Research on Gattaca

Andrew Niccol’s film: Gattaca.

Nicholas R. Cada DeVry University

Science Fiction class October 19, 2012

“A child conceived in love has a greater chance of happiness” (Niccol, IMDb, 1997). The second I heard this quote in the movie I had to write it down. It means so much towards the theme of the movie of genetic engineering. The term perfect can be viewed by the eye of the beholder. In the movie Vincent is viewed as an “invalid”, but in many ways he can be considered perfect. Ethics take a huge role in Gattaca. How ethical is it that when you are born you know the date and life expectancy, and what kind of defects you will have. Whose decision is it on how long you are expected to live? I think it would be in your own destiny to help control how long your life expectancy would be. Vincent is born with heart problems and other diseases. There is treatment and/or ways to live with these so called “Defects”.

The way society views people that are “invalid” in this movie really bothers me. It’s basically discrimination that happens in the world everyday just because someone believes in something or the color of their skin. Vincent’s parents holding him back in life because the way society is, they wouldn’t let him go up in space because of the heart problems. The only job that Vincent could get was being a Janitor at the place where he could excel and achieve his dream of going up in space. The interview process I found to be very discerning. If you don’t concede to a urine sample, blood sample, etc. they will simply get it from the door knob, desk, and handshake. You already know before you go in for the job that you will not be considered because you have the status of “invalid”. I understand the aspect of the fingerprint scanner being able to get in the building, but it seems in the movie they have used this for anything involving life activities. The director takes the view of if you are not a valid; you are not going to amount to anything in life. When...