Gattaca

Imagine a world where you are discriminated against not by your appearance or skin color, but by your genes. If you have bad eyesight, a gene for a predisposition to heart disease, or even for a tendency towards the reckless, you are at a disadvantage. In the world of Gattaca, this is the struggle that many natural born citizens must deal with because their genes were not genetically engineered to be nearly perfect. The film showed a different look at discrimination, where the main character Vincent was limited before he even began his life and found out who he really was. 

Vincent had wanted to work at Gattaca as an astronaut since he was a child, but because his parents wanted to leave some things to chance regarding his genetic makeup, he was born inferior to others who were “pre-ordered” genetically. Vincent was born with a high chance of heart failure by the age of 30 and bad eyesight, yet he quickly learned that by staying healthy and athletic he could avoid heart failure.  In order to get into Gattaca’s program, he must pass all of the genetic tests they throw at him, including but not limited to urine tests, blood samples, or one of his eyelashes. Because of his “In-valid” genetic composition, he has no chance but he does have the drive and determination to go after his dream. Although completely illegal, Vincent “borrows” ex-athlete and now paralyzed Jerome Morrow’s perfect set of genes in order to move ahead and get into the program. 

  Vincent has a few things going against him in his situation, though with his “perfect genes” he was able to fly through the ranks at Gattaca. With a murder investigation taking place and increased security measures, Vincent must avoid being discovered. Towards the end, he does end up being discovered by the Gattaca doctor, Lamar, who says “For future reference, right-handed men don’t hold it with their left. Just one of those things.” Yet Lamar alters the test results to let Vincent proceed regardless. 

The film was very powerful and insightful with genetic engineering already occurring today to avoid certain complications. The degree of discrimination that occurred in this film was on point with discrimination that occurs today, though the basis of it were completely different. Additionally, it shows that despite being given every possible advantage, Jerome was unable to succeed. He took advantage of the gifts he had and did not have any willpower to try harder and win in his athletic career. On the other hand, Vincent had such willpower and spirit to break the law just to achieve his dream and succeed in his journey despite all of the obstacles he faced. 

The terminology of “valid” and “in-valid”  showed how bad the discrimination could be should we take science further in determining the fates of our children. Many of the issues about genetic engineering were addressed in Gattaca, and poses many important questions. Vincent’s pure spirit allowed him to not play the victim, and overcome his genetic disadvantage.