by Wesley Deans

Created on: March 04, 2009

Gattaca Movie Review

This particular related activity was well-suited because my Biology teacher asked me to watch the same movie. I thought the Nature-Nurture issues brought up in Gattaca were extremely intriguing.
It is hard to imagine a world where basically every physical limitation can be eliminated before an infant is even born. During the movie, I had a strong feeling that there are some things about the human race that man cannot genetically engineer. The main character, Vincent, born as a "God-child," or non-genetically engineered baby, clearly shows that there are some traits that cannot be bred.

His drive and determination showed that free will and choice play a large role in determining our ultimate destiny.

In contrast, Gattacan society attempts to predetermine human successes and failures, essentially creating a caste system.
I felt it was illogical to say that individuals born with a tendency toward disease and physical limitation cannot achieve success. Some of the greatest minds to ever live overcame physical limitation to achieve goals that others thought were impossible. Stephen Hawking, a mastermind of physics, astronomy, and mathematics is nearly paralyzed because he was born with Lou Gehrig's disease.
When he was 21 years old, the doctors said he would not live more than two or three years. If Stephen Hawking had been born in a society like Gattaca he would have been termed an "in-valid." His DNA would show his genetic defects and society would cast him off as a nothing. In reality, Hawking's intellectual ability is nearly unmatched. He knows more about black holes and quantum physics than any other human being on the planet.

Gattaca is obviously dramatized to add effect.
Will we ever have capabilities to alter human genetics in such a way? Perhaps. Would society become fanatical about human perfection? I have to question that such a liberal and free-thinking society would suddenly transform. It would almost be like a time warp, such as during the pre-World War II eugenics movement. During the eugenics movement many Americans advocated sterilization of so called "undesirables." That movement quickly faded when Hitler took power in Nazi Germany. Social cleansing no longer looked so pure at the cost of so many human lives. We cannot imagine what potential those Jewish people had. Hitler eradicated those he termed genetically inferior, but in whose eyes were they genetically inferior.

I may seem negative about many of the implications that are dealt with in Gattaca. I thought it was a fascinating movie. It truly changed my perception about how I looked at perfection. We are all so individual and unique. I would not feel right if society began creating cookie-cutter babies with genetic perfection.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hawking

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