Essay on Summary of Gattaca

The society of Gattaca has been destroyed by cruel selfish acts of genoism when if only they could just look past the difference in DNA and accept human nature then Gattaca could come together as a whole. Vincent is a good demonstration that if you put your mind to it you can achieve anything, even when ‘destiny’ is against

In director Andrew Niccol’s Gattaca, a science fictional representation of the near future portrays how genetic enhancements and offspring selection involving humans can alter how society functions. Eugenics is now the primary means of genetic engineering, where a family geneticist uses in-vitro genetic designing for a couple’s future baby. In fact, natural conception is outdated and almost obsolete. This did not stop Vincent’s parents from having a baby without any pre-constructed genetic enhancements. When Vincent was born, he was given a 30-year life expectancy with a 99% chance of future heart issues. Vincent’s younger brother, Anton, was born with the commonly practiced genetic selection. Anton exceeded Vincent in numerous aspects of life, including education, athletics, and social status. The two brothers used to play a game called “chicken”, where they would swim out to the ocean, and whoever turned back to the shore first was considered the loser. One odd day, Vincent and Anton decide to play chicken, but suddenly Anton begins to drown. Vincent realizes he finally beat his brother, but has to save him from drowning as well. Vincent ended up running away from his house and family after this incident. As Vincent grew up, he became fascinated with science, specifically, the cosmos. Despite his growing passion, Vincent had to work small jobs for a living. He ended up as a janitor in Gattaca, a large space and science institute. Vincent was certainly interested in the

Due to this mindset, job discrimination occurs all over the planet. The viewer is informed, "Of course it is illegal to discriminate, genoism it is called, but no one takes the law seriously" (Gattaca). Similarly, in To Kill a Mockingbird, racism in the South is seen as a natural way of life, nobody saw anything odd about it. In the movie, Vincent Freeman, an Invalid, believes that there is more to his life then what the doctors and society predict. Ever since he was a young child, he has had one dream: to be a navigator at Gattaca space center. At birth, Vincent was diagnosed with a 99% chance of heart failure, making him nearly useless to the people at Gattaca space center. He tells his father that he still has a one percent change of not being affected by heart disease and that he'll take it, but his father replies that the management at Gattaca would not. Vincent is not an only child; he has a genetically engineered brother named Anton who is far superior to him on paper. Despite Vincent's imperfections, he is able to beat his brother in a swim race, proving to himself that he is capable of reaching his goals. Many people that are discriminated against like Vincent see themselves as they are told. Vincent tells Irene, "They have got you looking so hard for any flaw, that after awhile that is all that you see" (Gattaca). At the beginning of Vincent's career at Gattaca, he is a lowly janitor, longing to be on the other side of

I think this relates to the swimming scenes between Vincent and Anton because whenever Vincent and Anton would race in the waters to see who would turn back first, Vincent would always come in second place (silver medal).

Niccol uses Vincent's life of discrimination and his seemingly meaningless existence to show how he suffers in a society obsessed with perfection. It is this prejudice and injustice that drives Vincent to overcome his inadequacies by taking on the identity of a 'Valid' and begin a new life living his dream of working at Gattaca. Niccol shows the audience Vincent's growth is complete when he finally boards the rocket destined for Titan as he has succeeded in fooling society and has proven an 'In-valid' is just as capable as a genetically engineered 'Valid'. Both Miller and Niccol use their main protagonists to show how their unique types of suffering can eventually lead to growth.

And then before you know it in the film when Vincent finally starts having a great relationship with his new neighbors Maggie and Oliver. Things take a sudden change and everything seems to be going down hill for both Vincent and his neighbors. The most satisfying funny movie takes a drastic turn and things seem to hit a

Within the story of Gattaca, Niccol resorts to the use of archetypal characters and storylines to express his ethical considerations regarding genetic engineering and the status of society. Primarily, Ethan Hawkes character Vincent is portrayed as the films protagonist, with him taking on the role of the underdog that must rise up against the overwhelming obstacle that is society. To explore Vincent’s character, Niccol uses the archetypal storyline of rebirth were to achieve his dream of going to

