Theme Of Symbolism In Gattaca

Register to read the introduction… Bars and glasses were the most common ones in the film Gattaca. Not only they signify hopes, they represent as both visible and invisible barriers. Bars are everywhere fro m the first scene of the film and in scenes where characters face struggle. Before becoming Jerome, The character Vincent Freeman works as a cleaner at Gattaca. Whenever he looks up through the windows, there are genetically enhanced employees ascending from the escalators inside the Gattaca Crop, always having glass barrier between them. Everytime he looks up through skylights at Gattaca's rockets rising, leaving him below, there is glass barrier above him. These glass barriers are imposed by genetic discrimination, depicting Vincent's exclusion by the society's prejudices; as an invalid degenerate kind in the world of Gattaca. In the first scene of the movie, "shadows criss-cross Vincent’s body like bars when he scrubs away his body materials, conveying a sense" that he is trapped in the cage. But these barriers give him hope and motivations to reach to his goals. However, at the end of the movie, when he walks thought the gates there is no barrier between him and his goal. This shows that the struggles are all gone leaving him freely to achieve his dreams as degenerate God-Child like him. The conclusion scene of this is depicted by the scene the rocket is elevating towards the Great Titan which Vincent refers as …show more content…
Using the character Vincent Freeman ,the inclusion as a protagonist, is essential to show the ideas presented in Gattaca, while he escapes the trap of genetic determinism proving that the importance of the whole genetic makeup in Gattaca is too much of over reaction. From his early childhood, Vincent knows that his "destiny was mapped out before"him . However He initially accepts the identity he got, he realizes that his potential is not written in his genes by a victory over his genetically modified brother , Anton on the game called "Chicken". His fulfillment of his dreams gives hopes to other characters in the movie. Irene's potential is limited by the society because her genetic profile has a predisposition for heart problems. Since she is raised in the society in the Gattaca, she accepts her limitations and believes that she just have to live with it her whole life. She tries to be perfect but it wasn't until she met Vincent that she let her hair down.Vincent gives her hopes by showing that he can overcome his genetic flaws. This realization transforms her. While Trene is held back by her genetic makeup, Anton and Eugene are "unable to live up to the expectations created by their flawless genes". "The expectations put upon the genetically enhanced to live up to their genetics are almost debilitating as the discrimination against the unenhanced", suffering "under a different burden, that of perfection". When Vincent saves Anton from drowning in the swimming game, he realizes that his brother is "not as strong as" the engineering promises which that incident gives him hope to start going for his dream as a "faith child". The burden of perfection is worse for Eugene, when he understands that, based on his genetic profile, he "was never meant to be one step down on the podium". But Eugene comes to see that the invalid Vincent is "better at being" jerome than Eugene himself,