Gattaca Film Review - Caesar Goh Gattaca is a science fiction film written and directed by Andrew Niccol. Produced in 1997, it could be considered one of the most interesting films that I have seen, that doesn’t require the use of flashy visual effects and CG animation that other sci-fi films exploit such as Star Wars or Star Trek. Sure, the movie’s pacing may be slow. Sure, some characters acted poorly. Despite this though, I believe that the structure and the plot was the main winner of this film. The film is set in future where genetic manipulation is commonly used when children are conceived to inherit the best possible genes of either parents. In this society social class is solely determined by genetic quality; people conceived through genetic modification being called ‘valids’, while ‘invalids’ being people conceived naturally. The story follows Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke), an ‘invalid’ born without genetic modification. He is diagnosed with a high probability of heart disorder and has an estimated lifespan of about 30.2 year as a result. Ever since a child he has dreamt of a career in space travel, but due to his condition it …show more content…
I believe this was the director’s intention as to further bolster the suspensefulness that the film already holds. It also allows the audience time to think and process information that the film produces, as the speech patterns and vocabulary used by the actors are somewhat uncommon in the everyday world. However, I believe the pace is somewhat excessively slow, and may deter people from watching it. The introduction is ridiculously slow, and while introducing characters and covering their past is important, they could have done a better job as to separate the flashbacks over the course of the first half of the move, as to not put people to sleep at the very beginning of the
The film Jindabyne, is a story about death, marriage, and race in an Australian town in New South Wales called Jindabyne. In the film, four men go fishing, and one of them discovers the dead body of a young indigenous girl. Instead of reporting what they found to the police immediately, they decide to stay and continue fishing. They decide that there is nothing they could do for her, so they tie her legs to a tree and continue with their fishing, reporting the death only when they return home. After they are done with their weekend of fishing and report the incident, conflict starts, as the men are criticized for not respecting the dead. Through the story of the town’s reaction to the four fishermen’s response to the dead girl, the movie shows Australia to be fragmented and divided over white-indigenous relations.
What is the social construct reality? The Thomas Theorem? (chapter 4) How might it be illustrated in the film? Provide specific examples.
The film Gattaca directed by Andrew Niccol is a science fiction that discovers the overall effects of genetic engineering. This is shown through the idea of a imminent society compelled by eugenics, where hypothetical children are conceived within a world of genetic manipulation. By doing this, it ensures that the upcoming generation posses the finest hereditary traits to benefit the future.
Sankofa filmed and directed by Hallie Gerima in 1993 explores the past in which African Americans were brought over as slaves and what they endured while there. In the movie, the main character Mona who is also portrayed as Shola, goes to Ghana for a photoshoot where she encounters the “village protector” Sankofa. Sankofa sees Mona and notices she is very first worldly, she’s wearing makeup and a blonde wig. While noting that she has lost her roots he approaches her to remind her to remember where she came from. Soon after she is jolted into a spiritual time travel back to the past where she experiences the life of those who lived in Ghana at the time of slavery. Mona who then takes on the role of Shola is taken though the experiences of traveling to the states, being branded, and mistreated by the master. Once at the plantation she takes us on a journey through the life of the individuals on the plantation as well as well as her own.
In 1997, Andrew Niccol produced the movie GATTACA. The movie described a world with genetically modified humans, modified at birth to be the perfect child their parents always wanted. In the 1990s, the movie seemed like a science fiction fantasy, but recent advances in biomedical procedure have started to make it a reality. While a future full of genetic engineering may be an intriguing notion, the human genome should be left alone. Humans should not be tampered with.
The children that are genetically modified are called “valids” and the children that are not are called “invalids.” Vincent Freeman was born an invalid and genetic testing noticed that he would most likely have a disorder when he was older, limiting his expected life span to be 30.2 years old. As an invalid, Vincent was restricted to menial jobs while his younger, genetically modified brother was able to work a professional job. Vincent’s wanted to become an astronaut his entire life, but there was no way he would be able to due to the genetic testing that was required upon applying. Unlike all other invalids, Vincent never gave up hope and was able to become an astronaut by tricking the valids into thinking he was Jerome Morrow, a valid who became paralyzed. By altering his height, and using hair, blood, and urine samples from Jerome, Vincent was able to pass the genetic testing stage and prove himself as a top employee of Gattaca. Even while working at Gattaca, Vincent had to be on the top of his game to not let others know his true identity, otherwise he would be relegated back to the world of the invalids.