"The expectations put upon the genetically enhanced to live up to their genetics are almost debilitating as the discrimination against the unenhanced", suffering "under a different burden, that of perfection". When Vincent saves Anton from drowning in the swimming game, he realizes that his brother is "not as strong as" the engineering promises which that incident gives him hope to start going for his dream as a "faith child". The burden of perfection is worse for Eugene, when he understands that, based on his genetic profile, he "was never meant to be one step down on the podium". But Eugene comes to see that the invalid Vincent is "better at being" jerome than Eugene himself, showing him hopes to become satisfy with what he got. However Dr. Lamar’s presence stands as a figure who rebuts the societal segregation based on genetic makeup through science.A scene near the end of the film shows despite always knowing Vincent’s true identity,Dr. Lamar lets him board the rocket departing for Titan. This is also because Vincent stands as hope for a son Dr.Lamar has, whom genetic makeup is not like what they promise.

This is what Vincent does. He finds a man named Jerome who has been injured in an accident and is now paralyzed. He takes over Jerome’s life. By using hair, skin, blood, urine and other DNA, Vincent becomes Jerome and secures a job at Gattaca. His desire to go into space can now be a reality but only if he can keep up the facade.

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.

The only characters in the movie that really stood out were Vincent, Jerome, and Irene. The other characters seemed to be in a daze. They were so focused on being serious and being the best, that they did not experience any fun. Some were so caught up in their job; they were unaware of what was going on, what society was turning into. They seemed to be on a set path and would not stray from it, but some did. Vincent changed the trajectory of his life, he decided to find purpose, to fight for something he cared about. He went from being the pariah of the community to being one of the best. He did this through hard work and persistence, while those that were gifted were automatically qualified for the position of their choice. Yes, Vincent broke the law to achieve his goal, but society was preventing him from reaching his full potential. When we care about something we fight so that we can get it and keep it. We do not let someone take what is ours. Human nature prevents us from that. Jerome was paralyzed from the waist down, but that did not deter him from providing Vincent a new life, where he could be what he had always dreamed of. Jerome let someone who was not accepted become accepted, to serve a purpose in life. Vincent’s doctor at Gattaca wanted to show Vincent that there is no gene for human strive; that all of us deserve

In the scene where young Vincent was shown to be locked out of the kindergarten, the bars reflected on Vincent and his family’s faces symbolises Vincent being locked out of society due to the fact he was an invalid. However, when Vincent beat Anton in the ‘last’ Chicken race, it was the ‘moment that made everything else possible’, showing the importance of that win and the likely reason for the surge of determination afterwards. Soon Vincent takes the identity of Jerome and ends up becoming the top celestial navigator which surprises no one as according to the mission director ‘it was right that someone like him was taking them to Titan’. This highlights how capable Vincent was for his dream career even though his genes said otherwise. During Anton’s confrontation with Vincent, Vincent confesses that the only way he won that chicken race was that he ‘never saved anything for

Gone are the days where modern day factors like merit and aptitude dominate. With the rise of genetic engineering as a social norm, congenital difference now becomes the main discerning factor differentiating the human population as the obsession with perfection grows stronger. This promotes both genetic stratification and genetic discrimination. Narrated by Vincent Freeman, the story of Gattaca is told through his eyes. Viewers are able to catch a glimpse of Vincent’s life and his struggles in attempting to escape the genetic hierarchical system he was born in. Vincent does so in order to fulfill his dream of becoming an astronaut, a dream that was never meant to be realized for someone like Vincent. The film utilises many techniques such as flashbacks, metaphors and relationship dynamics to supplement the film’s plot and shows us how a idealized utopian society is impossible through the story of

In “Gattaca” and “Brave New World” thre were many struggles Vincent and Bernard comfronted. Vincent had to have a daily routen in order for him to keep his identity of Jerome. He would gte skin sells of Jerome to put on his keyboard and he would also get blood and urine, just incase he was tested while working. He

Vincent: “You want to know how I did it? This is how I did it, Anton. I never saved anything for the swim back.”