Examples Of Existentialism In Gattaca

In the context of genetics vs environment and metaphysical theories, there are two relationships in the film “Gattaca” that can be investigated from the point of view of Andrew Niccol. Andrew Niccol’s opinions to do with Soft Determinism and Existentialism are expressed by the characters and their relationships with one another in the movie.

Soft Determinism entails that all the events in your life are pre-determined and you have no ability to make choices. However, there are a few people who can choose what to do about the things they can’t change and in this case it is Vincent, the protagonist. Vincent succeeds in getting into Gattaca even though he has a major heart defect and is told he will only live for 30 years. Vincent surpassed

his limitations by realizing them and hence making sure he fits within all of them at the highest possible level. An example of this is when he trains his body and mind to such a high degree in order to ‘transform’ himself into Jerome.
Irene, Vincent’s co-worker, on the other hand, is a hard determinist.

She believes the limitations of her life are ones over which she has no control whatsoever. She says ‘I can’t do this,’ when running down the alley with Vincent, because she believes the flaw in her heart won’t allow it. Vincent, being a Soft d\Determinist, tells her ‘You just did,’ proving how Irene is only restricted to the limits she gives herself.

Existentialism is another key theory portrayed in the film, due to the fact that love is what gave Irene’s life meaning. She had numerous opportunities to betray Vincent but she refused to do so. An example of this is when the police officers come to investigate Gattaca, she tells them that Vincent is ill so that he won’t get caught. Without her fully realizing it, she carried out a self-deterministic act - she chose what to do within her limitations.

In terms of their relationship, once Irene discovers Vincent’s true identity, she still chooses him, regardless of his flaws (which happen to be even worse than hers.) Vincent gives her a strand of his hair so that she can test to see if he is genetically good enough for her, yet she just throws it to the wind. She doesn’t care about his genetic imperfections, she fell in love with him. Ultimately Vincent overwhelms Irene’s position by showing her that their flaws don’t determine their fates in life, it’s all about how they approach their

circumstances.

Another relationship that can be explored is that of Vincent and his brother Anton.

A large part of what gave Vincent’s life meaning was overcoming Anton. Anton is a Hard Determinist, he expects to win all the time due to his ‘perfect’ genetic makeup, yet ironically fails to beat Vincent in a swimming race; Vincent ends up saving him. One of the main turning points in Vincent’s life was saving Anton, because he shouldn’t have been physically able to achieve such a feat. As Vincent says, ‘That was the moment everything changed, when everything became possible.’ This event allowed Vincent to objectively evaluate himself as a person to gain insight and wisdom, which lead to him achieving his

dream.
Anton expresses his Hard Deterministic nature by telling Vincent he doesn’t belong in Gattaca, but that Anton himself does. Anton solely says this because he doesn’t believe that Vincent is genetically capable to be in the position that he is in; going to the moon of Saturn. Vincent shouldn’t have accomplished more than Anton, or even lived as long as he did. Anton even trained in a wave pool just to ensure he was stronger than Vincent, yet even that backfired.
When Anton finds out that Vincent wasn’t the murderer, Anton wants to conclude the sibling rivalry once and for all, by having a final swimming race. When Vincent wins, Anton goes from being a Hard Determinist to a Soft Determinist. He self-reflects and comes to terms with the fact that Vincent has proven himself to be capable of fulfilling his dream even though he could’ve easily put him in jail for fraud.