocs/p/gattaca/gattaca.pdf
D.M (ed.), (1982), A Synthesis of American Genomata, New York: Columbia University Press, 1987.
[14 Jul 1978]
http://www.vatican.com/en/d/documents/d-m-etcd.html
[23 May 1986]
http://www.uqnet.org/newsroom/eng/viewtopic.cfm?id=3464
[25 Apr 1964]
http://www.researchdirt.com/scienceresearch/p/science_research.aspx
In 1960, the United States had a population more than one billion. By 1961, that figure had risen to more than one billion. In 1962, it had grown to more than one billion. It had also risen steadily since 1960 to nearly one billion. That year was when most Americans believed in a “Genetic Genetic Union”, including genetics from “American” parents and from ”