“Gattaca”, by Andrew Niccol, is a film about a genetically inferior man who assumes the identity of a superior one in order to succeed in his dreams of space travel. While some themes presented in Gattaca seem alarmingly similar to our present world, we are in fact, still far away from making Gattaca a reality. The parallels between genetic manipulation in Gattaca and our world show how we may be close to making Gattaca a reality while the themes of discrimination and human spirit prove that the world in Gattaca is in fact, very far from reality.
The parallels between genetic manipulation in Gattaca and our world show how we may be close to making Gattaca a reality. An important part of the world of Gattaca is genetic manipulation and how …show more content…
Throughout the film Gattaca, it is shown many times that society is highly discriminative of those who do not live up to the potential embedded in their genes. The character of Jerome Morrow was said to always be number one and never be “one step down on the podium” due to the genetic he was brought up with. Despite this, Jerome suffered from great stress throughout the film and this later resulted in his suicide. He never fully lived up to his potential as he always came second instead of first and as a consequence, he “suffered under a different burden - the burden of perfection”. This highlights how the society in Gattaca is quite discriminatory - if you do not live up to your genes, you would essentially be a social outcast. That is why Jerome attempted his first suicide as the buildup of stress resulting from not living up to expectations resulted in him wanting to end his life. This theme of a highly discriminatory world however, is quite different from the world we are in now. Discrimination is a huge topic in the modern world and as a result, it a being addressed as a worldwide issue. For the past century, we have been seeking to eradicate discriminatory problems, not create them. In the 1900s, we have had people like Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi stand up for the rights of black people who have faced …show more content…
Vincent Freeman’s main trait in the film Gattaca is shown to be his human spirit and his drive to work towards his goals. He was able to beat his brother in their game of ‘chicken’ as he “never saved anything on the way back”, meaning that he would always go more than 100% in order to achieve his goals. When he wanted to live out his dreams of becoming an astronaut, he stopped at nothing to attain it. He assumed the identity of Jerome Morrow and even when he had to undergo a physical test that he would normally perform worse at due to his genetic, he endured to the point of collapsing in the locker room straight after. However, Gattaca undermines the effects of human spirit compared to our world at present. While having a talent may be more desirable, in our modern day and age, how hard you can work and how good your human spirit is will determine how successful you are in life. In school, we can see how the ones that do well in VCE are always the ones that work hard, not always the ones with upbringings full of talent. In sports, we can always see that ultimately, it is always the athletes that have worked hard that make it big and how high you can get is determined by how hard you can train. In the workplace, those that are accountable are placed higher than those with the skills as anyone that can work hard and be responsible will help
The parallels between genetic manipulation in Gattaca and our world show how we may be close to making Gattaca a reality. An important part of the world of Gattaca is genetic manipulation and how …show more content…
Throughout the film Gattaca, it is shown many times that society is highly discriminative of those who do not live up to the potential embedded in their genes. The character of Jerome Morrow was said to always be number one and never be “one step down on the podium” due to the genetic he was brought up with. Despite this, Jerome suffered from great stress throughout the film and this later resulted in his suicide. He never fully lived up to his potential as he always came second instead of first and as a consequence, he “suffered under a different burden - the burden of perfection”. This highlights how the society in Gattaca is quite discriminatory - if you do not live up to your genes, you would essentially be a social outcast. That is why Jerome attempted his first suicide as the buildup of stress resulting from not living up to expectations resulted in him wanting to end his life. This theme of a highly discriminatory world however, is quite different from the world we are in now. Discrimination is a huge topic in the modern world and as a result, it a being addressed as a worldwide issue. For the past century, we have been seeking to eradicate discriminatory problems, not create them. In the 1900s, we have had people like Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi stand up for the rights of black people who have faced …show more content…
Vincent Freeman’s main trait in the film Gattaca is shown to be his human spirit and his drive to work towards his goals. He was able to beat his brother in their game of ‘chicken’ as he “never saved anything on the way back”, meaning that he would always go more than 100% in order to achieve his goals. When he wanted to live out his dreams of becoming an astronaut, he stopped at nothing to attain it. He assumed the identity of Jerome Morrow and even when he had to undergo a physical test that he would normally perform worse at due to his genetic, he endured to the point of collapsing in the locker room straight after. However, Gattaca undermines the effects of human spirit compared to our world at present. While having a talent may be more desirable, in our modern day and age, how hard you can work and how good your human spirit is will determine how successful you are in life. In school, we can see how the ones that do well in VCE are always the ones that work hard, not always the ones with upbringings full of talent. In sports, we can always see that ultimately, it is always the athletes that have worked hard that make it big and how high you can get is determined by how hard you can train. In the workplace, those that are accountable are placed higher than those with the skills as anyone that can work hard and be responsible will help