In the 1997 hard-sci-fi picture Gattaca, directed by Andrew Niccol, a biopunk utopian society has been created in the future where people have the ability to be genetically engineered from birth – as one fertility expert explains to the parents of the main character, “It’s still you, justthe best of you.” Vincent (Ethan Hawke) is an “invalid,” someone who was not genetically perfected in vitro, and so is discriminated against by employers who would prefer to hedge their bets on more ideal candidates. Despite this, or perhaps because of this discrimination, Vincent wants to leave Earth and go to Titan, achieving his dream of becoming an astronaut. To do this, he has to become a “Degenerate” or a “borrowed ladder,” pretending to be down-on-his-luck “valid” Jerome Morrow (Jude Law) through skin, blood and urine samples.
The world of the film is rampant with genoism – the discrimination of people based on their genes. In essence, the privileged status of people has now gone to how healthy they are, not their skin color or income, leaving Vincent (who is otherwise healthy but has myopia and a heart condition) unfairly left out of society. The film deals with the shame others feel about him, and the way they treat him – his parents had taken a chance with him (having a “faith child” without enhancing him) and grew to regret it due to his many health issues, and so they choose to use gene therapy on his younger brother, Anton. Vincent becomes dedicated to overcoming the genetic barriers to success that have been given him, even to the point of pretending to be someone else.
The controversy regarding genetic engineering, stem cell research, and more is at the heart of the film’s themes. If you could make your child’s genetic fingerprint perfect, would you? If everyone could, where would that leave those who were not perfect? The world of genetically engineered individuals creates an unfair playing field, especially given the film’s ability to instantly check whether or not you were ‘valid’ or ‘invalid.’ Gattaca’s release was very timely, having come out in the wake of the controversy regarding stem cell research and genetic engineering – the issue of cloning was also becoming a scandal as well, with highly publicized stories of Dolly the Sheep and research into cloning of human beings in other countries. With the ability to map the human genome on the horizon, this film explored what would happen in a world where these things became commonplace; the film itself argues that society would create an unfair caste system based not on achievement, but on genetic heritage. This is especially highlighted in the scene where Vincent has his ‘interview’ for his company, Gattaca – he only has to be verified as ‘valid,’ not interviewed to check if he has the commitment or the expertise to be hired. In a world where everyone’s genes are perfect, how much of the human experience is tied to will?
In conclusion, Gattaca is a sensitive, contemplative science fiction film about the consequences of a society that is overly reliant on genetic engineering. Mapping the genetic code leads to people being defined by that code, when Vincent’s tenacity and willingness to work shows that there is no real difference between who is enhanced and who is not; in the end, he proves himself worthy of taking on the mission to Titan, and “going home” as he says.
Works Cited
Niccol, Andrew (dir.) Gattaca. Perf. Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law. Columbia
Pictures, 1997. Film.