Identity is often thought of as what people consider themselves, not how others see you. In the movie “Gattaca” however this is not the case. Identity is something you are born with. When you were born you were tested for diseases and life expectancy and therefore treated accordingly. In the world where technology has been fast forwarded to be able to pick which genes or gender your child inherits and becomes to create the best possible outcome, kids that were not genetically changed were called “invalid.”
Andrew Niccol’s 1997 film Gattaca supports the belief that nature, despite its defects, is preferable to a flawless genetically engineered existence. This idea is explored through the character of Vincent who exhibits desire, resilience and determination, natural ‘human’ elements that cannot be manufactured and are seemingly not present in the ‘faultless’ future that is presented in Gattaca. These characteristics appear to be contrasted by the other characters in the film, such as Anton and the conforming Irene, who are perceived to be ‘flawless’ in the context of their surroundings but are quite mechanical and emotionless. This is due to the fact that whilst they are genetically ‘perfect’, they do not seem to possess the human qualities, such as the endeavor or the spirit that Vincent embodies.
Gattaca presents a world destroyed by the pursuit of perfection. Do you agree with this? “The word perfection cannot be defined as one person or one thing. Perfection can only be told or seen in a first person view. No one will genuinely think something or someone is as perfect as another person, it’s impossible to see eye to eye with something that is as powerful and subjective as perfection.”
The story of Vincent shows in Gattaca that there is possibility of beating the genetic engineering system. Vincent is one of the last naturally born babies born into a sterile, genetically enhanced world, where life expectancy and disease likelihood are ascertained at birth. Myopic and due to die at 30, he has no chance of a career in a society that now discriminates against your genes, instead of your gender, race or religion. Vincent an invalid, dreams of working within Gattaca and making it into space. He combines with Jerome who was disabled in an accident to take his identity and live his life to enter the Gattaca Corporation. Vincent is selected for his lifelong desire, a manned mission to Titan.
Before the civil rights movement could begin, a few courageous individuals had to guide the way. Dr. Vernon Johns was one of those individuals. Dr. Vernon Johns was a pastor and civil rights activist in the 1920s. Johns became the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama in the late 1940s. During his time as a pastor, Johns preached many sermons on how African American people were being treated not only in the community but in society. Johns on multiple occasions upset his community through his ideas on social change. Through a sociologist perspective, many sociological concepts were displayed in The Vernon Johns Story. Some of those concepts included: ascribed status, conflict theory, deviant behavior, alienation, and
How does it feel starting over in a completely new place? In the movie “The Karate Kid”, Daniel, the main character, and his mom moved to the California from New Jersey because of his mom’s new job offer. Daniel started going to school in California and met a girl named Ali, whom he started to like. He started going out with her. Daniel was getting beat up by some bullies; one of them was Ali’s ex-boyfriend. They knew karate very well, but Daniel did not. So Daniel decided to learn karate. Daniel and his mom were living in an apartment and one day he discovers that the handyman at his apartment, Mr.Miyagi, knows karate very well. He asked Mr.Miyagi to teach him karate, and Mr.Miyagi became his karate teacher. It was hard for him to make new friends in a new place and he believed that Mr.Miyagi would be the only best friend he ever met.
Good morning, listeners. Welcome to Future Forum. I am Millie Shan. An exciting topic for us to discuss today is the challenges for the future. What concerns could our future generations confront? It is undeniable that rapid technological and scientific progress not only improves convenience and efficiency of our daily life, but also causes ethical concerns to humanity where science and technology intersect with society from different disciplinary aspects. In particular, preimplantation genetic technology could have alter society into a genetic hierarchy establishing a dystopian society accompanied by genetic discrimination. GATTACA made in 1997, an intriguing science fiction film directed by Andrew Niccol, delivers an insight into how the
There are some points in the movie that take long to get to the next scene, but the director probably put it like that in order to keep his viewers thinking what was going to happen next.