Gattaca, A Film by Andrew Niccol

Gattaca, A Film by Andrew Niccol

Exactly five seconds after he came into the world, Vincent Freeman was already considered to be a loser. His first genetic test revealed high probabilities of hyperactivity, sight troubles and serious heart diseases, a life expectancy of 30 years and 2 months and quite low intellectual faculties. At that time, the artificial insemination of test tube babies selected according to their genetic potential had become for many people “the natural way of making children”. But Vincent’s parents had preferred to let the other nature take its course. Of course they regretted it, and for their next child they went to see a geneticist. A perfect son has been born to them, a son who deserved to be called Anton, like his father. While Vincent was forced by his genetic code and the system to study at home, Anton was taller and better at anything than his elder brother. They used to play at “softy”. The game consisted of swimming in the sea as far as possible and being the last to make an about-turn. Vincent was always the softy. But besides his weak health, he had a very strong will. His lifelong dream was to join Gattaca, probably the most prestigious company on earth whose activity is to explore galaxies, and go into space. To achieve his aim, he has not stopped studying during his whole adolescence, despite his father’s discouragements. One day, he tells him that, with his health problems, the only opportunity that he could get to see the inside of a spaceship was to do the cleaning in it. In a way, it was true. Gattaca was certainly not about to invest money to train him whereas there were so many other applicants with a better profile. A bit later, the boys played at “softy” again. But that time, Vincent won. For him, it was the moment that made all the rest possible, the moment when he realized that everything was possible. And one night, he left home to never go back there.

He found several works before joining Gattaca, but as his father had told him, as a cleaner. He had never been closer to his dream. Nevertheless at that time, he had never felt farther from it. But still full of will, he did not stop his efforts: intensive trainings, intensive studies and no social life. Thinking he was ready, he applied for a job and obtained an interview. Then he understood that his efforts would never be enough. The compa...

... middle of paper ...

...at appears on the screen at the beginning of the film already gives an idea of the general message of the work: “In a not so distant future”. Indeed, the general theme is the possible and dangerous consequences of progress in genetics.

In “Gattaca”, the whole society is ruled by genetics. Even before Vincent is put into his mother arms, a blood test is made in order to know what diseases he is likely to develop, what his personality is going to be like and to estimate his intelligence quotient and his life expectancy. From that moment, his whole life is already planned, he is labelled, definitively categorized. First by his parents, especially when his father refuses to give him his name. It is a sort of rejection of the family without leaving him a chance. And that is what happens with the rest of the society. Because of his genetic code, not any insurance dares to take the risk to protect him so he cannot enter a school and he is condemned to study at home. The same problem is repeated when he applies for a job. It is impossible to get a decent job if your genetic code is not almost perfect. You do not have to prove that you are able, your DNA has to prove it for you.