Cloning And Genetic Identity In The Movie 'Gattaca'

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Recommended: Scientific development in society

GATTACA

Many different stories have been told about science fiction movies, especially about cloning and genetic engineering. The 1997 movie, “Gattaca” is a science fiction movie about one-man’s dream to go to a star. This movie is about the “near future” and how bio-identity can make distinctions in persons physical and mental abilities, Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke) was born as a genetically imperfect man. Society has labeled Vincent as less than suitable, given his genetic make-up and he has become one of the underclass of humans that are only useful for basic jobs. Vincent is a dreamer, he always dreams about going to space, which he always thought as his destiny. His genetic identity was holding him back from reaching his goal unless he can take someone else’s identity.

Vincent got this opportunity when a doctor approached him. Vincent thought to move ahead and fulfill his dream in life, he has to take the identity of Jerome Morrow (Jude Law), a former swimming star who, regardless of a genetic profile "second to none", won a silver medal in a very prestigious swimming competition. He then attempted to commit suicide by jumping in front of a car, but again fell short of his aim, paralyzing himself from the waist down. Since, this incident occurred outside the country, no one knows of his disability. He wanted to maintain his lifestyle and keep his identity alive and he asks Vincent to "buy" his identity. Vincent could not refuse this offer and thus went a head and made the deal. This was not easy, Vincent has to go through physical changes in his personality, he had to do orthopedic surgery to increase his height, practice writing from his right hand instead of his left, and wear contact lenses to replace his glasses wh...

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...s, directly affecting our choices in the way we dress, talk and behave in society. Mis-representation of any improvement whether in medical science or technology could send a wrong message to the society. As an example in the movie “Gattaca”, it is shown that technology was so advanced that upon birth, one could get all the information regarding a person’s physical and mental health. Vincent proves that if you have a dream and follow your dream, you may one day find yourself living your dream with the help or in spite of technology. In the movie “The Island” no matter how far the advancement of science with regards to human cloning goes, you cannot play with human values. People cloning themselves for use as an organ bank cannot make wrong ideas or actions right. Scientists should have moral values when it comes to science and cloning and know when to draw the line.

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